Romans 3:23

• My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 1 John 2:1
• For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23

In speaking with different Christians, I've realized that we can be really hard on ourselves when we sin. Some of us feel like we've totally lost our connection to Jesus because we had a lustful thought, or maybe we said something we shouldn't have or maybe even had a drink (or two). I am not condoning sin, by any means, but I am realistic to know and believe Romans 3:23. So often, we forget that we can go straight to our Father when we sin and ask for forgiveness. However, it doesn't stop there. Here are some things we must all do to change the way we look at our connection to Christ and His Spirit of mercy, grace and forgiveness:

1. Ask Jesus for Forgiveness - He will not judge you or think poorly of you; He just wants you to come to Him.
2. Repent - To repent means to turn away from that sin. We can't keep sinning and think it's ok; we have to really put it down
3. Keep your Line of Communication Open - When we are struggling with sin, we have to pray and ask God to completely remove it. We have to be honest with Him and tell Him about our desires and temptations

Let's try not to beat ourselves up...acknowledging the sin and giving it to God is how we move forward, grow and change!

Change Your Mind, Change Your Life!