“I don’t have nobody to blame but myself.” “Double negatives” are so confusing! There are also points in Scripture that are sometimes hard to grasp—that seem almost too good to be true. For example, some people think that the mercy of the Lord is applied only at the point of our initial salvation. Paul taught, “By grace are you saved,” but folks sometimes think that when God fills us with His Holy Spirit, that is where the “grace period” ends. After that moment, we are on our own to “straighten up and fly right.” Or else. But the word of God tells us … again and again … that the mercy of the Lord is “from everlasting to everlasting.” The Scriptures remind us no less than 41 times that “His mercy endures forever.” When we come to God with a repentant heart, our negatives—no matter how many—are no match for His inexhaustible mercy. It is from “everlasting to everlasting” … and there is no sin that is beyond His “everlasting!” “I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the LORD.”  (Psalm 116:13 KJV) Drinking from the “cup of salvation” is not a one-time sip. We…

“I can’t do nothing right.” Yes, that is a double negative. We’re looking at how double negatives are considered “incorrect” and cause confusion in standard English usage—and also in our lives. I’ve heard someone say, “Because I sinned after I got saved—after the Lord filled me with the Holy Ghost—I feel that I’ve committed a sin that cannot be forgiven by God.” It’s as if the sin committed AFTER salvation constitutes a forbidden “double negative.” But there is no sin that cannot be forgiven by God when the heart is truly repentant. Sinning again after you’re saved does not constitute a “double negative” that cancels out your salvation experience. It merely shows you WHY you needed to be saved in the first place!  We will NEVER grow beyond our need for Jesus’ forgiveness … and His GRACE. We are saved by His grace, no matter which side of the Cross we’re on. It’s never going be our doing, or our good conduct, that saves us. It’s always going to be the work of Jesus Christ in our lives. His blood, His name, His power has the ability to wash our sins away, no matter how many there are or where…

In the last devotion, I told how, as a young girl, I loved to be free to “explore” our big empty church building when my mother would go there to prepare music for the Sunday service. How I loved that place! It felt like “home” to me—only more exciting! I feel that exploring my church as a child helped to establish my young faith. Venturing into my Sunday School classroom, I would stare at the picture of “Jesus, the Good Shepherd.” I learned to picture Jesus that way when I prayed. I loved to bury my hands in the big green washtub of cool sand that my teacher used as a foundation for her stand-up Bible story figures. I studied the framed collage of old photographs, taken of the church when it was built, and of the early church people—many of whom were members of MY own family. To some, these were just old photos—but to me, these were my “roots.” My FAITH’s roots. How long has it been since you revisited where YOUR faith began? What did your Sunday School teachers instill in you? Can you still recall Bible verses you learned as a child? … can you remember…

When I was small, my mother would go to the church on off-days to practice music or prepare songs for our Junior Choir.  She’d bring me along and let me wander the big empty church building as she did her work. Our church was a vast, exciting adventureland to a curious little girl.  I would go pew by pew and straighten the hymnals and the offering envelopes. I’d “dust” the hardwood floors in the sanctuary by “swimming” like a fish under the pews. I’d scuff my feet on the dark green wool aisle carpet, building up static electricity so that when I touched the fancy metal stand next to the piano it made a huge, loud (exciting!) SPARK! I’d sneak behind the baptistery and stare—up CLOSE—at the hand-painted mural on the wall there. I was astounded at the beautiful scene—at the paint applied in such thick strokes, yet conveying such amazing detail to the river, rocks, and trees in the picture. I couldn’t believe that the paint wasn’t WET!  It really looked as if that river was flowing right into the baptistery! Another wonder was the big stained glass window, over the front entrance of the church, depicting Jesus walking…