sin

Asleep on a Cushion

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

To sleep on a cushion in a gently rocking boat is my idea of perfect bliss. I imagine being in a boat on the river at Cambridge, someone else doing the punting. As Jesus slept on the lake with His disciples the tranquility was suddenly broken. A squally storm rapidly arose. At one moment my human Lord was asleep on the cushion and the very next He was commanding the waves to be calm. My Lord was human as He wept at the graveside of Lazarus, but He was divine as He healed the blind man.

Because Jesus is human He understand my failings and sin; His divinity means He has the power to save me from the punishment of these same sins.

Disruption

Carol Purves Carol's Blog ,

The council are digging up the road outside my house. It’s noisy, dirty and inconvenient as there is nowhere to park our cars. The road is closed to traffic which involves long detours to get anywhere. Muck and rubble is being loaded on to lorries and driven away. The notice says it will be completed in 47 days! (a strange number, will it finally be gold-plated?)

The result will be a lovely smooth road and pavement. It had been a trip hazard. The upheaval will be worth the trouble. It’s like my life. God has to get rid of the rubbish, sin and grime in me. The resulting restored life will be worth the trauma. Praise be to God.

The God who Pardons

Carol Purves Carol's Blog , ,

My thoughts today have been driven by David Wilkerson’s book, ‘Hallowed by Thy Names.’ Jesus died for my sins and removed them as far as the east is from the west. That means they’re gone, completely gone .So why do I sometimes feel convicted of my past sins? In one of the old hymns, we plead, ‘break the power of cancelled sin.’

It is during the night that I recall these sins, these cancelled sins and they can bother me. Even King David says words to the effect ‘Lord I was ready to faint because of my sins.’ Another hymn writer takes the words from Micah ‘Who is a pardoning God like Thee?’ That’s the question and the answer is no-one. The devil can’t taunt us because our forgiving God is stronger than the devil.