Truth - Part 2

Jacob and Esau.
Do you know the story of these two twin brothers?
Jacob was the younger of the two. Esau came out of his mother's womb first, making him the eldest. However when it came time for Isaac (their father) to give the birthright to Esau, Jacob deceived his own father into giving him the birthright that was truly Esau's.

I think I did a poor job of telling that story, but the short version is that Jacob was a deceiver. Jacob's name actually means "heel grabber" because he came out of his mother's womb clutching Esau's heel and it also means "deceiver."

Later in the Old Testament, Jacob figures out how foolish he was. Jacob is then given a new name (a recurring theme in the Bible). He is renamed "Israel." Which is a big deal considering God's chosen nation ends up being named after him...

My whole point of this story:
I often lie to myself. Telling my mind that I'm right with God. Slamming the door on the Holy Spirit and just thinking to myself, "I'm a good kid." WAKE UP. If this is you, then you're so wrong. Being a good kid, where does that get you? And by what standards do you even consider yourself good?

That would be correct. You consider yourself good by the WORLD'S standards. These such standards are DRAMATICALLY different than God's. His bar is set so much higher than that of the world's. But I don't want to scare you. Yes, honestly, God's standards are scary. They're set high! But:
EVERYTHING is possible through Christ Jesus our Lord and Saviour. (Philippians 4:13)

Never give up hope. God is always right there for you. Pray to Him and tell Him what you're thinking. He'll hear you. Trust me.

God has been kicking my butt lately. I've been delusional lately thinking I'm right where I need to be. But there is ALWAYS room for improvement. I had been deceiving myself. I had been telling myself that everything was okay. This however was not and IS NOT the case.

However, just like Jacob got a new name, I can (and YOU can) get forgiveness for your shortcomings.