Living life for God requires focus and attention to details. God is not a god of chaos so the things he has planned for us have a specific order. Those plans have a designed purpose to put us in the right place at the right time to meet the right people to achieve his goals that will bring Him glory and cause the the expansion of His kingdom. It is in this process that we will find the greatest joy in our lives.

The problem for us is living through the process. Because we are naturally sinful in nature, we bring our sin into the process. God doesn't work with sin because he is holy and perfect. It's not in his nature to accept sin within his process because again, sin brings with it chaos and chaos would generate unnecessary pain and despair into our lives.

The good thing for us is that the existence of sin within our nature is not the end of our story. It's not a case of "Oh no, I sinned and now I'm no good for God's purpose or plan." In his inexplicable love for us, God has provided a plan for our redemption. From the beginning of time, God had the plan in place for our redemption by sacrificing a part of himself through the life & death of his only son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:11-12)

That single sacrifice of innocent human blood brought with it our ability to reach the Father in Heaven. God now had a way for us to walk with him in direct communication. His presence is now available to us through the mediator Jesus Christ. We no longer need human priests to communicate on our behalf because Jesus, the greatest High Priest, is there at the right hand of God making petitions on our behalf. He is sharing our worries, fears and concerns with God almighty. Whatever we need is available through the requests of Jesus if we just ask him (Matthew 7:7-11). We can simply ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins, turn away from those sinful practices, and receive forgiveness from God. It really is that simple.

So let's go back to the plans that God has for us. When we give our lives to Jesus, those plans are made known to us. Those plans are meant for the best results in our lives because God loves us and only wants what is best for us (Jeremiah 29:11). It is up to us to seek his will and be willing to actually do the things that God directs (James 1:22-24). If we fail to follow all the directions, we must ask God for forgiveness and boldly thank Jesus for the miracle of salvation that he has freely offered to all.

We can remember the lessons we learned from our mistakes but we can't focus our attention on them. After accepting the free, miraculous gift of salvation, our sins are forgiven and put away from God's eyes (1 John 5:11-15). Yes, their may be repercussions from our actions but our focus and our attention must be on the giver and not the gifts offered nor the repercussions of our own errors. God's gifts, both spiritual and material, come by his grace and are intended for his praise. Our success through the trials of life are only by his mercy. That, in itself, is enough cause to praise Him every day, every hour, and every minute of our lives.

With faith in Jesus, we can get back on God's path. I know it seems like I'm oversimplifying this but it is true to God's word. Maybe it's not easy, but it is that simple.

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twh