August 20, 2010 (Some thoughts...)

Some thoughts on
excessive indulgence
and sinful behavior…

“Lord, I do not want to sin.”

Perhaps, but, in fact, you do desire
and enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction
you receive from sinning.
So, in part, that is a lie.

You do want that extra piece of cake,
one more drink, or that feeling
of self-gratification, whatever it may be.

Acknowledge to God that
you have these cravings and
that you do enjoy the pleasure
derived from your sins.

After all, he knows.

Now ask God to replace those desires with
the everlasting joy and peace
of remaining in His presence.

By being ever mindful of Him
you will avoid circumstances
that may lead to temptation.

When temptation does strike,
immediately flee closer to Him,
(your fortress in times of need)
and pray that He remove
temptations power from you.

Keeping yourself out of situations
that promote temptation involves commitment
and discipline… the strength to resist
temptation once it appears comes from
seeking God’s refuge and the support
of His Holy Spirit within.

Both require you to believe, love, obey, and trust
the Lord with your entire being…
all your strength, your mind, your heart, and your soul.

You either turn to God or you turn your back on God.
You either stay in His presence or you attempt
to hide from Him.
We can’t continue to play hide and seek…
one moment seeking His presence and the next
hiding from Him.
This makes us spiritual shallow and eventually
we will grow to love the one and hate the other.

If we pursue the dangerous course, sinning
will become such a lifestyle that we
no longer attempt to hide
and seeking Him will cease altogether.
The heart will become hardened
like untilled ground and only God’s plow
of tribulation will stand a chance of making it
into an area for productive re-seeding.
Responding to God’s plow is a chance
for a new beginning but the choice
remains… don’t be foolish…
hearts can become permanently hardened.

Surrender your heart to God’s keeping
by allowing the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ to be your salvation…
and allow the Holy Spirit to work within you.
This is the best and only security
against a hardened heart.

“Help me, O God,
to look back on the long way you have brought me,
on the long days in which I have been served,
not according to my deserts, but my desires;
on the pit and the miry clay,
the blackness of despair,
the horror of misconduct,
from which my feet have been plucked out.
For my sins forgiven or prevented,
for my shame unpublished,
I bless and thank you, O God.”
- Robert Louis Stevenson