Recently I have been working with Brother Bob (Assistant Pastor) and his son Caleb at our Church and Christian School. Brother Al Steel was also there and has been an invaluable source of encouragement and a treasure trove of tools. While I could only work one day a week, Al has been working two and that helped a lot.
The weather has been really humid in the morning and extremely hot in the afternoons ever since we began these work days and we have to drink lots of water and find some relief in the shade or in the air conditioned building. The most recent work day was no different, but Brother Bob, also the school Principal, was preparing for the beginning of school. It took time to get the materials so we cleaned out the fence row and tested the baptistery for leaks. By the time our materials arrived it was getting really hot. We didn’t want to waste the rest of the day, so we began painting the metal fence that runs across the front of the Church property.
Al and I used paint rollers so we wouldn’t waste paint and to coat the fence better. Caleb used a small brush to reach the places our rollers couldn’t. Brother Bob came out of his office several times to check the quality of our work. Pastor Moore (Senior Pastor) had worked as a professional painter and has very high standards. Those standards, our method of application, and the heat made our progress slow. One thing we all agreed on, the tired looking metal fence, bleached gray by the Texas sun, was now covered with shiny black paint that made it look “like new!” We had much more painting to do, but the results made it worth the heat, the sweat and the effort it took. The fence hadn’t changed, but when we look at it, all we can see is the new coat of paint!
That is kind of like what JESUS did for me, but I needed much more than a coat of paint to cover my flaws. You see GOD’s standards are so high that I could never meet them. How high are they? JESUS said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mat 5:48 KJV) and I can tell you I fall far short of perfect!
So what are we supposed to do when the “wages of sin is death” and we can’t overcome sin by ourselves? Fortunately for us “the gift of GOD is eternal life” (Rom 6:23 KJV) and “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). So JESUS is the answer!
The Bible tells us “if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Cor 5:17 KJV). You are new, with a new nature and with the help of the HOLY SPIRIT you can have victory!
Ok, I repented of my sins and accepted JESUS as my LORD and Savior and I am doing better, but I still fall short. How can I ever be good enough? Actually you can’t, but the blood of JESUS will never lose its power! You are forgiven and when GOD looks at you He sees the righteousness of JESUS and that makes you not just “like new” but you are perfect!
Wayne Lance (2019)