Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

21 July 2025

Reading From Acts 23:1-15

“Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”

—Acts 23:1-3

     No one can follow the Mosaic Law perfectly and the religious leaders of Judea in the first century had added even more rules, regulations and rituals making complete compliance even more impossible.  Many of these leaders were focused on curating an appearance of perfection which further alienated common people who in turn thought that there was no way they could measure up.  In this way, the Law accomplished one of its purposes which was to show that, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”[1]  The Law makes us aware of our sin and our need for God to save us.

      This salvation from God comes by grace through faith in the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ.  He took upon Himself the penalty for the sins of the whole world.  “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[2]  When a human being realizes that doing life their own way isn’t working and they choose to believe in Jesus, confessing Him as Savior and Lord, they are born again and the Holy Spirit cleanses them in His blood and takes up residence within them. 

     While it is glorious to have God living within, every Christian this side of Heaven still has a mind and body corrupted by sin.  Through a gradual process of spiritual growth of surrendering areas of life to the Lord’s control, we become more and more like Jesus.  Life is a journey of discovering who we were truly meant to be.  We find this identity, community and destiny in Jesus and His Word.  He is the Author and Perfector of our faith.  Along this journey, no human is perfect.  This does not mean they don’t love the Lord and are genuinely trying to serve Him, it just means that we struggle between our flesh and the Spirit. 

     This dichotomy may present itself as hypocrisy and to some degree, every human struggles with this.  Thankfully, God sees past all pretense and knows the heart and mind of every person.  No one can fool Him.  I Corinthians 2:11-13 reveals to us, “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”  Each of us know that there are elements of our character that do not perfectly align with the godly principles of the Word of God.  We must be true and honest with God and with others with the sincere intention of authenticity. Part of this is confessing our sins to God and one another that we may be healed.[3]

     God’s love expressed through His grace is transformative.  He changes our hearts, the core of our beings, and this divinely positive change radiates out and will eventually permeate every fiber of our being.  Until then, we will make mistakes and not represent Jesus perfectly.  This is why we must treat ourselves and others with some grace, mercy and seek greater understanding. 

“Lord Jesus, thank You for Your goodness and mercy to us.  Thank You for not treating us as our sins deserve, but according to Your unfailing love and grace.  Help us to genuinely seek to honor and glorify Your holy Name.  Lead us with Your kindness to repentance.  Give us the courage and strength we need to choose Your Way over our own.  Forgive us for our pretension.  Make us real Christians we pray, Amen.”

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

—James 5:16

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has given you.”

 – Romans 12:3

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” 

–I John 1:8

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” 

– Proverbs 4:23

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.” 

– Colossians 3:9

---

[1] Romans 3:20-23

[2] Romans 6:23

[3] I John 1:9, James 5:16