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“… and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall WHEN…” Ezekiel 33:12

This was a great reminder for me on my walk this morning. I just wrote the last part of the verse above. The whole thing says, “The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it.”

If I think I’m doing pretty well in life and have a good handle on this thing called Christianity I need to be careful because it can all come crashing down when I become so proud of my righteousness that I forget that my nature is still sinful and I’m still a sinner—a sinner saved by grace, NOT by my goodness or righteousness. Even if I think I’m pretty righteous I can still fall and disobey.

And the encouraging part for me today was the contrasting second part- “and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it.” I don’t care how bad I might feel I’m doing on this journey through life, or how much I might be currently walking away from Jesus, I still also have the freedom to turn from it.

Caution to the cocking Christian, and hope for the hurting human. I still have a choice; I’m not so good that I can’t fall, and I’m not so bad that I can’t turn from it. It’s my decision; it’s my call.

Have a great day of hope and caution wherever you are in your journey with Jesus,

Pastor Rich

Quote for the day: “Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions.” Fortune cookie

PS Operation Christmas Child is just round the corner and we’re looking for someone, or ones, who would like to help make it happen. If you’re not familiar with OCC it preparing shoeboxes with things for children who live in poverty-stricken or war-torn parts of the world. Last year Union College packed more than 250 boxes! Anyone want to help us break that record this year? If so contact Megan Fleming in Campus Ministries.