Jonah 2:8

Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.

The concept of idols in our lives focus on how how PROUD we are in our attitude towards God. In a relationship that we should embrace with much humility we attack God by belittling His salvation with our self righteous idols.

Why do we turn from God back to our sin as Israel did over and over again … it is a matter of repentance. Ongoing and critical to our Christian walk. Anyone who peddles salvation w/o repentance is dealing a false gospel.

I feel a sermon coming on

Nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified -- Photo Credit http://www.photos8.com

As a child I memorized the book of James and although my memory is not clear enough to spit it back out word for word, I find myself paraphrasing it all the time.  This is one of those verses that screams God’s will, God’s Grace, God’s Choice for each believer.  I love it!

I remember as a college student I struggled and came to grips with the Grace of my salvation.   Knowing that God had saved me was a “no brainer” but coming to the reality of the  process left me in a state of mental duress.   One night while visiting home, my father and I ran  to pick up a pizza (or two or five) from Dominoes.  It must have been a burden that was showing through my face because my earthly father took the time to as me what was bothering me.

I don’t remember the pizza being cold so the conversation couldn’t have taken that long.  I was fighting with two sides of an argument while never being told either out right.  Did I choose God or did God choose me? This verse came back to my mind today as I was working and I shot it off to Facebook and Twitter but that doesn’t do  it justice.

Titus 3:4,5 But when the goodness and love for man appeared from God our Savior,  He saved us — not by works of righteousness that we had done,  but according to His mercy,through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit.

“He saved us, His Mercy, His Son, His Regeneration, His Holy Spirit”  Man how long I struggled with my inner desire to say I am worthy to be saved.  The reality (ask my wife) is that I am far from it.  The gap between God and I was so great there was no way I could even ask for salvation… but “He chose is, He saved us.”

The struggle was over.  I realized that this was part of the continued process of God’s working in my life.  This process of regeneration gave me a comfort, a peace and a hope.  I didn’t get the magic answers to all my questions, but I did come to realize God chose me, in spite of my sin.

Isaiah 64:6 — All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment;
all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

I am humbled with the knowledge as a Christian, God gave me His Word for my Salvation.  For with out Christ, I could do nothing on my own.