Stop Sinning!

 "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood." 

                                                                               Heb. 12:4

  " I'm only human"

  "I come from a dysfunctional family"

  " Please be patient with me, God's not finished with me yet"

  "It's hereditary"

   "I was born like this"

  "It's part of my personality"

  "Stop judging me"

  "You should see how far I've come"

  "You sin too"

  "God's grace is sufficient"

   "Everyone does it"

   "There are a lot of worse sins. It's not the unforgivable sin."

        What's your go to when you sin? Jesus said, "If your right hand causes you to sin cut it off", or "If your eye causes you to sin pluck it out". Jesus took sin seriously. Do you? Jesus had to die because of sin and for us to continue  to choose to sin, if nothing else, shows we are not on the same page as Him. Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery to go and sin no more and that was even before the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that gives us the power to say "no" to sin.

      If an angel came to you one night and said, "The next time you look at pornography your eye will fall out", I think you would never look at it again. If he told you, "The next time you gossip your tongue will shrivel up", I think you would get rid of your telephone.

      Have you struggled against sin to the point of shedding blood? I don't think so.

  

Being Filled With The Spirit

     "...understand what the Lord's will is. Do not get drunk on wine which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit."                                             Eph. 5:17,18

          Do you ever wonder what God's will for your life is? Here Paul makes it very clear - God's will for your life is to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

             What does that mean?

        Growing up in Church I heard the illustration of a jar filled with rocks getting water poured into it. The rocks were sin and the more rocks we took out, the more Holy Spirit could come in. The problem with that is that at salvation we don't get part of the Spirit, we get all of Him. According to Romans 8 Paul says you either have the Spirit (saved) or you don't (unsaved). As we are regenerated and receive the "seed" of God in us, just like Mary when she said,"may it be done unto me as you have said", we can't be partially pregnant - it's all or nothing.

         A better analogy might be a flask of perfume. When you take the cork off the top, eventually the fragrance would fill the whole room. Imagine then us receiving the Holy Spirit into our lives like a flask of perfume with a stopper on it. Our daily job is to pop that cork and let Him fill every nook and cranny of our lives. The degree to which we surrender is the degree to which we will be filled. Don't pop the cork of wine and be filled with fleshly indulgence but release the cork that says "not my will but thine be done so that He might increase and we might decrease.

 

Go After "Better"

 "...but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her." 

                                                                                                                    Luke 10:42

         Is your life characterized by seeking after what is better? Are you so in love with Jesus that in everything you seek the "summum bonum" - the highest good? Paul's prayer for the Philippians was that they may be able to discern "what is best." The disciples missed out on an opportunity to see a Samaritan woman and then much of the town come to faith because they were out getting food. How many disciples does it take to get food? It could be that's why He fed the 5000 shortly after with 5 loaves and 2 fish to show them that they should spend time with Jesus and all the other things will be added unto them.

        Often we determine our behavior and actions by "Is this a sin or not?" If the activity isn't a sin then it must be "OK". Shouldn't we be asking the question "Is there something better we should be doing?" Paul says, "everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial". If your 16 year old asked "How many accidents can I get in before you take away my driving privileges?", you would be inclined not to give him or her the car.

         The better thing to ask in our lives is "What glorifies God and what activity pleases Him the most?" What would Jesus do in my place? When these are our true intentions, like Mary, we will experience the presence of Christ in our midst.