November 22, 2023

How can God be so permitting? It's because when He looks at us, He only sees Jesus. I must admit that I feel like I'm only now beginning to understand grace. A switch seems to have just clicked on. Hearing and thinking you understand grace and believing it's true are entirely different. I'm not saying we shouldn't try to live sinlessly because it's better for our earthly situation and mental health if we refrain, but it's impossible not to; a mere bad thought could cause unintentional sin. According to the law of Moses, just being near a corpse of any kind could cause you to be unclean. Since there is no temple and no animal sacrifices, there is no way to purify yourself, and if you don't have Jesus, you are still under Mosaic Law, making it impossible to be clean. I believe God may have sent me to the Old Testament to learn this, not just for me, but to share it with you. I may have been a pharisaical perfectionist for far too long, and God needed to straighten me out! Hopefully, I haven't come across that way for all these years. Trying to be perfect on your own, without Jesus, is works, and pretending you are perfect is boasting. Do your best to try and understand God's grace; it will alleviate a lot of pressure and give you peace. Does this make sense? 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. Ephesians 2:8-9