Whose hand is in the cookie jar?

The following story is one of our favorites. As the mama returns after a few moments away, she is greeted enthusiastically at the door by little Tommy, who announces, “Mommy, mommy, Jimmy hit me back.” Let’s face it even when we are caught with our hand in the cookie jar and with crumbs on our face and hands, it is often very difficult to admit our own guilt. Today let’s do some thinking together about our common dilemma, and what can be done about it.

Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin made the first  brief 108-minute orbital flight around the earth April 12, 1961 in Vostok 1, and reportedly announced (by atheistic Russian officials) in a presumptuous, cocky, arrogant manner, “I did not see God out there, so He must not exist.”  Gherman Titov said similar stuff. We might scoff at such shallow observations and conclusions, but maybe some of us are similarly guilty.

For example, do you think it is fair of God to hold us to a standard of perfection? He may be perfect, but we’re only human, right? Why wouldn’t He lower the standard, or at least grade on the curve? Even some stiff college professors grade on the curve.

But let’s consider some more questions. Could you really honor, serve, and worship a God who adjusted His standards to a societal norm, when that very society was rebelling against Him, His truth, and His character? Quite often there are two sides to the coin that should prompt questions beyond those that we begin with. I maintain that virtually none of us would respect a God who lowered His standards because His creation was opposing Him.

But if God holds mankind to a standard of perfection and holiness, but man generally falls way short of that standard, how can God solve that dilemma? To make matters worse, God tells us in the book of Romans that when we break one of His laws it is the same as breaking all of His laws since we become a lawbreaker. This sounds hopeless to me, and it is. But God specializes in hopeless and impossible situations.

Our failures to meet His standards and our willingness to disobey, rebel, and rationalize our stubborn sinfulness, are not a surprise to God. He knew about this and made a plan to solve it before He created anything at all according to the book of Ephesians. He planned for us to be holy and without blame, but how could that possibly be? The answer is His son Jesus Christ whom He made to become sin for us, sacrificing his perfect life to pay 100% for all our sins. Then He made Jesus to become four main things for all who would humbly receive him as their Lord and Savior: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. So now, all who have personally accepted Jesus and His payment for our sins are seen as righteous and perfect when God looks at us through the blood of His son.

God did not lower His standard, but instead He cleansed us and dressed us in the perfect righteousness of Christ so that we could stand holy and without blame or shame in His presence forever. Surely our magnificent God continues to solve impossible problems for our good and His glory, even when we judge and criticize him, totally devoid of understanding, appreciation, and reverential awe.

Are you still among the crowd of naysayers, judges, and critics of God like Gagarin or Titov, or have you bowed your knee to Jesus and confessed Him publicly as your majestic Lord and Savior?

As we journey through life, we frequently need forgiveness of sin and relief from guilt -- something only God can give.

“The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.

It is twice blessed -- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”

- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

It God did not have a heart, we would not stand a chance.

If He corrected us in anger, we would be reduced to nothing.

If He took up arms against insurrection, we would be devastated.

If He dealt severely, we’d survive less time than dandelions in a windstorm.

To our great relief, between God’s pure holiness and unbending law is a mercy seat.

He is the Fountainhead of pity, with sole authority to extend clemency to condemned prisoners.

Guilt is a burden we cannot manage on our own—thankfully, God is far easier on us than we are on ourselves.

Attempt to cover sin, and He uncovers it to our dismay;

uncover it honestly before Him, and He covers it with Jesus’ blood.

Unworthiness makes us tremble at the thought of standing before God—

but freely forgiven by Christ, at His mercy, we can relax.

“May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man.”

Genesis 43:14 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 30 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)

Of all the novels I read in high school and college, perhaps the one that impacted me the most was Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. Set in 17^th-century Puritan Boston, the book tells the story of Hester Prynne, who is required to forever wear the letter “A” on her dress after she is discovered to be an adulteress.

Think of what it would be like if this kind of punishment was enforced today. What if everyone who has engaged in sex outside of marriage was required to wear a scarlet “A” for Adultery or “S” for Shame?

But many of us deal with different kinds of scarlet letters. Perhaps it’s a scarlet “F” for Failure or Fat, “R” for Rejected, “I” for Inferior, “U” for Unemployed, or “D” for Depressed or Divorced.

