Coming Alive in Conviction

Conviction versus condemnation.

It’s so easy for us to get these two things confused.  
When a building is condemned, it means it is deemed un-useful, unsafe, falling apart– dangerous, not good for a place to be inhabited.  

Satan is a liar.  And He loves to lie to us and make us feel condemned when we sin.  His words whisper things like:   because you did this, you are unsafe, un-usefull, falling apart, dangerous, not good.

With these voices of condemnation– we get stuck.
We miss grace.
And often we  become like the Pharisees, wanting to work so hard to “look good” .  I have been reading about the Pharisees in Matthew and Jesus said about them– they clean the outside of their cups and forget about the inside.

I thought of that this morning — as I had obviously missed a few spots inside my coffee cup.  There was some leftover coffee stain– but don’t worry if you come over and enjoy a stout cup of coffee with me ( I make it stttrongggg) I will make sure the  inside and outside are clean.

It’s so easy to get stuck in the voices of condemnation.  And then use Pharisee like good deeds to try to fix things.  Be the good religious girl.

All the while missing what Jesus can do  on the inside.
See the difference in condemnation and conviction is condemnation brings death– conviction brings life.  

It brings life to our souls because we can ask Jesus to come in and clean it all up.
To inhabit us.
To make us safe.
Useful.
Beautiful.
Inside and out.

When God speaks to our sin, it is out of a desire for us to be free.  Safe. Whole. and Holy.

Condemnation says :  you are defined by your sin, you cannot be loved because of your sin, you are worthless because of your sin.
Conviction says:  you can be free and redeemed from your sin, you are already loved, and you are of great enough worth that I sent my son to set you free from your sin.

Glory.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now NO condemnation for those in Christ Jesus  

Linking today with http://www.holleygerth.com  and 
http://www.kristinhilltaylor.com  be sure to check them out 


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5 Comments

  1. Hey there! Saw your smiling face on 3 Word Wed and stopped by to say hi! Hope all your writing endeavors are going well and that you are well. Enjoyed meeting you at BRMCWC last spring! Loved this post.

  2. Just loved your words here, Jenn. You gave condemnation and the lies that accompany it a new visual and perspective for me. Such an important message for us girls too because we can fall prey to those lies and fail to see past them and ask God to do the cleansing work of conviction – which is so much sweeter bathed in grace and His tender love. So blessed to have been your downstairs neighbor at Kristin’s.