Once a time

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There was once a time I did not think about God and what He wants.  I did not pray or know how.  I did not own a Bible and therefore I did not read the Bible.  I knew a little about God, less about Jesus and even less about the Holy Spirit.  

When I started a relationship with God, by praying to Him, reading a Bible and getting to know God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit, I experienced a rebirth.  I experienced a return to innocence.  I became who I once was as a child. 

Sin, no matter how bad it is, holds the same weight on God's scales.  Any sin, whether murder, theft, slander, adultery, telling lies, or conceit and selfish ambition, have the same weight on God's scales.  

Often we see ourselves first as victims, and once we get in touch with God's Word, we realise that we are perpetrators too.  We are not as innocent as we seem.  The reason we don't see our own guilt is due to the greatest sin Satan invented - pride.  

So it is no surprise not everyone is experiencing what the Holy Spirit has to offer: joy, love, peace, kindness, goodness, and mercy.  To receive these priceless things, we need to realise that we are sinners.  Yes, we have sin.  And this and only this is blocking our way to God.  And Jesus only, yes, Jesus, cleared the way for us.  But we have to understand this fact to realise its significance.  Without seeing the sin in your life, you can't get to that point of confession.  And without confession is no forgiveness, and without forgiveness is no rebirth, and without rebirth is no access to our Heavenly Father.  And if you don't have Him, you're on your own.  And that sucks.  

There was once a time when I did not know God and what He wants.  Now I know a little about God, a little more about Jesus, and a lot more about the Holy Spirit. I know it is painful to be "clean" before God because there is no room for pride, but receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit is far greater than being right, or being popular, or having things my way.

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