Weekly Devotional: Gems from Pastor Jim 2/5/2024

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by Jim Hughes

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Cross

Ps. 103:10 He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve.

Growing up, I did not like it when I was punished for things I did wrong. My dad was from the old school and was not afraid to punish his children. Back then, timeouts were unknown. My dad had a belt and he knew how to use it. I didn’t like it, but I did learn to respect it. I didn’t get punished every time I deserved it, and I am glad for that. I also was punished for some things dad thought I did which I didn’t do. I do have to admit that I deserved much of the discipline I received.

I am so thankful that our Heavenly Father does not punish us for when we sin as we deserve it. If He did, none of us would survive childhood. We all sin and deserve to die in our sins. But God is merciful, just, and has great compassion for us. He provided for the Israelites the sacrificial system whereby their sins could be atoned for, and for us He provided the cross where we can find forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross so that we would not get the punishment we deserve. As children of God, we are given mercy when we sin. Jesus took our punishment upon himself.

Now, don’t get the idea that we have a free ride when we sin. Sinning always has consequences. The Lord does not pretend we don’t sin. He allows us to live with the choices we make. We may not have a death sentence hanging over our heads, but we do have painful consequences we have to live with. Sometimes our health suffers. For others, life is very difficult. For others, memories won’t go away. For some, others bear the pain of our sins. Sin also has immediate consequences; it keeps us away from God. There is a broken fellowship with God when we harbor sin and it cannot be fixed except through repentance.

Jesus came to deal with our sin problem. He came so that we can live with God in spite of our sin. He came to make us righteous and holy before God. He came so that we can live in victory over our sin choices, in spite of the harm they may have caused us or others in the past.

I am so thankful today for God’s mercy, patience, and love towards me. I am so thankful for Jesus, who is my righteousness and holiness before God.

About the Author:

Jim Hughes

Spending his formative years in Ft. Wayne, IN, Jim followed the love of his life to southeast Iowa where they married and have spent the majority of their lives. Jim has pastored several churches throughout his life and has worked many years in local factories to help support his family. The father of two married adult children and one son still at home, Jim is a first-time author.

C Through Marriage came into being through many years of pastoral and life experiences. The book first took on a life of its own over 20 years ago when I sought to address the much publicized moral failures of prominent leaders in the church. In the chapter on Chasity, I include the guideliness that I developed then to protect one’s self from such failures.

I am a firm believer in order to make sense out of life you have to use much common sense. We need to get back to the basics of what has worked for many, many generations. If is isn’t broke, why try to fix it? I strive to return to the basics of what really works in all my writings.

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