52 Weeks of ForwardSample

Come As You Are

By Pastor Barbara Solis

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” Romans 5:8 (NIV)

Accepting an invitation requires no effort on your part. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? And yet, people often seem drawn to religions that require them to work to earn acceptance. It’s difficult to believe that we don’t need to fix ourselves or clean up our messy lives before coming to God—or even to church. It’s natural to focus on the issues or sinful habits we may have. After all, we’re very familiar with them, and we know what a problem they pose to our lives. We would do better to focus on God Himself—the only One who can free us from the mud and muck we get stuck in.

In God’s infinite compassion, He saves us. So don’t get hung up on appearing acceptable to others. We’ll never be able to make ourselves “good enough” to receive God’s blessings. Simply admit your need for Him, and watch Him do what you never could.

In His unfailing love, He invites us to come to Him as we are. Each of us is made holy and clean by the blood of Jesus. Our loving Father is eager to call us His own. He will cause every addiction, failure, hurt, sin, and shame to lose its hold on you. Don’t buy the lie that you need to do it on your own. Come to Him and ask His Spirit to work in you for His glory.

Are you ready to take Jesus up on His offer? Come to Him with all your mess. God loves you just as you are and loves you too much to let you stay in your mess!

MOVING FORWARD

Make it a point to testify all that God has done for you to those who are struggling. Being real with others will give them the courage to come to God as they are, too.