It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2026 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into the new year and I have already made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

Love and Regret

 

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2024 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

Love and Regret

 

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

Love and Regret

 

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2022 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

Love and Regret

 For godly grief and the pain God is permitted to direct, produce a repentance that leads and contributes to salvation and deliverance from evil, and it never brings regret; but worldly grief is deadly.  2 Corinthians 7:10

Can you recall something hurtful that you have said to someone else that you wish you could take back?  Sure, we all do, but some of us continue to let regret rob us of all of our joy.

There are certainly some things I wish that I could have said or done differently. But there is no sense in becoming burdened with regret over something I have absolutely no power to change.

God will always warn us prior to making a mistake or saying something hurtful so that we can change our mind before we actually make the mistake.  The enemy waits until after we have already made the mistake, long after it's too late, to heap condemnation and regret on us after there is nothing we can do about it any longer.

We must not let the enemy steal our joy any longer.  We must ask God for forgiveness and then leave our regrets in the past.

It's A Mistake

 

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2022 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am a human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, sometimes daily...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2021 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, daily it seems...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2020 and I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, daily it seems...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into 2018, I have made my first big mistake at work for the new year.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, it seems...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into this new year and I have made my first big mistake at work in 2017.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, it seems...

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

My Favorite Mistake

He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Proverbs 2:8

If I had a dollar for every instance that I asked our sons to make “wiser decisions,”  I’d be a rich man.  Then again,  if my parents had a dollar for every time they asked me to make a “wise decision,” they would be millionaires.  Most of us make mistakes because we simply do not know the correct choice or decision to make.

No one sets out to make mistakes, we just make them when we are careless regarding the needs or desires of others and when we don’t take into consideration all of the factors we need to consider.

The only way to make sure we stay on the right path is by seeking God’s wisdom.  He will always lead us to make the right decisions- wise decisions, that are not just good for ourselves, but all others involved.   Praise be to His holy name!!  

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into this new year and I have made my first big mistake at work in 2016.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, it seems.

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."  Matthew 9:11-13

With only a couple of weeks into this new year and I have made my first big mistake at work in 2015.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; in fact, I make a lot of them; all of the time, it seems.

One of the most common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that while we are all forgiven, we all  still have many shortcomings.

Salvation through Christ doesn't change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a facade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.

Pure

Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth!  Grant me purity of heart, so that I may honor you.  Psalm 86:11

We received quite a bit of citrus fruit for Christmas and in my humbled opinion, there is no better way to start the morning than with a fresh grapefruit or a seedless orange for breakfast.  We left an over-ripened banana on the counter near some of the oranges and grapefruit, and a few days later, some of the fruit had spoiled when we came back from all of our holiday travels.

Sin works in our lives much the same and just like bad fruit, it doesn't take much to spoil the whole bunch.  The good news is that Jesus’ death on the cross served as an atonement for our sins-past, present, and future.  When we accept His love offering, we are made clean and pure again in God’s eyes.  Keep in mind, that this is something we simply couldn't accomplish on our own.

When you humbly ask God to forgive you, he removes the contamination of your sin and purifies you once again!

Evil Urges

I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  Romans 7: 15-18

If I had a dollar for every time I used "the devil made me do it" as an excuse for my poor choice of actions, I'd be a rich man.  Of course, it sounds like a valid excuse, but ultimately, we are the only ones responsible for our own actions.

We cannot use the power of sin or Satan as an excuse because both have been defeated by Christ.  When we refuse Christ's help to resist temptations, sin is stronger than we are and we may find ourselves defenseless against an attack.  This is why we should never try to stand up to sin alone, but depend on Christ who has conquered sin once and for all.

When we tap into His never ending power and strength, we can stand tall and not give into our temptations and the sins that so easily entangle us.  

It's A Mistake

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners ?"  But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. "But go and learn what this means : 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT SACRIFICE,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Matthew 9:11-13

It was only a matter of time in this new year, but I have made my first mistake at work in 2012.  I am certainly not proud or boasting here, just accepting the fact that I am only human and do make mistakes; a lot of them. 

There is a common misconception about Christians in that all believers should be perfect.  Many of us go to extremes to pretend that we have every facet of our lives in order, but the truth is that we all have many shortcomings. 

Salvation through Christ doesn’t change the fact that sin is still present in our lives.  When we become believers, God forgives us and sees as righteous.  We must continue to renew ourselves and fight the ongoing battle against sin while we are on this earth.

We must be careful not to put up a façade and cover up our shortcomings so that we appear to be “good Christians” to the outside world.  Instead, we must recognize and confess to God, our sinfulness, so that we can be forgiven when we do screw up and fall short of his glory.