Originally published Monday, 08 July 2013.
The world loves to boost a person's self-esteem:
"You are not a failure--don't say that!"
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you."
"You can do it--just believe in yourself."
The truth is, despite good intentions, all of these mood-boosting statements are false. There is something terribly wrong with us all. How is this possible? Read Psalm 24: "Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false..." (v.3-4).
Clean hands and a pure heart? If those are the requirements for standing before the Lord, then I have already failed! It seems that, no matter how hard we try, none of us will ever be righteous enough to stand before God's glory.
But herein lies the magnificent beauty of grace! Praise God for Jesus Christ, who lived the perfect life that we could not live ourselves. Who died the perfect death. Who rose to eternity. Who exchanged his perfect righteousness for our sins!
Jesus Christ is the one who has clean hands and a pure heart--and it is only because of Him that we can stand before the Father and know Him personally. Hallelujah!
Our so-called "self-esteem" is transformed to God-confidence! Let's walk in this today.
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