Deal or No Deal!

Have you seen the game show called ‘Deal or No Deal’ presented by Noel Edmonds? For some reason it is thoroughly intoxicating!
The premise is simple: You have a number of boxes and you have to choose to discard them one at a time. What you are hoping for is that the last box you are left with has a large sum of prize money in it. The risk is that the box that you are holding on to, as though it is valuable, is in fact empty.
Is this how you feel? Like you are holding on to the treasured promises of God, but your worry is that they don’t really apply to you, and you treasure is worthless.

Has some sin in your life destroyed your confidence/faith?

You know that you are forgiven, and you rejoice in that, but deep down you think it is still something that God sees in you every time He looks at you. You shudder with shame to think that your worship could attract His attention, and so to avoid the shame of His stare you have stopped worshipping (not that anyone would know, you hide it well).

Listen to this: God has more grace in Him than we have sin in us.
That deserves to be in bold I think you agree!

[God said] “My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness.” Once I heard that... I quit focusing on the handicap... It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become. 2 Cor 12:9 (Msg)

Our weaknesses, our [forgiven] sins (and they are all forgiven in Christ Jesus, by whose blood we have been washed completely clean), do not tie us down, hindering our growth or inhibit us being chosen to do God’s work… whatever that may be.
Here is the truth: You are an integral an active component to God’s family (‘frontline’ or ‘backroom’ it makes no difference). You are no mistake and you are lovingly adopted through Christ.
“Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.” Eph 1:4-6 (Msg)