BBD 09.12.13 Falling Short (Classic)
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>
Visit the
Burning Bush websites:
The
Burning Bush websites have received visits from more than 170 countries. Celebrating
15 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush
Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 14,000
subscribers across the world.
You can
leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.
There is
a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top left hand corner of
all of the pages.
The Burning Bush Devotional
14,000 Subscribers
to the Email Devotional
Classic from 2006
09.12.13
Falling Short
For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all. - James 2:10.
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is
sin. - James 4:17.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23.
But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If
we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. - 1 John 1:7-9.
The headline from London today (01.23.06) is that “Rescuers fall short in saving errant whale.” I watched yesterday on the news, as efforts were
underway to rescue the bottlenose whale that had gotten lost and swam up the
Thames River. The whale was large being 18 feet long with a weight of about
four tons although that may not be so large for a whale. The whale may have
gotten off course because of being ill. Attempts were made to turn the whale
around but they all failed. Finally, it was decided to put the whale on a barge
to take it back to the sea. Sadly, the stress on the whale’s internal organs
caused it to die before making it back into the water. Silvia Mazzola who watched as the
rescue was attempted said, “Yesterday,
it was a carnival mood, but today it was a bit sad. It felt like a funeral on
the river.”
The effort of the rescuers to save the whale and the
ultimate failure is a picture of humanity’s efforts to save themselves
spiritually. Sadly, it cannot be done although many have tried. Man thinks if I
can keep the Law perfectly then I will be safe. If I can avoid all sin, I will be
saved. If I can do more good things than bad things then I will be saved. James
points out how impossible this is by saying, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is
guilty of all.” He also says, “…to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”
I have had it explained to me that it is like an archer
shooting arrows at a target. Each arrow falls a little short. The arrows almost
make it but almost does not a bullseye make. Unless the target is hit, it is a
failure and the arrows have fallen short. The rescue attempts of the whale all
fell short. It was a good try, many good tries, but the whale still died. It is
the same spiritually for us. We may make many good tries, our arrows may come
close to hitting the mark but they still fall short. Tell one little white lie.
Fail to do one good thing that we know we should have done. It just takes one
little tiny sin to fall short.
Of course, some people try to deceive themselves and say,
“Oh, I am perfect and I have never, ever
committed any kind of sin.” What does
the Bible have to say about that person? “If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” If we could have saved ourselves, there would have been
no need for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. If there had been any other
way Jesus would not have come down from the glories of Heaven to suffer and die
for us. Jesus is the only way (John 14:6). He is the only One who has ever lived a perfect life,
tempted at all points yet without sin (Hebrews
4:15) so that He could be the perfect sacrifice.
As Peter tells us, “For Christ also suffered
once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being
put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit (1 Peter 3:18).”
Copyright © 2006-2013. Ed Wrather.
The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8,
1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed
Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of these
first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to
prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.
Ed Wrather has retired from
pastoring full-time and has more time to pursue other ministry opportunities.
No matter what the size your church, Ed will come on a love offering basis for
a revival or to share his testimony in the continental United States. You can
make contact at edwrather@yahoo.com or theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com
View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105
Prayer Requests: Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of
prayer - please pray for me.).
Please join the Burning Bush Prayer Group.
The group began in 1998 and is made up of over 300 prayer warriors. Send prayer requests and receive prayer
requests. To join send an email to: bbpg-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may
subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org
There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/33.html.
You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo
devotional group by sending a blank email to
burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the confirmation email.
You may
subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is
only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to
burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank
email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond to the
confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.
--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org