Encountering the Lamb of GodIhe Atụ

The Futility of Trying to Keep the Rules to Be Right with God

In the months before my encounter with Jesus, I was falling into a pit of despair because I was trying to be a Christian but couldn’t get it right. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that even what we thought counted and our righteousness had to surpass that of the meticulous Pharisees. I had wholeheartedly committed my life to Jesus and set out to live as good a life as possible, but I just had a sense of always falling short and felt condemned because I could not please God with my efforts.

Are you living under a sense of guilt and condemnation because you cannot keep the rules—wanting to do good but not being able to?

Write down the things that make you feel guilty and ashamed. Choose to surrender them to Jesus today. Tear up that piece of paper and throw it away.

Prayer

Thank you, Jesus, that it doesn’t depend on me getting it right all the time but on your Sacrifice for me so that I can be forgiven and have a new life in you.