In episode 177, “Flawed but Faithful”, we discuss the mindset shift that we are never disqualified from leading others to Christ because of sin. Forgiveness is final, and God can still use us to further His kingdom. We begin our book study mini series over Autumn Miles’ book, “I Am Rahab” in episode 172, and it goes through episode 187. Learn how Rahab’s story mirrors our lives of being touched by God and fully restored.
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Flawed but Faithful
In this week’s podcast episode, “Flawed but Faithful”, we focus on the part of Rahab’s story where she lies in order to save the Israelite spies. Yes, she sins by trying to help in the way she thinks she can. This is the part where we want to embrace the tension between sin and trying to follow God. Are we all sinners? Yes. Do we need saving? Absolutely. Do we still mess up even though we are still trying to be more like Jesus every day? Yep, that too.
Yes, we should strive to be more like Christ every day (thus the trying not to sin part of life), but when we do sin, thank God He still lets us be a part of His plan. He can still redeem your dirty past and help you leverage that His glory. We’ve hit this hard in many episodes throughout our podcast. Do not count yourself out because you aren’t perfect, God’s got that part. This shows us the characteristic of God’s redeeming love.
Never Too Far Gone
Here’s some great news. Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins, we can walk in the freedom knowing that we can choose to follow Christ and be forgiven. Once you have crossed the line of faith, this is where you get to step up and be a part of something bigger than yourself; something that furthers the kingdom of heaven. You are never disqualified from playing a positive role here in God’s story.
Here’s a mindset shift you may need to hear if you are a Christian and struggling with guilt or shame: Your problem may be that your are acting like your sin is too big for God to forgive. Jesus died for all of our sins. ALL. Forgiveness is final if you choose to accept Christ as your savior.
In this part of episode 177, “Flawed but Faithful” we talk about how the Bible is filled with people who mess up and God still redeems them. In fact there is only one person in the Bible who never messed up; everybody else fell way short. Good news! God will redeem us too!
Stop Stumbling
With all of this being said, take a moment to pause and think about your current life. Is there a sin struggle that keeps knocking on your door? Something that creeps in and you don’t realize your sin until it’s happening? This can look like gossip, pride, toxic thoughts, worry, drinking too much, telling white lies, etc… Take a second to journal it out. If you’re drawing a blank, ask God to show you if there is an area that needs refining. Listen to what the Holy Spirit is putting on your heart.
Now, that you’ve taken note of your stumbling blocks, it’s time to pu tin healthy boundaries, set up reminders, and have people help keep you accountable. This take time and effort, but it is so worth it. Even when we put all of these in place, sin will still occur, but take a look at this verse.
“For the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.”
Proverbs 24:16
It may not even be a sin that you think is holding you back. Moses was afraid to go talk to pharaoh because of a stutter. We (Brooke and Faren) share our supposed stumbling blocks on the episode, so be sure to tune in to hear how that’s working out for us now!
We hope you enjoyed episode 177, “Flawed but Faithful” and that you have practical, actionable steps you can take. Be sure to check out this entire I Am Rahab mini series about learning how Rahab’s story mirrors our lives of being touched by God and fully restored. Dig deep to grow closer to God in this mini series. You can do this! We’re here to help. Click the affiliate image below to get your copy of Autumn Miles’ book.
