Read Lamentations 2

Lamentations 2:14

The visions of your prophets
    were false and worthless;
they did not expose your sin
    to ward off your captivity.
The prophecies they gave you
    were false and misleading.

Accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is the only way to be reconciled to the living God by the forgiveness of Jesus for your personal debt of sin. However, it does not take care of the problem of sin. As a forgiven sinner, you live on as a sinner until your life in this world ends and your new life with the living God begins. Until then, sin is alive and active within you waiting for the perfect moment to attack and draw you away from God. And while there is forgiveness for sin, there are also consequences to acting sinfully. Never be misled into thinking that by accepting Jesus you are free from these consequences. You aren’t. We believe in our heart and profess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we are saved. However, each day we must choose to follow Jesus. The consequence of sin is death and refusing to follow Jesus in His righteousness we will see sin active in our flesh and death will surround us. Sin strives to destroy that which God has blessed and made Holy leaving only memories of God’s goodness and power in the presence of personal conviction and despair. This pain and sadness is not inevitable. It is only a byproduct of disobeying God. It is a byproduct of choosing to indulge in sin as opposed to the Gospel. And sin is not only active with you but around you. Satan strives to surround you with false teachers, preachers and witnesses that encourage you to cling to grace as opposed to obedience. They will shun those who repent for disobedience and celebrate those who see new mercies new every morning without any noticeable transformation. They will draw you away from God’s word and teach false truths based on their own sinful understanding. God’s mercy is in fact new each and every morning but it comes at a cost. The love of God and forgiveness of man cost God the life of His son, Jesus. In turn, our love for Jesus every morning demands the cost of our own life as we would see fit. Every morning dedicate yourself to the practice of repentance, gratitude and humility. This is the life of a Christian. The lie of Satan is that you are better than you are and you need God less than you think you do. Rebuke these lies each morning and commit your ways to a loving God who has designed you to thrive amidst His grace and power.