Romans 3:10 As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

      I was asked how I have stayed afloat and upright throughout my years of walking with the Lord. I said, “Well, first of all, I am not a sinless man, but I have learned to repent as soon as I sense I have missed the mark God has set for me, or the Holy Spirit has made it clear I need to repent.” Anyone who has had a long life of walking with, and being in a relationship with God, has learned the importance of repentance and obedience to the Word of the Lord. Those who walk uprightly before their God have found that forgiving oneself after God has forgiven them is also an attribute of blessing that is needed to stay close to our Heavenly Father. If God says I am righteous through His Son, then I am. Our full reliance on the blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross is the only way anyone will live a long life of walking in the righteousness God gave us. 2Cor. 5:21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

      The Lord has invited us to come and sit with Him on His throne. This invitation is for those who overcome the struggles of life through Christ and are walking circumspect in His presence. Rev. 3:21 To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. It does not say, “To those who have never sinned will I grant the right.” It says, “To those who overcome, I will grant the right.” There had to have been something to overcome to be able to be in that category. Who are you? I am an overcomer! I have overcome the sins of my past and the struggles of the day by pleading the cleansing blood of my Saviour Jesus. I have overcome the temptations of the devil and returned with the armour of my God taking what Satan has stolen from me. I have prayed through the difficulties of disease with a song of praise for God in my heart. With the help and restoration of the Holy Spirit, prayerful intercession was given for those who had lost battles with the principalities and powers of darkness. The Holy Spirit restored the wisdom of the Holy into their hearts. Yes, with the Lord’s grace, we are overcomers!

      Those who are spiritually battle-scarred and battle-ready are not sinless people. They are the saints of the Lord who got back up after a deception had slipped into their hearts, but when noticed it was repented of. Prov. 24:16 For though a righteous man may fall seven times, he still gets up; but the wicked stumble in bad times. They are the ones who when discouraged and ready to give up, called upon the saving grace of the Lord to give them the fortitude needed to face and encourage themselves as someone in need of the most high Saviour. Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: And he delighteth in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: For the LORD upholds him with his hand. These are the saints whose steps are in step with the Lord’s plan for their lives. These people are not sinless souls, they are those who believe in the forgiveness that belongs to them through the sacrificial gift that Jesus gave them.

      Happy and joyful are the Christians who recognize they have had their sins washed away and have been made righteous before God. The mercies and grace that our Loving Father has lavished on us have given us the oil of gladness that permeates into the soul of our being. Psalm 32:1b Happy are those whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. There is nowhere else in the universe where this cleansing can happen except at the throne of God. The Lord’s gift of salvation has given us the way to be clean and righteous even though we fall along the way. John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

      Restoration is God’s idea and we need to get with the program. Like many of you, I am not a sinless man, I am a forgiven man whom the Lord has granted amazing grace to be restored into an eternal relationship with the Almighty God. How can anyone but God have made this possible? If you have fallen into a life of misery and repetitive sinfulness, then there is no joy or happiness taking place in your life. Those attributes of righteousness have been forfeited until you repent and take the steps to come home to our Heavenly Father. The mercies of God are new every morning. He is waiting for you to take the first step of calling upon Him for help. James 4:8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. God will draw close to you and help you take the next step, but you have to want to take that step. I pray that we all take the next step toward what God is asking of us, so that our joy may be full. Amen!