Uh Oh. The Bad Stuff.

Repentance is to turn away from sin. Repentance is not something that you tell God and automatically assume you are not going to struggle with that one sin you repented from. Sin is sin. You were born into sin, and your flesh desires sin. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Psalm 51:5 That is how it goes. Sin will lie to you. We see in the first book of the bible that the devil will lie to us to make sin seem "okay." When the serpent talks Eve into eating of the tree, in Genesis 3. Sin is sweet for a season. Sin is directly from the devil, himself. The devil is seeking someone to devour, we see that in 1 Peter 5:8.  

The reason I start off like this is because I want you to see that sin is real and it is the artillery that the devil and his demons use to attack us and pull us away from our Loving and Gracious Heavenly Father. The enemy wants to destroy every blessing and piece of joy that God has given you. The devil will do this, usually, in a very sly way. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. Romans 7:11 God has an abundant life he wants to give to you, but if we are entangled by the lies of the devil, how are we to receive this gift of abundant life? ...let us throw off everything that hiders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1b. You cannot and will not receive the full inheritance of a joyful life in Christ until you flee from your sinful desires and pursue righteousness.  Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:22.
I am not asking for you to be perfect and neither is God, but He has called us to live righteous.  

When we do sin, we sin against the Holy and Magnificent God of this universe. That is how we should think about it every time we sin. Every time we give in to that temptation of the enemy we are putting another bruise on Jesus' back; we are whipping him one more time before he is taken to the cross. But he was pierced for OUR transgressions, he was crushed for OUR iniquities; the punishment that brought US peace was upon HIM, and by HIS wounds WE are healed. Isaiah 53:5. We are the one's that brought the punishment of Jesus upon him. Our sins nailed him to the cross, at Calvary.  

We need to realize the serious of sin. One day, we will stand before the Lord and he will judge us for every sin we ever committed. We need to take a realistic look at the damage we are not only doing to our own Spiritual life, but to other people's life, when it comes to our sin. We may not realize the retaliation of our sin when we are in the midst of committing it, but YOUR sin may cause others to stumble. And we see in Luke what Jesus thinks of this...Jesus said to he is disciples: "Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause on of these little ones to stumble. Luke 17:1-2.  

Obviously, as Christians, we know that our enemy is the devil and that he wants to do everything he can to cause us to stumble into sin. Sin separates us from God. If we are not constantly renewing our minds in God's steadfast love, we will become an easy target for our enemy to hit. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the devils attacks (Ephesians 6:10-20). You are not in this alone. Every Christian goes through Spiritual warfare, it is an on going battle against our flesh and our spirit. The only way the spirit will win, is through commitment to God's word and prayer.

Thankfully, God is a merciful and a gracious God. He is kind and loving to all who are willing to repent and turn from their sins and wicked ways. Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? Romans 2:4 Beloved, if you are struggling with a certain sin in your life, give it up to Christ. Do not maximize the struggle of this one sin, just place it in God's hands. Daily ask God to help you fight against the temptation of that certain sin. We are in battle, but remember, eternally, God has the victory.

 If you have never accepted, believed and repented of your sins, you are destined for an eternal fiery hell. But friend, that is not how the story ends, if you want to accept this gift of salvation, you can! If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. Romans 10:9-10

TODAY, turn from your sin. Run to Jesus. He is willing and ready to forgive.  

Jesus, Oh Jesus, 

Do you know him today?

Do not turn him away

Oh Jesus, Oh Jesus, 

Without him how lost I would be

-Without Him, Gaither Vocal Band

Love,
Hannah Hollis