"Helpless, Not Hopeless"

"For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper." (Psalms 72:12) I think the key here is the word "crieth," as in 'to cry out for help.' Oh, and by the way, you are a son or daughter of the King, so that gives you every right to cry out expecting to be delivered! That is probably the biggest difference between relationship and religion, the right to be answered by God. All those who live a life of religion, which is man's way of getting right with God, have no clue what it's like to be delivered; they are hoping for deliverance, but they do not think that they are helpless. Big difference, very big; like night and day, there is simply no comparison between the two, except for the fact that they both involve God. Maybe you don't think that you are helpless, or that you have some sort of way to overcome temptation, something that gives you an edge that others might not have. Please don't say that is you, because there are some pretty strong characters in the Bible that made the same mistake. Given that we have the Holy Spirit living within us, we can sometimes think we are able to overcome anything; which is true to a certain degree, because "Greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). But we are still dealing with our flesh, and this flesh longs to be satisfied in one way or another. Where one of us fail in abstaining, the other might fail in forgiveness; where one might not have compassion, the other might steal without thinking; it's really not all that hard to see the faults of each other, but it sure is hard to look at your own. We are all helpless where it comes to holiness, which is exactly what the cross is all about; but we are not hopeless to be made holy, because Jesus has made us holy by His blood. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away my sins! There is no other way that our sins can be removed! The relationship that I have is based upon the faith in knowing that Jesus Christ has paid the price for my sins, not in hoping that my sins might be forgiven, but knowing that they are; and because of that fact, I am a son of the King, I am a child of God, and I have access to the Father. That does not mean that I am still not helpless, because each and every day that I wake up, I am dependent upon the Lord to get me through another day; but, man-o-man, my hope is secure... "For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. That is why, when Christ came into the world, He said to God, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But You have given Me a body to offer. You were not pleased with burnt offerings or other offerings for sin. Then I said, 'Look, I have come to do your will, O God -as is written about Me in the Scriptures.'" First, Christ said, "You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings or other offerings for sin, nor were You pleased with them" (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, "Look, I have come to do Your will." He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God's will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all. Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the alter day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which never take away sins. But our High Priest offered Himself to God as a single sacrifice for sin, good for all time. Then He sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. There He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. For by that one offering He forever made perfect those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:4-14) NLT