This year I won “Best Teen Blogger” at the Tribe Of Influencer’s ZimBlog Awards for the second time in a row! I was also looking forward to sharing more posts about God, I have a whole category, “God and Growth”. 2021 was meant to be my best blogging year yet: I had no school to worry about (until November)

I had a perfect hundred-and-something day streak on the YouVersion Bible App. My Bible study journal was getting thicker – with pages and pages of notes and bits of commentary from the Internet. (Enduring Word and The Bible Project are really great places to start) There wasn’t a single secular song in my phone, remember when I uploaded “You Might Wanna Clear Your Playlist- Here’s Why” I was quite happy with my prayer quota – and when I fell – I thought “Well, I’ll be!”

Somewhere along the lines, I backslid, getting back on my feet again was quite the challenge. I was flogged by self-condemnation, “How dare I talk about God, I have made far too many mistakes”

I really felt ashamed, I had highlighted the dangers of secular music and a couple of months later, gone back to listening to it.

via GIPHY

How would I even begin to get into good books with God again – all my fine work!

That is such a huge deception, thinking our actions and efforts make us right with God, dear Christian it’s not about you and what you’re able to do- that save you.

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 

Galatians 3:1-3

Remember this quote

You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary.

Jonathan Edwards

Why should I feel condemned, why should you feel condemned?

 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1

Remember it is not about you and your mistakes or how well you did on a particular day. What gives us boldness and confidence when we approach God?

Hebrews 10:19-23

Therefore brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from all evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

Collosians 1:19-22

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile himself all things, whether in earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him.

God reconciled us to himself. He went out of his way to make sure we can have a relationship with Him. Us wretched, depraved humans and a HOLY God. The blood of Jesus makes us holy and blameless before God.

God did not consult us when He made a plan to save us, while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8), dead in our trespasses (Ephesians 2:5) made us alive in Christ. There is no way we can “cover the difference”, we cannot contribute anything at all.

Salvation is free-ninety nine. Jesus paid the ultimate price. Once and for all! I encourage you to pray, to fast and read the word but be wary of falling into the trap of believing that your efforts reconciled you to God. That is how you can feel so condemned for missing a day of reading the word, you feel like less of a Christian because you think your salvation is dependent on how many things you “do right”

Christ did not die in vain, the righteous shall live by faith, by trying to earn your salvation you’re exhibiting a lack of faith in the reality that “IT IS FINISHED” (John 20:30)

Ours is to abide, surrender, obey, DIE TO OURSELVES. It really is not about us, we ought to get rid of “us” and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh” (Romans 13:14)

In all our addresses to God we must desire that we would look upon the face of Christ, accept us for his sake, and be well pleased with us in him. We must look with an eye of faith, and then God will with an eye of favour look upon the face of the anointed, who does show his face when we without him dare not show ours.