I'm a wretch, who, by His glorious grace, has been adopted by the God of the universe. Praise Jesus from coming in the flesh and dying on the cross for the sins of the world to redeem fallen humanity to God. I'm seeking God in all I do, trying to be led by the Spirit-- seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness.
The Father does not intend to deal with you according to your failures, but according to His love and His mercy. But those who insist on being ranked according to performance, those who must be identified as “good Christians”, will always be upset with the little brothers (as seen in the story of the prodigal son). Ishmael will always come against Isaac.
Luke 18: The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Ishmael people will always come against Isaac people, because they have not realized the fullness of the truth of the gospel— the decree to which we are accepted because of what Christ did in our place on the cross… Not then realizing that, not sensing and laying hold of our redemption and adoption, and acceptance, we insist upon being recognized for our efforts… If you fail to recognize and lay hold of the truth of gospel, you will be trapped in a need to do everything right…
Britt Merrick— “Ismael-people and Isaac-people”