You get the picture. Life’s scarlet letters can be customized to fit your personal situations. If we’re not careful, our negative experiences can become our identity.

Yes, many people—even many Christians—are carrying around internal guilt, inferiority, and shame that are not much different than Hester Prynne’s cruel punishment. Unable to believe God has truly forgiven them, they still are wallowing in their past mistakes.

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ, because it’s a message of redemption and happy endings. No matter how you’ve messed up your life with poor decisions in the past, God can set you free and give you a glorious future.

If you don’t believe me, just take a look at the story of Rahab, a prostitute living in Jericho. This woman had a history far worse than Hester Prynne. She undoubtedly had engaged in sexual relations with hundreds of men, if not thousands. Rahab must have been seen as one of Jericho’s most notorious home-wreckers.

Yet this Canaanite harlot end up in the Hall of Fame of Faith (Hebrews 11:31) and even in the family line of both King David and Jesus (Matthew 1:5). What an amazing turnaround!

Despite growing up in a pagan environment, Rahab had heard of the God of Israel, and faith grew in her heart that He was the true God. So when Joshua sent two spies to scout out the fortified city of Jericho, she hid them on her roof and lied to the king’s soldiers about the spies’ whereabouts.

Quite the opposite of wearing a scarlet letter for her sordid past, Rahab ended up being saved by scarlet of a different kind. The spies agree to spare her life if she hung a scarlet cord from her window so the Israelites could find and protect her (Joshua 2:17-21).

Do you see what a beautiful picture this is? The scarlet cord represents the blood of Jesus that later would be shed on the cross for the sins of the world (John 1:29). Like Rahab, none of us can stand before God on the basis of our own good deeds or righteousness. As the old hymn by Robert Lowry says:

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

So there’s no need for any of us to keep wearing a scarlet letter of guilt and shame for things we’ve done in the past. This is a new day. When the devil comes to condemn you, you can hang the scarlet cord from your window and tell him the blood of Jesus has cleansed you, just as if you had never sinned.

By taking a step of faith, Rahab changed the whole trajectory of her life. Not only was her own life transformed, but her legacy has now impacted countless generations.

I’m believing God for the same kind of transformation to happen in your life. But first you must ask Him to show you whether you’ve been carrying around some kind of scarlet letter because of past mistakes or traumas. If so, the good news is that you can claim the promise of Isaiah 1:18, cleansed of your sins and made “white as snow.”

And be clear on this: Your Heavenly Father doesn’t just tolerate you or begrudgingly accept you. He wholeheartedly LOVES you and offers you an incredible new identity:

The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
    a splendid crown in the hand of God.
Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
    or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
    and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
    and will claim you as his bride (Isaiah 62:3-4).

Amazing love, isn’t it? You are “God’s Delight,” and He beckons you to live your life as His beloved bride. You can throw away your scarlet letters, once and for all.

As we journey through life, we frequently need forgiveness of sin and relief from guilt -- something only God can give.

“The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath.

It is twice blessed -- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.”

- Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice

It God did not have a heart, we would not stand a chance.

If He corrected us in anger, we would be reduced to nothing.

If He took up arms against insurrection, we would be devastated.

If He dealt severely, we’d survive less time than dandelions in a windstorm.

To our great relief, between God’s pure holiness and unbending law is a mercy seat.

He is the Fountainhead of pity, with sole authority to extend clemency to condemned prisoners.

Guilt is a burden we cannot manage on our own—thankfully, God is far easier on us than we are on ourselves.

Attempt to cover sin, and He uncovers it to our dismay;

uncover it honestly before Him, and He covers it with Jesus’ blood.

Unworthiness makes us tremble at the thought of standing before God—

but freely forgiven by Christ, at His mercy, we can relax.

“May God Almighty give you mercy as you go before the man.”

Genesis 43:14 NLT

Johnny R. Almond

Pastor, Colonial Beach Baptist Church, Virginia

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity—Scripture Personalized

[This devotion based on/adapted from Day 30 of Gentle Whispers from Eternity]

GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized  (copy & paste to browser for blog & book info)