Weekly Lesson 14

I’VE MESSED UP

If you are feeling bad about your relationship with Jesus, you may be wondering if you have messed up your fellowship with Him. Maybe you’ve quit doing your daily devotionals, perhaps some old bad habits have cropped up and entered your life again, or perhaps you’ve been hanging around the wrong people and have stopped attending church regularly. Whatever may be your dilemma, be assured, you still have fellowship with Jesus. How can that be? The answer will require us to go to God’s Word to read and understand why.

Ephesians 1:13-14, In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s possession, to the praise of His glory.

Do you understand what the Apostle Paul is saying? He is saying that when you believed in Jesus and asked Him to come into your life, God gave you His Holy Spirit for you to know Him better, help you live a Christian life, convict you of sin and the essential thing – seal your fellowship with Him!

What are we doing when we seal something? Are we not protecting it from things that could get inside and possibly ruin it? Picture your parents putting a sandwich in a plastic bag. Why do they do that? It’s to stop air, water, germs, and bacteria from getting on the bread and ruining it. It’s to protect it! That is what Paul is saying God does with us! When we accepted Jesus, God sealed us with the Holy Spirit to guard our hearts and soul against being out of fellowship with Him.

When we are not doing our part to maintain a good fellowship, we must remember that He is always doing His part. During these times of our poor fellowship towards Him, we are reliant upon His GRACE. What is Grace? It’s God imparting to us His unmerited favor!

Ephesians 2:7-9, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace, you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Grace is a gift from our Heavenly Father given through His Son, Jesus Christ. The word grace, as used in the scriptures, refers primarily to God imparting His power and spiritual healing offered through the mercy and love of Jesus Christ. No one can return to the presence of God without His divine grace. And no one can earn it; it is something He freely gives.

The fact that you feel wrong about the way you have been living is proof of God’s grace being active in your life. “Are you ready to repent of your recent behavior?” To do so, you must believe that the Bible tells us that God’s Love is unconditional and unmerited! All you have to do now is act on it! How? By asking God to forgive you and then repent (turn away) from the recent behavior that has caused you to feel out of fellowship with Him.

Here’s a promise from the Bible that we can all rely upon:

1 John 1:9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Remember, It is God’s goodness, not just our badness, that leads us to repentance. Our painful circumstances help us to see our Heavenly Father in a new way, and this brings us hope and certainty of forgiveness. Can God forgive you? Yes! Will God forgive you? Yes. The question is, “Do you want to be forgiven?” Are you willing to take God on His terms? Are you willing to get-up and to ask God for His mercy and grace? Are you ready to return to the game and the game plan God has for your life?

Go to Romans Road to Salvation and/or Prayer of Rededication

Christ Centered Champions

Christ Centered Champions

We are more than champions through him who loved us. Romans 8:37