Hey, y'all!
I will be able to blog more regularly from now on, Lord willing, because I was able to finish a rather large writing project I had been working on for quite some time.
For a while now, my life has been legalistic. "Do this...don't do that..." and so on. While talking about my struggles with one of my sisters in Christ, I came to realize that the true problem I was having was with my image of God. I was acting as if God was going to condemn me to hell for something as insignificant as choosing sweet tea over soft drink! That may not seem like a major concern, but my life is full of legalism mostly over ridiculous little things like that!
The fact that my view had gotten twisted in the first place was my fault. Legalism is not a godly thing. It's basically doing what you think to be "behaving" because you're afraid that if you don't, God will be mad at you and "let you go." But God promises in Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (NIV)
I had at first tried to "fix" my legalism by myself. It didn't occur to me to look up Scripture verses to help me until I was blogging (How far I have to go, Lord!). I hope these verses speak to you, as they have spoken to me.
And several times in Romans 8, God reminds us, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4, NIV)
"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39, NIV)
From now on, I'm going to try to remember this when I begin to think legalistically. I pray that I will think of these verses often, so I may be strengthened in the Lord.
Have a blessed Lord's Day!
Lydia
