Free to Sin

Romans 6:15 NLT
Well then, since God's grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!

I grew up in church. We went every Sunday since I was born. My parents were in the Word daily. God was everywhere in our house, our car, and with us anywhere we went. I knew I could not hide from Him.

I knew right from wrong, but that did not exclude me from sin. Temptation is always gathering us in and it seems almost impossible not to give in. Giving in with everyone else is much easier than standing our ground.

Even now that I have grown up and have Jesus as my Lord and savior. Holy Spirit resides in me. And yet, I still give in to temptation. I still find myself on the wrong side from time to time.

But I do not look for ways to sin. No, the tempter gains ground every now and then. With the help of Holy Spirit, I recognize what is happening and step back to the right side asking His forgiveness for what I did.

We are set free from the limits of law, but that does not mean we are free to do whatever we want to do. No, we are free to do what He wants us to do.

Trust in the Lord

Proverbs 3:5-6 NLT
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.

We go through circumstances beyond our control every day of our life. Some are small and others are bigger than we can comprehend. Because of our earthly experiences the result of past successes and failures we think we know what to do, how to react. We lean on our own understanding.

The truth is that we do not have all the answers. Our choices are limited by our experiences. Even if we seek the counsel of others because they have had different experiences than us, we still may make the wrong choice.

The only one with all the answers is God. He knows us like nobody on this earth can know us; even ourselves. He knows His plan for our life and the choices that will keep us on that path. And yet we tend to seek Him last; after all the other options run out.

Or we try to do it both ways. We seek man made opinions and options while at the same time seeking Him for a solution. I am not sure if that is trusting in man with God as a backup plan or the other way around; trusting God but having man's plan as a backup in case God does not come through or come through in our timing.

God wants all of us all the time. He does not want to be a part time God. He wants us to trust in Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. He wants us to step past our own understanding and let Holy Spirit take over. Do that and He will show us the path that leads to Him to healing to righteousness.

Work At It

Hebrews 12:14 NLT 
Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.

It is easy to fall into the trap that once saved we are holy. All we have to do is go to church once in awhile and we are all set for that final trip to heaven, eternity with God the father.

Just because we asked Jesus into our heart we think we are done. No, that is just the beginning. From that point on to our ultimate death in this life we change. Holy Spirit guides us down the path so those changes can occur.

Often we are plagued with challenges and as we look to God for help through them we are changed. We grow closer to Him and shed a little more of this earthly life.

Some change happens right away. Other change takes place as we listen for His voice correcting us when we fall into sin. Then we ask for His forgiveness and repent changing so we do not do that again.

Even before we are prodded by Holy Spirit, we find guidelines to living in our Bible and work to live the life we see we should be living. We give up the things of our old life, even many of our old acquaintances and friends so we can model Jesus in our day to day life.

We work at living in peace with everyone. We listen to that still small voice and work at doing what He says. We ask Him to help us change and to guide us daily down the right path.

On Purpose

1 Corinthians 9:26 NLT 
So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.

The health insurance plan I am on includes membership at the Y. This allows me to go as often as I want and train. That is to join an exercise program that gets me off my seat in front of my computer and actually use muscles other than my fingers typing.

Some go to professional looking gyms and hit bags or get in a ring and actually spar with others. Years ago I was into non contact Karate and enjoyed it. Others like kick boxing and other physical sports to keep in physical shape.

Then there is our spiritual training. We do not have a gym to go to; our training ground is other Christians. We hear a message at the church gathering of our choice and perhaps even attend a Bible study or two during the week. But the real training occurs as we allow Holy Spirit to guide us in a journey through God's Word as we let Him reveal to us as He peels away the next layer for our understanding.

It is time to get out of the gym sparring with others in training. It is time to get on with the mission Jesus gave us; the mission to go into all the world and preach the Good News!