Oh Wretched Man That I Am

    Oh yes, more on this sin thing....I wanted to think about this in my own life, bring it closer to home. Why do I sin?  Why do I continue to do the same sin over and over? Why do I not learn my lesson? Why is this getting rid  of sin thing so hard. Sin is only a three, tiny letter word for goodness sake. 

     So, as I was thinking about this, a few things popped in my head. 

1. It is easier to sin at home, at least for me it is. I know my boys will forgive me, I know that I can be real with them, and I can hurt them but they will still love me. (Wow, doesn't that sound horrible) This is not ok, not at all but it is true. In fact, as I began to write this, I had used not so nice words to my son for interrupting me. Sad. 

   When I am out around people, other people, new people, people not in my family, I am nicer, I am cautious with my words, I am well behaved. 

   I am not saying that being fake is a good thing at all. Bear with me here!

and 2. Lets relate this to driving. When we are driving in our "comfort zone" our neighborhood, our town, we know what we can get away with. We speed, we don't completely stop at stops signs, we don't read the signs, we do things that are against the law. There is a place just in the next town over that has a four way stop. I have heard so many people say they just drive right through it because there is never anyone there.
   But, we drive out of our "comfort zone" we pay attention to the signs, we don't speed, we are cautious. We pay attention. 

   Paul brings me great comfort in Romans 7: 15-17 "For what I am doing, I do not understand,. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. but now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me." ... and he ends in vs 24 and 25 "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God- through Jesus Christ our Lord."

      So, what can I learn from this? Firstly, I am not alone in my struggles, and neither are you. Even Paul struggled with this. Secondly, thank God we have Jesus! 

   How do I apply this to my life? I see now that for me, it is easier for me to sin in my comfort zone. So, knowing this, I need to not be so comfortable with the things God has blessed me with. I need to remember that my husband, my son are gifts God has given me and I need to treat them with love and respect not use them as my verbal punching bag. I need to push myself to read the signs...the stop sign, the yield, the do not enter and where do I find these? In His word. I need to be in constant, continual prayer and not just talking at God but talking with God which means listening to Him speak to me. 

  It is time to slow down, pay close attention, read the directions, live life the way He has called us to live, and to love one another, casting away sin as far away as we can. We need to desire purity, cleanliness, and desire Him above all else. The sin, then, will be less and less.

   Oh Jesus, please, less of me, more of You. Help me kill the sin in my life once and for all. Help me to live outside of my comfort zone where you are and when I am in my comfort zone, help me to live as though I am not, in a way pleasing to You.

knock knock....

    I have been doing a lot of thinking lately about sin. My pastor taught a sermon about sin as well as taught at class at our School of Ministry on sin. One of my favorite bloggers, Kari Patterson, has written lately about sin as well. ((click here to read Kari's blog.) So, needless to say, seems to be going around.

    I was thinking about how sin is, and what it reminds me of. I picture a clean, white house inside a great, picket fence protecting the house from everything on the outside of the fence. Then, a tall, lanky figure shows up, sin. He stands outside the fence begging to come in. 

   The thing is, he doesn't just stand there, he doesn't even just knock irritatingly; he lies. He makes whatever your sin is in your life look good. He twists it around to even be something the Bible says is ok. He lures you, attracts you to it. 

   All this tall, lanky fellow needs is a tiny opening to come in. So, as he lures you, you do it, you unlock the latch and barely just barely open the gate. Then, before you know it, it has taken over the entire fenced enclosure, house and all. 

   To me, sin is like a big, giant shadow, enclosing everything around it in darkness. You barely touch it and it has taken over. You feel guilty, you feel sick, you feel ashamed which sometimes leads to more sin, more lies, more darkness. You hear the lies "You are a sinful person." "You could never be saved now." "You are not fit to be a leader, a teacher, a _____________" "He will never forgive you now, you keep sinning over and over with the same sin." 

   LIES! All of them, lies!

   Yes, we sinned, yes, it was wrong but we have something so amazing, so freeing, we have Grace. So, how do we kick sin out and figure out a way to ignore it once and for all.... but how? How can we do that?

 Colossians 1:21-23 is how. Jesus.

   He came, became a man, lived a life we are to follow, and took all of our sin, ALL of our sin, even the sin we have not committed yet, the sin that we keep letting in our lives, the sin we have such a hard time saying no too. He died for those sins too. 

  Why? 

 One simple word, Love. 

   He died because He loves us, all of us!

  John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." NKJV

 Romans 8:37-39 "No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " NKJV

   Ephesians 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)..." NKJV

  So, what is our response?  Confess our sin, (Romans 10:9) continue to cling to Him. When we see that tall, lanky sin figure waiting for us, turn away from it, fight for Jesus, fight for purity. He will be right there waiting for us to help us, to guide us, to love us. Read His words, (Psalm 119:105), be steadfast in prayer, and fill your mind with His thoughts, not your own. 

   I pray you will fight the good fight against sin and please, pray for me as well. This battle against sin is a tough one but the great news is, we are not alone, we have Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

   My prayer for you dear friend,  That you may  "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophesies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." Amen!