Strategies, formulas, don’ts and to-do lists are all focused on behavior modification. What is so dangerous about that is a person doesn’t have to have a relationship with God to apply these practices. If a person gets the steps down then, by all appearances, they are living a successful life built on Christian standards. If they are practicing the Christian moral code and have no spiritual wisdom, then what keeps them from overstepping their boundaries as brother in Christ into the more often seen self-righteous god complex? If you are maintaining your appearance by pure sweat and self-control, then no wonder you are abusive to others who aren’t as disciplined as you.

We like to have all the answers and there are too many questions that go unanswered when you start talking in plain language instead of watered down clichés from the church.

There are too many things that can’t be explained.

It’s hard to imagine a God that isn’t always joy, laughter, sunshine and full bellies. It’s hard to imagine a God within the dark so we only focus on God in the light. We only give credit to God when it’s peace and joy that we see.

Some of the reasons that we don’t have a right view of God or His activity are because our main focus is to convert as many people as possible to Christianity. If we were to tell a person who recently went through a tragedy that God allowed it in their lives, how would it make that person feel toward God? It’s too big of a risk. You don’t want people to be angry with God.

When you don’t acknowledge the fullness of whom God is then you leave huge holes in the faith system. It’s as though you need to protect Him from the opinions of others if they were to know how far He would go to show that He is God. You have this need to protect His unconventional ways from a people that think He should be more docile. You only talk about His blessings and His rewards to righteous living and personal sacrifice. If something goes wrong in another person’s life you either don’t have an answer or you blame them. Saying it’s because they are out of the ‘river’, out of His light, off His path, out of His will or diverted from His plan.

Why don’t you believe the Bible when it says that your will is secondary to His or when it says that He is in complete control over everything? Why do you give Satan or other human beings so much credit for the things as though God’s hands were tied? My answer is simple.

It requires too much faith.

It requires too much faith to believe that God is in control when your life feels so out of control. It requires too much faith to think that the calamity you find your self in could possibly be part of God’s plan for your life. It requires too much faith in the God, whom you know is good, to have any part of what doesn’t feel good. You have preconceived ideas that, if it were God’s way, then there would be no pain and no failure. It requires too much faith to believe that God would use both pain and failure to bring you to discover Him. That is, unless He already has. Accepting or rejecting doesn’t change the Truth. It changes you.

-quoted from chapter eleven of ‘Grace Is For Sinners’ If you would like to purchase your own copy of ‘Grace Is For Sinners’ you can do so here.

The following is an excerpt from my book, ‘Grace Is For Sinners.’

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We are all in different places at different times. Sometimes we can say that we are innocent and other times we can see where we’re the ones who do wrong. The danger with seeing yourself as the victim is becoming self righteous and vengeful when trying to preserve your life as you know it. When someone sins against you, it’s better for you to keep yourself open for more abuse.

I know that doesn’t make sense but, the power to do that comes from knowing that God can take care of you better than you can you can take care of yourself. You have to trust Him to do that. It’s a way to submit yourself to Him exactly like He asks. One common misconception that believers have is that God wouldn’t allow one of His beloved children to be beat up by some sinner, or wouldn’t let any evil motives near you. So, when you do fall prey to another’s sin you fail to see God’s hand molding you, therefore rejecting every aspect of the hardship that was dished out to you.

Your response to another’s sin against you has the potential to prolong the effects of the sin.

Go ahead and hate the sin but, do not equate the sin with the sinner. The sinner needs you to do the impossible and display the mercy, grace and love of God in order to conquer the evil. If you do not take every inhuman action to diminish the effects of the sin, then you carry out the evil that was intended by the Evil One. When God comes in to right the wrongs, He’ll have to ‘right’ you, too. When God sets you straight it hurts far worse than the pain from the sin against you. Reach out and love the unlovable, it’s the only way you can stay blameless.

This is your opportunity to ‘rejoice’ when others sin against you. You can identify with Jesus who went through unbelievable suffering. Jesus is no stranger to being the recipient of the deadly blow that sin delivers.

This is your opportunity to play Jesus and choke out a prayer that says, ‘Forgive them, Father.’ Welcome the sinner back and use the opportunity to show them how Jesus would treat them. The Bible says that good conquers evil. Put it to the test and worship while you watch divine love erase sin.

There is another misconception that, if you truly are a purely devoted follower of Christ, you will not be overcome by evil and carry out sin.

So, when you find yourself in that situation there is a tendency to feel so much shame that you want to give up. There are so many questions that arise and you ultimately question where God was and what your sin says about you.

My message to the sinner is simply this: You can believe Jesus when He says that He will forgive you over and over and over and over. There is nothing you can do that would make Him walk away from you. Others will and they’ll tell you that you couldn’t possibly be sorry enough. That is a direct contradiction to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and no matter who claims to be speaking for Him it is absolutely false and he is a fraud.

Don’t let your faith fail and, when you come back, use the lessons you have learned to strengthen others. Whether your life is being shifted by another’s sin or your own sin has brought you to a place of discovering God, there is hope because you are becoming someone that you could have never become otherwise.

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taken from chapter fifteen of ‘Grace Is For Sinners’ If you would like to purchase your own copy of ‘Grace Is For Sinners’ you can do so here.