“We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day, reminding ourselves that we are far more sinful than we ever thought possible, but the gospel is more amazing than we could ever imagine.” – Jerry BridgesI have been reflecting on this quote for some time now. It really speaks to me. If I am honest, I have to admit that I AM far more sinful than I estimate. I hate doing a spiritual inventory of myself and really looking deep into my heart and mind. It's not fun. To be honest, sometimes I don't even have to dig that deep. The sin and the garbage is there and I am ashamed of it. I can sometimes even feel defeated by it, thinking there is no way forward.
Then I have to remember what the gospel really claims. It claims to totally forgive me as I am, not as I should be. It claims to reconcile me with God. It even claims to make me righteous in God's eyes. It's all centered around God's power, grace and love and all of that is totally amazing, better than I could ever imagine.
I cannot forget that. On my worst days, I need the gospel. On my best days, I need the gospel.
How do you go about preaching this truth to yourself every day so the truth will keep sinking in?
Somehow, this never works, just checking to see if it works right now!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that funny, when I write a comment, this never works. When I do a preview, it works! well anyway just felt that this was an interesting Idea Exchange. Actually I feel that"preaching the gospel to myself every day" is about the same as reading the Bible every day. Actually,I have spent some time in learning some of the Bible by memory so that when I am in a spot where there is not one available, I am able to"preach", or recall the word of God.Somehow, in reading the blog, the verse,"Thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against Thee" keeps coming to mind. Unfortunately, as I was reminded recently..:), I do forget, but once learned, the thought or idea is always there and is a wonderful help. Would be interesting to hear from others as to how they preach to themselves!
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