Only Jesus can save you from your sins

I have been a Christian for 21 years, and have discovered that looking like you are doing all the right things like; attending meetings, trying to read your bible more, going to conferences learning more about God, being more committed to the church, trying to pray more and reading the latest christian book cannot and will not make you any less immune from the effect of sin in your life.

In fact, living like this produces the dreadful paradox that you are more aware of your sin than ever before but are powerless to stop it ruining your peace. You are caught on a treadmill of greater sin awareness and driven to do more and more of the things that you think will protect you like; reading the latest christian book, or going to this conference or this prayer meeting, or becoming even more committed to church, taking on more things in the vain hope that these holy things will somehow cleanse you of the sin that you now see is clinging ever more tightly.

This will go on until you burn out or like me you let sin take a step
too far and then you say STOP! stop everything knock all these false dead ends down and start again with nothing but Jesus and a trust that he loves you and is doing the best for you.

Only then, when HE directs, do you find that relationship with him and him only inside you is turning you into the person he knows you can be, and the
blessing to yourself and others that you have been striving to be, slowly and gently letting him save you from your sins.

Do you love me?

Watching the film Blade Runner the other day I was struck as the hero Deckard says to his heroine Rachel, 'Do you love me?' She replies 'I love you' He then says 'Do you trust me?' To which she replies 'I trust you' What struck me is that here is the essence of what God wants for his church, and that all the church must learn from him. All he wants is for her to love him and trust him.