Do Not Let Sin Control You

“Do not let sin control your puny bodies any longer; do not give in to its sinful desires. Do not let any part of your bodies become tools of wickedness, to be used for sinning; but give yourselves completely to God-every part of you-for you are back from death and you want to be tools in the hands of God, to be used for his good purposes.” Romans 6:12-13

A couple of postings back I wrote on how our Lord gives us 'Do Overs'‘ when we mess up and sin. I feel the need to follow up that posting by clarifying that all though we know that our Lord Jesus is merciful, quick to forgive us, and gives us ‘Do Overs’ when we sin, that does not mean that we are to take advantage of that. His kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. We are Christians saved to be living testimonies for the world to see Christ. We are the walking Gospel. Our lives will either be an encouragement and inspiration to others, drawing them to Christ or our lives will be a hindrance to others faith and could possibly be the reason why they stumble and fall away.

We must stay away from sin. We are not to make plans to sin doing things that we know are unpleasing to our Lord. We are called to live holy and pure lives. This is not an impossible request from our Lord. He would never ask us do something that He has not empowered us to do. It is by His power, the power of the Holy Spirit that we can resist the temptation to sin. It is by reading and hearing the Word of God that our minds are renewed and our desires are changed. When we are constantly in the Word we will desire to please our Lord instead of gratifying our own sinful desires. The secret is staying close to the Lord, being in the Word of God consistently because our Lord promises that if we keep looking steadily into His Word that we will not only remember it but we will do what it says, and God will greatly bless us in everything that we do. (1 Corinthians 10:13, James 1:25)

But those who keep on sinning are against God, for every sin is done against the will of God. So if we stay close to him, obedient to him, we won’t be sinning either; but as for those who keep on sinning, they should realize this: They sin because they have never really known him or become his. Oh, dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: if you are constantly doing what is good, it is because you are good, even as he is. But if you keep on sinning, it shows that you belong to Satan, who since he first began to sin has kept steadily at it. But the Son of God came to destroy these works of the devil. The person who has been born into God’s family does not make a practice of sinning. Because now God’s life is in him; so he can’t keep on sinning, for this new life has been born into him and controls him, he has been born again. (1 John 3:4, 6-9, 1 John 5:18)

There should never be an area of our lives that is reserved and devoted to sinful practices. We are to give ourselves completely to God. Instead of being defensive and self excusing, we must acknowledge our sins and renounce them. We should continually look at all areas of our lives asking our Lord to reveal to us anything in us that is unpleasing to Him. By not exempting any part of our life from continuous self-scrutiny I believe the Holy Spirit will show us any hidden sin that hinders us and may even be a stumbling block to others around us.

Just as you used to be slaves to all kinds of sin, so now you must let yourselves be slaves to all that is right and holy. You choose your master. You can choose sin (with death) or else obedience (with acquittal). The one to whom you offer yourself-he will take you and be your master and you will be his slave. (Romans 6)

Holy Spirit search us through and through. Show us any unconfessed sin that we need to renounce. We long to be slaves of righteousness. We do not want to be slaves to sin. Thank you for the power to resist temptation and sin. May our lives bring you glory and draw others to your Son, in Jesus name. Amen..

Read the posting "Do Over!" now

"Meet Me At The Club...It's Going Down"

It's Friday night, just got paid, babysitter is coming over, and I am ready to unwind. Off to dinner and then dancing and with our friends. That used to be me and I don't mean before I was saved and professing Christ. I used to love clubbing every weekend or going to Fat Tuesdays on the beach. My husband and I love dancing. It seemed harmless because I really did not plan to drink all that much. Beside I was with my husband. My plan would be to have one or two drinks because someone had to be the "good one" who knew moderation, plus I was usually the designated driver.

But the more I began going to church and reading the bible my desires starting changing. I began feeling like I was doing something wrong. At first I would still go to the club or bar but I noticed that every time I went I perceived my surroundings much differently. It's like God lifted a veil off of my eyes. What used to seem harmless and fun now seemed dangerous and destructive. Guys and girls would hit on me and husband provoking an altercation. They didn’t care that we were together. The majority of the girls dress so provocative that it's almost impossible for men not to look at them and have lustful thoughts. Most of the people excessively drink and dancing has become mainly bumping and grinding. Lack of self control was no longer appealing to me.

The Lord kept reminding me that I was to be a living testimony to others, especially my children. I knew in my heart that being in those places was destroying my witness. I would read the bible and see scriptures that would speak so clearly to me about this issue saying,

“Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness”- Romans 13:12-13
“People that participate in wild parties will not inherit the Kingdom of God”-Galatians 5:18-21
“You are all children of the light and of the day, and do not belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard not asleep like the others. Watch for his return and stay sober. Night is the time for sleep and the time when people get drunk. But let us who live in the light keep sober..”- 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8

It was clear to me that I needed to leave the party days behind me.

I know that there is someone reading this that is struggling with this issue just like I did. God wants the best for you. You were cleansed by the blood of Jesus so that you could become a new creature. You are supposed to be different from the world and its ways, not blending in. Partying and clubbing is part of your “sinful nature”. For your own good do not ignore the Holy Spirit. He is leading you into truth and freedom so that you can bring glory to God. So look upon your old sin nature as dead and unresponsive to sin and instead be alive to God. (Romans 6:11)