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January 25, 2012
#1 Winning the Battle Over Sin...
I'd like to do a short series online to help you process, and hopefully in some areas of your life, if you need to, win the battle over sin.
First of all how do you know something is sin in your life? The simple test is this, has it mastered you? Is it something that controls you? Do you run to it as a way to cope? Are you unable to stop it on willpower alone? (that means you've tried, but you keep coming back to it?
Todays' thought on sin - "SIN IS PLEASURABLE - IT FEELS GOOD"
Until we admit the above statement, we have no hope of even coming close to saying no to sin. Sin feels good, in the moment and for a moment. It's why we do it, it's why we keep coming back to it. Christians usually feel a sense of shame about their sin. In our same we want to stop. Except, of course, we don't! We still enjoy the sin too much to let it go...
In the deep recesses of our hearts we still contain the will and the desire to sin; at some basic level we remain open to the union with evil.
The reality is that, often, we dislike the shame and consequences of sin, but we still like sin itself. That's why we do it, and after a while, can't stop from doing it. That's because sin is pleasurable, it feels good, or else we wouldn't do it. We need to be honest about that. If we pretend otherwise, we'll never fight sin successfully. The Bible talks about the pleasures of sin. It doesn't deny they're real or satisfying in the moment. But it's reminds us that they're temporary, that they're dangerous, that they come with devastating consequences in this life and the next and in the long run, they are empty. That's why sin is often followed by shame. More than that sin claims ownership and mastery over you. But before we move on, we need to realize - Sin is pleasurable.
More tomorrow - want to read some Bible on this? Read Ephesians 4:17-24
Want to start by taking an inventory? As yourself, what has mastered me? What controls me? What do I need to do in order to cope? What am I unable to just stop for good?
*this is not original to me, it's an adaptation of a devotional that I thought would be helpful. Tim Chester deserves the credit for the content.
Posted by: ed