"The Right Light"

"For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me." (Psalms 69:9) Before you start casting judgment upon anyone, you should know that my sin has already been judged and dealt with; and so has yours, if you are washed in the blood of Christ. We are all broken in one way or another; and there is not a single one of us that do not need God's mercy and grace to get us through this life whole. But isn't that the whole point of the Gospel Message? We can't do it on our own, no way, no how! I think the point made with Peter denying Jesus best illustrates our total weakness against the devil; we really do not stand against him without the help of Jesus; and as soon as we think that we have any kind of strength on our own, we are going to get 'sifted like wheat'. Peter was so zealous to stand with Jesus, all the way to the very end. He thought he had it in him, and that he was even willing to give up his life for the Lord; but just as he was proclaiming his ambition, Jesus was showing him his failure to achieve what was in his heart. But not just that, Jesus was also showing him his adversary; making it clear to Peter that he was in for something that he would have no control over. But Jesus also gave him assurance, by not saying 'if', but saying "when", "When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren." (Luke 22:32) Blessed assurance is real! Any one that puts their faith in Jesus Christ will be saved! You are in the "boat", and Jesus has sealed the "door", and there is no way that He is letting you sink! I have a red star beside this verse in my Bible, which means that this verse is a picture of Jesus Christ taking on our sins. Jesus was zealous for us; His Father gave Him the zeal for us based upon a love that could not be quenched; but that love was not based upon the righteous, it was based upon the lost, sick, dying, and sinful people that had no hope. Those that think that they are righteous have no need of a Savior. Those that think they have it all under control are really lost and without real hope; because without Jesus, there is no hope...
"When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died - from the time of Adam to the time of Moses - even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam's one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:12-19) NLT