‘Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.’ Psalm 51:10
Last night, I was sent a video of protestors getting beat like a snare drum by someone fed up with their sense of entitlement. Being transparent my flesh cheered ‘YES’ as this group of demonstrators was given a taste of patriotism and the concrete beneath them.
I can identify with the loyalist, a 3%’er, the militant and devoted. Part of me is proud to be in this camp. Today, however, the Holy Spirit convicts me of that pride. It is one of anger, fatigue and impatience. There is no room for forgiveness, no desire for brotherhood and zero advertisement for Christ.
You might argue with me and compliment my stance on the issue, defending my beliefs and this ‘way of life.’ But, what about when I evade my taxes, lust after a piece of fiberglass, retaliate against a competitor, or kill, in my mind, the lawmaker who is pro-abortion? In a way, I am still defending my beliefs.
The god of me is alive and well. It is sin. It is a lack of Jesus. It is a lack of the Word. It is a lack of listening to the Holy Spirit. And, there is a very close resemblance to what Satan did in the beginning of the Book as to what I am doing now. I am guilty of worshiping the counterfeit god of self.
In an effort to medicate my sin, I have minimized the story of Jesus’s death, drink overpriced coffee from overpriced mugs with Scripture on the side, throw money in the plate out of the surplus and laminate vinyl stickers of the Cross on the back of my $50k pickup truck. What I look like on paper is different than what I look like in the dark. In one video I literally broke 8 of the 10 commandments. Without Jesus Christ I will burn in hell.
Praise God He loved us enough to send his Son. Praise Jesus He loves us enough to willingly die in our place. Without those two ingredients it is over for us. I am the one that drove the nails into His wrists. Jesus is the one who washed my feet, before I even picked up the hammer.
6’ Gate
