The Big Cover-up

We must learn to live on the heavenly side and look at things from above. To contemplate all things as God sees them, as Christ beholds them, overcomes sin, defies Satan, dissolves perplexities, lifts us above trials, separates us from the world and conquers fear of death.  A.B. Simpson

When I was young there were times when I reflected two very different personalities.  There was my Christian personality and then here was my Worldly personality.

In school there was this enormous peer pressure that required that you conform to the world.  So my two personalities co-existed together.  I tried to fit in perfectly in each world. 

The sad part about this is that I can't become a threat to Satan if I am living out two very different lives.  We see this happen every day in our lives.  We will go to church and reflect what we think a Christian should be and then we go to work and the other personality comes out. 

We often wonder why non-Christians ridicule us or tell us that there is no difference in being a Christian.  The reason is because we are not really living a Christian life as Jesus did.  It is necessary for us to become transparent in our life and we have to merge the two. 

I am ashamed to say I am often guilty of this very thing.  I am hanging out with friends or acquaintances and someone in the group takes the Lord's name in vain and in order to fit in and not be labeled a Jesus fanatic, I let it slide.  I had this exact instance occur several weeks ago and I didn’t handle it well. 

Please understand me when I say I am a struggling Christian.  I fail over and over again and just because I write a devotional doesn't mean I don't sin.  I do.  It just means I am a follower of Christ who lives in a fallen world and is trying to do the best I can to be what God calls me to be.  I don't write my devotionals to be judge and jury over your life.  I write them because it helps me grow and if my being transparent in my life helps you grow closer to God then God gets the glory. 

When I was deciding to write my own devotionals, it was a struggle for me with God.  I kept questioning Him and fighting Him.  Why would You want someone like me (a sinner) to write about You (the Most High) when I don't always portray Your likeness on this earth?  Then I would think about David.  He failed over and over again, yet he always came back to God with a contrite heart.  The answer was he loved God and he wasn’t perfect.  

The bottom line is that I love God.  I keep failing and God keeps coming back.  When everything has fallen apart around me, God has always been there for me.  He may seem to be silent but in my heart I know He is there and for me that is enough. 

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, Your love amazes me.  I am a sinner and I fail again and again, yet You still love me.  Thank You for loving me even when I don’t portray the Christian You have called me to be.  I praise You for Your great love for me. Help me to keep seeking You. 
        
Scripture:   “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.  Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?  Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent?  If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!  Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.  Matthew 7:7-12