I never noticed how those two verses work in tandem.
John tells us (1 John 3)
If our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
A condemning heart? No problem. God is right and our heart is wrong.
A confident heart? Again -- no problem.
John isn't giving us a message of "Buck up and stop letting your heart condemn you, you pitiful weakling of a doubter." Quite the contrary. John says, "No matter how you feel, no matter what kind of accusations the devil hurls at you, Jesus' forgiveness takes care of it all and we are safe in Him."
It sure is great to have somebody who can point these things out to me ... even though it seems so obvious now that I wonder how I never saw it before.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Thank you for this....
ReplyDeleteAh, so you appreciated hearing it as much as I did. :-)
ReplyDeletePerfect timing, too! I put your post on an index card and have kept it close.
ReplyDeletePS These days, I really, really, really need folk to point things out to me, so I'm grateful when someone does!!
ReplyDeletePS 2 I keep coming back, again and again, to read this. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Myrtle. Jesus give you comfort in trial, and joy in the midst of suffering.
ReplyDeleteMyrtle, here's a post that I keep going back to, with the last section being what my pastor said during a very bleak time for me. Just wondering if you would find this as precious as I did.
ReplyDelete