I have been reading Ed Welch's book, When People are Big and God is Small for some time. It is one of the books that is taking time due to interruptions for studying for sermons and teachings. It is a great book and doing a deep work about how much we fear man instead of God.
Nevertheless, there is a great passage that I thought would serve well as a follow-up from this past Sunday's message "Jesus Loves Sinners." (I will post those notes later today). Read the following three paragraphs from Welch:
“When we listen to God after difficult self-examination, God reveals himself as the Welcoming One. No "I told you so." No time-outs in a spiritual isolation room. Instead, God rejoices that we have turned to him in a more wholehearted way. God promises the repentant person, "None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him" (Ezek. 18:22).
If you don't believe that, stop reading immediately. Don't say, "How could God forgive me for that!" (whatever that is). Don't think that God's forgiveness is a begrudging forgiveness and with that thought deny some of God's glorious love. And don't think that Gods promises are only for other people. If this is how you are thinking, you must realize that your own sins, no matter how big, are not bigger than God's pleasure in forgiveness.
This is a time when you must be controlled by the truth of God more than your own feelings. God's Word, not feelings, is our standard. To be driven by our fluctuating sense of well-being may seem spiritual, but it is wrong. It exalts our interpretation above God's. This is why it is so important to immediately turn to God after any biblically guided introspection. When we listen to God, he speaks words that fill an empty soul.
Ed Welch, When People are Big and God is Small 169-170
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