Born into a good family, raised in The Church, I, nevertheless, managed to have things my own way, on many an occasion. I considered myself above anyone or anything else, and I did not do what God wanted, nor did I even inquire of Him beforehand, but I acted upon my own counsel immediately. Sometimes I found success in achieving what I wanted. Sometimes I did not. When I did not find success I repented. When I did find success I did not repent, at least not immediately, if ever. I am sure that there have been successes in my life, which involved not the counsel of God, for which I have not yet repented because I have forgotten about those occasions and successes. Who knows? Maybe God allowed those successes because He was approving of my actions anyway, but I should have not sought to act without first inquiring of God. Therefore, I should have repented, and I hope to identify those times and actions so that I might repent of them. We should always go to God first, regardless of whether we think our intentions holy or selfish, for we never truly know the truth, never can even begin to discern the truth, until we have included God into our inner dialogues.
Now, as I have greatly studied upon these things, one clear observation strikes at me like a bolt of kind lightening on a dark, dreary, stormy night. As I have studied and reflect, in prayer and a spirit of humility before God, that bolt of kind lightening, always gentle, illuminates the vision that I, and many other Christians, have not seen: the touch of Jesus. Allow me to explain.
The world, the Bible, Jesus Himself, mention the word “grace” all the time. Grace is one of those words that is simply a word until you experience it. And once people DO experience it they understand it, but, I think, only for a time. Soon they again forget the real meaning of the word, for their lives press forward. It might be several years later that, again, they come to really understand the word. So, we go from understanding Grace to forgetting about Grace in an endless cycle of a lifetime. I wonder if we all do the same thing with our understanding of love, or joy, or peace, or fidelity, courage, forgiveness, and faith?
Another big word is “repentance.” I mentioned it already. But how much do we understand it? Like Grace, do we only understand it when we are broken, or do we endeavor to hold the principle of repentance up, before our eyes, so that it is never far out of our sight or mind? God's Word instructs us to be always about considering our ways and taking inventory of ourselves, our intentions and motivations. This is because God wants us to be sensitive to our own souls, so that we do not slowly drift away from Him and His holy will for our lives. By talking stalk of ourselves, all the time, daily, moment by moment, we become true disciples of humility, who are never far away from saying we are sorry to God and turning about in our direction toward His Will. So constant self-inventory and repentance go hand-in-hand. Without self-inventory there can be no repentance, and repentance is much more important than self-inventory, for only repentance stands as the first step in walking back to God. One can also take self-inventory until the cows come home, but unless repentance results from it, nothing more, nothing good, can ever come of it. If anything, only hopeless and depression await self-inventory alone. By daily, moment by moment self-inventory, we build many opportunities to repent, and thus keep an always fresh understanding and appreciation for repentance in our daily experience, heart and mind.
Now combine the two points and you, yourself, will be illuminated, as was I, by the kind and gentle bolt of lightening that allows us to see the Touch of Jesus...touching us!
In the course of your lives, like me, you will act selfishly. I am not saying that you set out to do it or that you will even be aware that you are doing so, but you will do it because we are all sinners. Like me, you will not go to God first, either because you know what His answer will be (and you don't want to hear it) or because you will not think to go to Him first. You will make these serious, sinful mistakes. Of course, by taking self-inventory your odds are better, but, being sinful, like me, you will sometimes do it. There is nothing you can do to permanently stop sinning, not until you go to be with Jesus and He transforms you, body and soul. But there is hope, do not despair.
Jesus told us several things, and we have the examples of His apostles to demonstrate these things to us. First, even when we sin, if we confess it, and are sorry for it, and ask Him to forgive us, He told us that He WILL forgive us and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness. That's a bath from God. He takes away the filth that we put upon ourselves. Second, Jesus died for us, so that we don't have to remain filthy, even for a day. Third, Jesus loves us, He is in our corner, He understands our weaknesses of the spirit. Fourth, Jesus' love for us compels His own heart, always, to reach out to us. He WANTS to forgive us and put us back on track. He wants to see us filled with joy. He wants to remove ALL of our fears and sadness. Fifth, Jesus is Lord of All Things. Nothing frustrates Him. Satan cannot frustrate Jesus, circumstances cannot, sinful people cannot. He can do, He overcomes, All Things! Six, Jesus' Blood, shed upon the Cross at Golgotha, is active and saving, just as much now as it was when it was dripping down the wood and onto the ground. There IS power in The Blood. Nothing can withstand it. And when it drips into our hearts, it fills our minds and our emotions and our spirits. It changes us. This, my friends, is The Touch of Jesus, Lord of All Things. It is His Blood.
Every bad, unholy decision that you have ever made, even if you can't recall them enough to repent of them, is forgiven of you. Every time that you did not seek His counsel, every time that you sought self and not His Will in a given situation. All of it is forgiven by The Blood of Jesus, the Touch of Jesus, who is Lord of All Things. All that is needed for this grace is acknowledgment of it and sorrow over having done it, and repentance (which means to turn around and go in the opposite direction). You need not perform a million prayers, climb stairs on your knees or do some other act of “penance.” All you need do is go to Jesus, in humility and with a broken and contrite heart, ask Him to forgive you, and you SHALL be forgiven.
So, when you, like me, consider all of your years and the times that you acted wrongly, do NOT think that you have to itemize each one (although if God brings it to your memory it is good to acknowledge it and confess). God does not operate this way, as if you have to PERFORM a certain way or remember and account for every sin. One, single, act of confession and repentance is enough to receive the Touch of Jesus, Lord of All Things. What a terrible burden it would be to have to remember and repent of each sin individually. But Grace, God's Grace, given through Jesus' Blood, which IS His Touch, is willing and able to wipe away ALL sins in the twinkling of an eye. That, my friends, is the illuminating vision and fact of the Spirit of God, which we all now need to see. That is the kind and gentle lightening bolt that can change your day today, how you feel now, and put you into a better tomorrow. And if, in the future, Satan should remind that you did such and such many years ago, remember it and learn from it. But tell Satan that Jesus forgave you for that on the day that you went to Him. Tell Satan that your guilt and shame and taint from sin was taken away for that sin. And then send Satan away. He'll leave, for a time, and when he returns to condemn you again for those past sins, tell him again and send him away again. For the Scripture declares: “He who The Son sets free is free indeed.”
I tell you this in closing. After all of my remembering of my former days and all of my wrong actions, I now see that, even in my sin, even during those exact moments of running from God, Jesus was always there and able to undo all the bad that I had brought upon myself and others. That is best part of the Touch of Jesus, Lord of All Things. He is able and WILL fix the mistakes, bind up the wounds, heal and restore. And, even when I was sinning and being selfish, He was watching my back. Even then!
Give praise to The Lord, Jesus Christ, for His Grace and Mercy is like none other.
Peace, and grace to you all, through Jesus Christ, Lord over All Things.
