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Must I Change to be Accepted by God?
By Sue Cameron
Guest Writer
CBN.com –
If you think you have to ‘clean up’ in order to come to God, think again. No one is or will ever be good enough. No matter how hard we try, none of us can ever be good enough to deserve His love and mercy—because He gives it freely.
We might look good on the outside and even say the right words, but we can’t really clean ourselves up on the inside, and that’s what really counts. The Lord God sees our hearts. He knows our every thought, hears our every careless word, and understands our every motive behind each action. So, even when others think what we’re doing is good or honorable, the Lord really knows the truth of why we do what we do. We all fall short (Romans 3:23).
This may sound hopeless, but it’s really good news because all you need to come to God is to believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
We are born with an incurable disease called sin. It’s inside us, in our genes, in the way we think, in our actions and attitudes. It will remain as long as we live apart from God’s forgiveness. There is no ointment or shot, no treatment or medicine, that will get rid of this deadly condition.
Some people spend their whole lives trying to convince themselves and God that they have not been infected with this human epidemic. That is tragic because such people will never seek a cure for what’s killing them.
The first step in the process of being made well is to admit that you are sick. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17).
So, if you’re ready to admit that sin is a problem and that it’s your problem, you are ready to come to the One who can cure you. All it takes is for you to come to Jesus and ask Him to take it away. It’s really simple. Just say, “Jesus, please take away my sins.” He’ll do it. In fact, He’s waiting for you to come to Him.
There are some who will refuse to ask Jesus to make them clean and to forgive their sins, while others gratefully make this request. Yet He’s waiting for each one to come to Him. Only those who ask receive forgiveness and healing. They become whole and pure.
Jesus is the only One who can do this for you, and that’s why trying to clean up before you come to Him doesn’t work.
There is a song that says, “Just as I am, I come, I come,” and that is exactly what is required. The Lord isn’t looking for those who trust in their own goodness and think, “I’ve done more good than bad, so God should let me into heaven.” He wants you as you are, right now, with your sin. He gladly welcomes anyone who is willing to come to Him with his or her need.
So why not come to Jesus, right now? Don’t bother trying to clean up first.
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