On a more serious note than what you may have received in the past from me, is a burden on my heart for some of the things that I see in "the church" that have touched us here at CRC as guests have come. For the most part our hearts are filled with joy to see the amazing things that people are doing out of their love and obedience for God. Many of you are on the frontlines and are standing for God's truth and leading people to Christ. We rejoice with you and want to encourage you, but many of you are also weighed down with the compromise that you see around you coming from your own brothers and sisters in Christ and it is for this purpose that I write. You are not alone. It is discouraging when you share the truth with a "Christian" of how we ought to live as Followers of Jesus and they have no desire to hear it or obey. I mean, you expect that from non-believers, but Christians? Not only that, but they say that you are "judging them".  Are you judging them? After all, Jeremiah 29:11 says, 'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'  God has hope for us, not judgment right?

All of us want to hear good news from the Lord. So did Israel when they were in exile in Babylon after they had been taken from Jerusalem. And, many prophets dreamed many dreams of peace for them, but God told them in verse 7, 'And seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf; for in its welfare you will have welfare.' What? What is this about exile? God says this because He is not taking them out of their exile, even though He has good plans for them in the future, like it says in verse eleven. God wasn't going to take them out of the fixes that He had put them in because of their rebellion, but at a set time in the future he would deliver them. For the time being, though, He wanted them to pray for the place that He had sent them into exile.

I think that it may be the same for many of us, myself included, that God may not necessarily take us out of all of our difficult situations right now, even though ultimately He has planned good for us when we repent. Why? Doesn't He love us? I think for the same reasons why He didn't for Israel...there are consequences to sin. And because He loves us He doesn't just fix everything in a day. He wants us to learn to be faithful, to be grateful, to be obedient and to learn to love in the midst of the turmoil that we have caused not only ourselves, but those around us.

I am not saying that in God's mercy He won't, for example, give a person grace by taking away the craving for smoking. He may even supernaturally heal a person from lung cancer  that may have even been a natural consequence of smoking, but we cannot assume that God has to or will. God owes us nothing. God may even deliver someone of a lustful spirit and even restore a family that has been broken up by that lust. But, what I see in the Bible is that fallout from sin can sometimes have generational effects. Yes, God's mercies are new every morning and He forgives us of sin when we truly repent, but many times, just like with King David who had a "heart after God", there are consequences.

Some may say, "Well, that was the Old Testament? We don't have to suffer the consequences under the New Testament." What I would like to say is, "Show me where it says that." Many people also miss, in the New Testament, that after Jesus has forgiven someone He also desires them to stop the sin that they are in. What I am seeing today, is that numerous people think that God forgives our sin even as we are walking in it and not repenting, or turning from it, and even when we don't have a plan to do so. I encourage you to read 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

Dear Friend, if you are walking in sin right now I want to encourage you to humbly turn from it. God longs to forgive and restore your relationship with Him... but He will not tolerate you staying in your sin. He forgives you in order to set you free from its bondage, not so that you can stay in it without guilt. And, for those of you who are in "exile" right now because of the consequences of sin, I want to encourage you to not be discouraged, but to have courage and accept the chastening of the Lord (Hebrews 12:4-13).

There is hope! Don't run around though and try to find someone who will tell you to escape the pain because it is of the devil, not that the devil doesn't inflict pain, he does...(just go back to your sin after being set free and you will see him have a hay day with that).

The other day I heard a preacher talk on and on of how God wants to bring a Revival and another Great Awakening, but what I didn't hear him say once was that we needed to repent and be sorrowful for our sin and I actually don't remember him saying much about prayer. He shared it more like it was the lottery that we had just won.

My heart is grieved and I ask us all to turn from those things that so easily entangle us and to run to God with all that we have and all that we are so that He may rejoice over us once again and shower us with His life. Sin may seem fun for the moment, but its fruit holds deadly consequences.

"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

As you die to your sin this Easter season, may you also be filled the same joy as the Jews had on that Passover day, so many years ago, when God saw the blood on their doorposts and death passed them by. May you also be filled with the same elation as the disciples were when they saw Jesus raised from the dead which brought resurrection power to all of us being raised to new life in Him.

Happy Easter!!

Julie

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