But when all was going well, your people turned to sin again… (Nehemiah 9:28 NLT)
Any study of the Old Testament history of the nation of Israel reveals an on again, off again pattern of the people’s relationship with God. When they are obeying Him, things go well, when they are disobeying Him, things go poorly. You would think that they would get the point and just keep obeying God, but history repeats itself, and these slips are so gradual that no one gets it. We can see it when we read a number of years represented in a paragraph, but lived out, that’s a different thing. Nehemiah makes the right observation when he gives the people a quick history lesson after returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls that were torn down while the people were in exile.
In fact, this is a time of spiritual clarity for the people where they are eager to confess their sins, hear the word of God and do what it says. The best times seem to be right at and briefly following a time of repentance in turning back to the Lord. The worst times are when things settle in and are going relatively well.
Does anybody notice anything familiar here? Isn’t there some truth to this in your life? I know there is in mine.
What if we could live in a perpetual sense of returning to the source of our forgiveness? What if that moment of repentance was a permanent reality? Would that be because we are continually sinning or perhaps, like peeling away the layers of an onion, continually discovering how deep sin goes? Either way, I believe a believer’s sense of the need for grace is always present. Astonishment is a permanent possession.
This is the glory of what we have in Christ. The children of Israel had to regularly bring sacrifices for their sins – something that might begin in sincerity but would soon become empty ritual. You and I have a relationship with the Lamb of God who once and for all took away the sin of the world. We can continually confess, continually receive, continually walk in a state of amazing grace. We live in this reality every moment of every day because we are continually being humbled by our human nature and amazed by God’s love.
John Fischer The Catch 
I love your references to being continually amazed. It doesn’t and shouldn’t get stale.
Need to add a great big Amen and thx Pastor John for today’s Catch. I like to now stand up and shout Glory to God after reading this sooooooooo true statement ’cause it certainly applies to me: “…humbled by our human nature and amazed by God’s love.” As I once read there’s no other word but Amazing for God’s Grace! 🙂
PS Also yesterday’s & today’s Catch brought back some good memories of remembering my long time ago College & Career Sunday School class and learning a lot out of our study of Nehemiah and rebuilding of the walls, so thx too 4 brings back some good memories of lessons once learned and my Sunday School teacher. I loved him, his wife and children – He is now the Head Pastor of a local Church and last I heard so is his son…
I know I need His grace daily, and often times several times throughout the day. It’s the nature of being human.
I’m not sure I understand what anyone is talking about. It seems to me you are talking about having some kind of feeling that you get when you experience grace. For me I feel nothing. I hope for grace, I seem to believe in grace. As far a feeling anything I only feel lost.
Growing up I was taught I was lost knowing I needed to be “saved”. I did all that. For a long time I was sure I knew something about my salvation and forgiveness.
Now I think of grace not as something I get when I screw up, but more a fixed state I live in. I don’t find much comfort in it though because I only hope it is real.
I’m hanging on to Christianity by a thread with very little confidence in any of it.
I surly do miss my younger years of “Blessed Assurance” and pat answers. I’m not suggesting anyone gives pat answers here, I mean I had them and I miss them. The problem with pat answers is they are shallow and leave you with misguided faith and nothing to believe in.
So back to grace, I don’t get it. OR, maybe I do get it and therein lies my hope?
I guess you probably shouldn’t post this,
I guess your last paragraph is what I should focus on:
You and I have a relationship with the Lamb of God who once and for all took away the sin of the world. We can continually confess, continually receive, continually walk in a state of amazing grace. We live in this reality every moment of every day because we are continually being humbled by our human nature and amazed by God’s love.
like to add an Amen to your comments sailaway58 (think your name is pretty cool too) also let me say i’m glad your first posting showed up, simply because i don’t believe their is anything wrong with doubt or questioning, in fact i throughly believe it’s a great way too learn & grow… i jus try to not reply on my feelings much, for me and me alone, because i know my feelings change from day to day, yet theWord of God doesn’t…
Thanks Mark,
One of the frustrations I currently have in my walk is knowing I can’t go back.Back to a time when, for me, it was simple to have faith. Now I admit I have always been a horrible fundamentalist. I did, however find comfort in that setting for many years in spite of some issues I had with it.
As for now I desire to be part of a vibrant faith community. One that has real discussions, honest Christianity I suppose. Honest but not cynical (guilty). A faith community that touches the least of those among us, accepts others and helps elevate all of us to our next spiritual challenge. One that is less about politics and more about Christ.
I want that or left alone on my sailboat. Sailing sounds good today…
We hope you might find this, at least at some level, here.
The catch keeps me sane
let me plz add sailaway58 as one of the Catch members you’re are always welcome here! and back on the 18th hope if you did go, it was a good sailing day… 🙂