Oak Hill Church of Christ 8-14-22 Message: "Coming Home"

Oak Hill Church of Christ preaching minister, Randy Sterling, delivers a message on the peace that comes with knowing that God will always welcome us when we make the choice to come home.

Often, an individual will be their own worst critic. After all, they know more about themselves than anyone else. They might come to find themselves playing a part in a kind of deception. "I'm not as kind as they think I am." The person may say, "Or as smart, or as skilled," and so on. "They don't know who I really am." And the person stands in for others and rejects themselves on the grounds that they are not as perfect as they wish they were. All because they see into their own soul, and refuse to forgive themselves.

The Bible shows us that God can also see into our souls, and He is willing to forgive. The feeling we have that we are unforgivable and that our family would reject us if they knew enough is a deception of the Evil One. Getting someone to abandon their bridges back home because of the illusion that they were burned long ago is a trick designed to remove hope for the future and replace it with despair.

God rejects that completely. According to God, there's always a path back to where you belong. Don't give into the feeling that it's too late. It might just be a trick by that old serpent to get you to surrender because he knows with God on your side, the battle was over long before it began and the truth is as it always was: you're just a single step away from victory.