Dwell where you dwell...

Proverbs 2:21 For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it.

To be blameless, we all know what blame is and we know what being blameless is based on the definition for blame, however, can we ever really be blameless? Stop and thing for a second, when was the last time you were blameless? When was the last time God looked down at you and said, "Wow you are so perfectly blameless, I have no reason to think you have even a hint of sin." Yeah me neither. I think on a daily basis all of us at some point or another have a flub, a moment of weakness, a time at which we drop the ball.

Whatever the miss, lets face it, none of us will ever really be blameless. There was only one blameless man in all of history and thank God for Him, because it was His blameless life that got me to look blameless before God. "Wait but you just said we aren't blameless before God?" I know, however, when we are covered in the blood of Christ, we are blameless. The bible says we have on us Christ's righteousness. Though our own righteousness is as filthy garments before God, He chooses to replace our nasty garments and give us those of His son so that we can stand before a holy God and be in relationship with Him.

Sounds basic I know, but let it sink in. I think a lot of us (myself included) have this tendency to sell ourselves short. We tend to sometimes get so consumed in a screw up, whether it be our past or our present, sometimes we tend to dwell on something we shouldn't. Rather than forgetting those things which are behind me and pressing on, we sit and dwell, and dwell, and dwell and before you know it, the good land in which you once were going to dwell in or were dwelling in seems off because you lost sight of Him.

You miss out on what God is doing for you this very day when you do that. The verse says the upright will dwell in the land and the blameless will remain in it. I know there is no way any of us will ever be blameless, but by His grace, we are. In God's eyes we are more than conquerors. Of course it has nothing to do with us and everthing to do with what He already did, but the fact is, we won. Don't be so hard on yourself and think you have been in some way disqualified simply because of your past or because of some mistake you made last week.

I read a blog by John Acuff not to long ago (he is really good) and in it he said something that hasn't left me to this day. I don't remember the quote but it went something like this: There is no such thing as the best Christian. I think this whole idea of best Christian is something the devil made up and uses to discourage us on a constant basis. Every one doubts, everyone worries, everyone sins, everyone messes up, everyone falls short.

I agree with him. Don't let the picture of the holiest saint with a halo over your head keep you from pressing on. The past is exactly that, the past. No, you'll never be blameless, but recognizing that you won't be is the first step. Just ask Jesus, it is no wonder of all the phrases to start His earthly ministry, He began with the words: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven." (Matt 5:3)

"The bedrock in Jesus Christ's Kingdom is poverty, not possession, not decisions for Christ, rather absolute futility - ' I cannot begin to do it', then He says 'Blessed are you." - Chambers