2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, If anyone be in Christ, they are a new creature; old things have passed away, all things have become new.

THEME OF THE DAY: FAILURE DOES NOT DEFINE US. One of my favorite Puritan pastors is Thomas Goodwin. He was so full of Christ and his writings reveal such. He was a pastor/theologian which every pastor should be; sound in doctrine and a loving shepherd to Christ’s sheep. One short biographical book which contains some of his choice Christ-centered writings is titled, “A Habitual Sight of Him: The Christ-centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin”. The phrase in the title “A Habitual Sight of Him” is the essence of being a Christian; learning to gaze upon Jesus by the Spirit in the Word and through prayer. Or we may say that being a Christian is regularly experiencing this marvelous text in the book of Hebrews – Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).

Friends, is that our regular experience? Are we getting spiritual glimpses and encounters with the living Christ as we “look to Him” in the Word and prayer? Or are the weights of the world and sin blurring our spiritual eyesight that we go days, weeks, months, maybe years, not having those “habitual” and refreshing times of seeing Christ’s glory in our souls? Think for a moment. Are we meeting with God regularly in His Word and prayer? We might ask, “How would we know?” A couple of ways.

First, humility and holiness are developing within us. The more we experience Christ, the less we think and focus on ourselves. Humility draws attention onto others and Christ. Pride draws attention to ourselves with constant cries of, “me, my, and mine.” And pride is only dealt with by gazing upon Christ’s loving, sin-destroying, and holy Person.

Another sign we are regularly meeting with God is a growing detachment from the world. We long for heaven more as we invest more of ourselves in spiritual things over worldly things. Now, here is the lesson in today’s nugget. We fail often in the pursuit of gazing upon Christ. Failure seems more our normal practice than spiritual success. The things of the world, the busyness of life, steal away sacred times of seeking and seeing the Lord. And in the end, we feel like spiritual failures. Well, don’t be discouraged. Our Puritan pastor of the day, Thomas Goodwin, offers some encouraging words about us spiritual failures; words which show us the mercy of God and help us see failure does not define us.

Goodwin writes, “No sins before, and I may add to it, nor yet after conversion, can hinder God’s free grace from using men (and women) in the highest employments in the church, but magnify it the more. David, after his adultery, was a penman of scripture; Psalms. Solomon, after his fall, of Ecclesiastes. Peter, after his conversion, denied Christ with oaths and curses, is a chief apostle, and converts three thousand fifty days after with the same mouth he had denied Christ. And Paul, after he had been a blasphemer was made an apostle.” God has said, “And I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 10:17). He also said, “I have removed their sins as far as this east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). Try to “connect” those dots. We cannot. The east and west never meet and neither will our sins in the eyes of our God. What God chooses not to remember and has removed from us, we must fight to do likewise; not remember past failures and not continue in past failures. Yes, the devil and conscience accuses us, but we are overcomers of both through Christ. If we are not seeing Christ regularly in prayer and the Word due to willful neglect, busyness or sin, don’t let those failures keep you down. Failure doesn’t define us. It should refine us and that for the glory of the God of all grace who takes our failures and uses them for our good and His purposes.

PRAYER: “Father, please show me Your desire and my need to be intimately involved in the lives of other Christians.”

QUOTE: “Go alone in the Christian life and you are on your way to becoming lukewarm and worldly.”