So there you are, all shiny with the spirit of God residing in you. And you are feeling so energized spiritually that you can power the world. At some point you are probably thinking to yourself, “hey I’ve got this Christian thing down.” You are the shining example of Christianity. You have become the focal point of your fellow church goers. What could possibly go wrong?

Then it happens. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. You fall down. You sin. Now you are caught up in a myriad of emotions as the rollercoaster ride sends you careening into the spiritual abyss.

Now you begin to question your faith, and maybe your ability to maintain your belief. You ask yourself, how could I have fallen so easily. You tell yourself that God is going to be so disappointed in you when he finds out what you did. Now, you feel like you have to start all over again from the very beginning. How could God ever trust me; how could he love me after I have let him down.

If you have ever felt this way in your spiritual walk, trust me, you are not alone. Any seasoned believer will tell you that you will have these types of episodes again, and again, until you realize just how salvation works. Maybe one of the best things that they will ever tell you is that the guilt that you are feeling is actually the Holy Spirit at work in you. Did you just frown? Did you just get a confused look on your face? Are you a little bewildered? Good, then you are in the right place.

God knew the moment that you surrendered your life to him that you were going to stumble and fall, and that’s okay with him. He has joined you with his Spirit so that in times like these you will have an advocate to help you right the ship.

Proverbs 24:16 tells us “For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.” Now understand that the seven times is just an example; we are not limited to just seven mistakes in our lives after God saves us and cleans us up. The writer is letting us know that his mercy is beyond out understanding, and even when we don’t pardon ourselves; God has already, and he wants you to stand up, dust yourself off, and get back into the fight.

You may be asking yourself; “why would God do that for me; I would not even do that for myself.” And you have your answer.

Understand that God’s mind is far superior to ours, and his thinking transcends all human understanding. Where we don’t see forgiveness and mercy; he does. It is echoed throughout the scriptures how wonderful his merciful side is.

Now that we understand this about our Heavenly Father, it would be only logical for us to think that his children would follow suit right? Yeah, and not so much. You see, there are believers, and there are deceivers. The deceivers will be in your amen corner until they find the right moment to pounce on you and crucify you spiritually. What am I talking about?

Those that I speak of, I like calling them the “Sin Police” or “Sin Patrol.” These are the people who go to church and look for prey. Look for a fallen believer so that they can pluck at them in their fallen state like vultures on the side of the road. If you thought the guilt that you felt was bad on a personal level, think again. These people believe that you need outside help in order to feel worse. They want you to be less secure in who you thought that you were in Christ. Instead of helping you stand to your feet, they are the ones who plant the proverbial boot on your chest and scoff at you until either you fight back, or you die spiritually.

Your sins have been repented of, yet they keep photos of what you have done wrong, and bring them out at every available gathering and opportunity. They are there to keep a disturbance in your spirit so that you cannot grow properly. Now you are walking with a spiritual limp because of these “pew dwellers.” These people are Satan’s “double-agents.”

These agents want to keep you ineffective and feeling unwanted and unforgiven…”by their standards,” not by God’s. These people love beating you down with their own self-righteousness and not the uplift you with the righteousness of the Holy Father. If you allow it to go unchecked, it will turn out to be more painful and tormenting than if you had just dealt with the Father on your own and let him send you the right children to help you heal and stand. Look out for the sin police in your church, and remember that your Heavenly Father is not as cruel and mankind when it comes to judging you and your shortcomings. We repent, and God is done with it. With mankind, we will tap dance into eternity to the same lamentable tune if we allow them to do that to us. God bless you!