God says “Come close to me”
I’ve been doing the Jesus Calling devotional for almost 2 years now. The author says that these are the words of Jesus. It’s backed with scripture, so I believe it is, and it’s an interesting perspective on the Bible. For me, it’s often not what I hear said in churches – at least the ones I’ve been to.
Here are a few parts of today’s devotional:
When your sins weigh heavily upon you, come to Me. Confess your wrongdoing, which I know all about before you say a word. Remember that I have clothed you in My righteousness, so nothing can separate you from Me. Whenever you stumble or fall, I am there to help you up.
Come close to Me and let My Light envelop you, driving out darkness and permeating you with Peace.
Our tendency is to hide from God when we sin – just like Adam and Eve did. God wants us so close to him when we sin. He wants us closer than ever. We are clothed in the righteousness of Christ once we accept his free gift of grace and forgiveness. In plain English, that means God sees us like he sees Jesus – as if we’ve never sinned. What good news!
We see this in the book is Isiah:
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Isaiah 61:10 ESV
I believe what Jesus did covers our past sins, today’s sins, and tomorrow’s sin – all sin. What he did put an end to sacrifice because what he went through was enough for everyone. It’s just Jesus, not Jesus plus anything. What we can do to be righteous is like filthy rags to God. We cannot do what Jesus did. Instead, we just need to accept what he did for us… simple.
So, even if you sin in the future (and that’ll happen to all of us), just go right to Jesus. That is where he wants us – especially at that time. He is gentle and kind to forgive, and what he did covers us already. You didn’t just lose your salvation because you sinned. Again, there’s nothing we can do to cover our sins. It’s all on Jesus and it has already been done. Be free. Walk in joy and peace.
My Daily Devotional
And I highly recommend picking up the devotional. It’s very easy to get through each day. What I do it I journal. I put it in there (a Word document), highlight the parts that stick out to me, and then I talk about it with God. I thank him for what he is showing me in each devotional. I then pray. I have friends and family I pray for each day. I thank him for the things in my life. I pray protection, and ask for some things I need. I then even ask God what he wants to say, and the words come to me. It’s so great. I invite you to try it.