"But you, Timothy, are a man of God;
so run from all these evil things.
Pursue righteousness and a godly life,
along with faith, love, perseverance,
and gentleness. Fight the good fight
for the true faith. Hold tightly
to the eternal life
to which God has called you,
which you have confessed
so well before many witnesses."
- 1 Timothy 6:11-12 -
so run from all these evil things.
Pursue righteousness and a godly life,
along with faith, love, perseverance,
and gentleness. Fight the good fight
for the true faith. Hold tightly
to the eternal life
to which God has called you,
which you have confessed
so well before many witnesses."
- 1 Timothy 6:11-12 -
I was thinking today about addictions, dependencies and simply all bad habits that preoccupy our lives. These things really rob us of the freedom in Jesus Christ. Short temper, laziness, pornography, smoking - you name 'em! They come in all shapes and sizes and we don't have control over them. And, Christian or not, we all have them. Habitual sin is another name for it.
Do you think God is unfair because He gave us these chains to carry and He is not willing to set us free? Oh man, it would be so nice if God would just zap His fingers and let the bondage of habitual sin fall off, so that we could be free. But instead there is so much pain because have no control over our desires. Does God really care that we care?..
Ok, ok. That does not sound right. God is good, remember? So it means that He does care. Take it or leave it. Now if God cares, then what do we do about the sins in our lives? Let's ask ourselves: can God tolerate sin? No, the Scripture is clear on that - look at e.g. 1 John 1:5. So if we have sin in our lives, can we come into God's presence? Nope. Does God want us to come? Yeah! He made us and loves us so much He gave up heavens and died a terrible death.
That's the key. God gives us grace where we fall short. If we have habitual sin in our lives, God 's grace makes up for the sin we have. But since He cannot tolerate sin, He gives us a way out. And that way is Jesus (John 14:6).
You see, we were all created to be filled with God and to become one with Him - for ever. Each one of us has a desire and a longing for God that is so deep nothing else can satisfy it. But because of sin in the world, we can't be in God's presence all the time. One small distraction, one wrong thought - and we sinned, because if you take your mind one bit off God, it's sin.
So we run around, without God in our hearts. And we try to find satisfaction everywhere else but in Him. Anything that the world offers is pitiful compared to what God can offer. It's like a horse and a tiny pony. You desire a horse, but all you have is a short animal, that you can't find useful. It can't satisfy your need. But you still come back to it again and again, trying get the most out of it.
This is very frustrating - until we repent and humble ourselves before God. The He takes up the space that was occupied with habitual sin. And we feel such huge relief! We feel like the world is all right, all is perfect, its heaven on earth. And we feel that we belong.
But then the enemy comes. The enemy who was second after God and who lost the glory of heavens and riches of eternity... Can you just imagine for a second his envy and hatred? It must be just as deep as God's love for us. Devil hates us - because God chose us, broken and dirty people, and not him, glorious and splendid archangel, to be with Him for ever.
So the devil pulls us back, back away from God. "All is fine," he says, "you don't need God - you see, you fought off this addiction by yourself. You are strong enough to take it on now. Go on, enjoy it, you still like it, right?" And he somehow manages to pull us back.
It's like climbing stairs to God's throne. When God put you one step higher, you can see Him more clearly and have more of His presence to live on. So there is less room for the flesh now. But if you fall back down the stairs, then God means less to you and the empty spots in your heart where His Presence used to be begin its painful longing. And you come back to the old vomit - because, even though partially, it worked.
But God does not want us to lose this fight and roll down the stairs of holiness. He wants us to win and join Him in this magnificent story of creation. So He calls us to stand firm and to focus on Him and Him alone. So, let us focus on God - and never on ourselves. Realize that all that you have in your life is because of God - and never because of your own efforts. And if there is something that is there because of your efforts... well, the sooner you give that up, the better!
I picked this picture of Aragorn from "Lord of the Rings" because of the emotion behind it. At that moment he felt like he will not possibly make it, yet he chose rather to die, than to go back to where it all was before the battle. I also often feel like that - sometimes the sin seem like too big of a fight to handle. But I fight to the blood, to the death, protecting precious ground God had entrusted into my hands. If I win, it's for His glory. And if I lose, He will meet me with His pierced arms wide open. But giving up is not an option!
Stand your ground! See you on top of the stairs!
Do you think God is unfair because He gave us these chains to carry and He is not willing to set us free? Oh man, it would be so nice if God would just zap His fingers and let the bondage of habitual sin fall off, so that we could be free. But instead there is so much pain because have no control over our desires. Does God really care that we care?..
Ok, ok. That does not sound right. God is good, remember? So it means that He does care. Take it or leave it. Now if God cares, then what do we do about the sins in our lives? Let's ask ourselves: can God tolerate sin? No, the Scripture is clear on that - look at e.g. 1 John 1:5. So if we have sin in our lives, can we come into God's presence? Nope. Does God want us to come? Yeah! He made us and loves us so much He gave up heavens and died a terrible death.
That's the key. God gives us grace where we fall short. If we have habitual sin in our lives, God 's grace makes up for the sin we have. But since He cannot tolerate sin, He gives us a way out. And that way is Jesus (John 14:6).
You see, we were all created to be filled with God and to become one with Him - for ever. Each one of us has a desire and a longing for God that is so deep nothing else can satisfy it. But because of sin in the world, we can't be in God's presence all the time. One small distraction, one wrong thought - and we sinned, because if you take your mind one bit off God, it's sin.
So we run around, without God in our hearts. And we try to find satisfaction everywhere else but in Him. Anything that the world offers is pitiful compared to what God can offer. It's like a horse and a tiny pony. You desire a horse, but all you have is a short animal, that you can't find useful. It can't satisfy your need. But you still come back to it again and again, trying get the most out of it.
This is very frustrating - until we repent and humble ourselves before God. The He takes up the space that was occupied with habitual sin. And we feel such huge relief! We feel like the world is all right, all is perfect, its heaven on earth. And we feel that we belong.
But then the enemy comes. The enemy who was second after God and who lost the glory of heavens and riches of eternity... Can you just imagine for a second his envy and hatred? It must be just as deep as God's love for us. Devil hates us - because God chose us, broken and dirty people, and not him, glorious and splendid archangel, to be with Him for ever.
So the devil pulls us back, back away from God. "All is fine," he says, "you don't need God - you see, you fought off this addiction by yourself. You are strong enough to take it on now. Go on, enjoy it, you still like it, right?" And he somehow manages to pull us back.
It's like climbing stairs to God's throne. When God put you one step higher, you can see Him more clearly and have more of His presence to live on. So there is less room for the flesh now. But if you fall back down the stairs, then God means less to you and the empty spots in your heart where His Presence used to be begin its painful longing. And you come back to the old vomit - because, even though partially, it worked.
But God does not want us to lose this fight and roll down the stairs of holiness. He wants us to win and join Him in this magnificent story of creation. So He calls us to stand firm and to focus on Him and Him alone. So, let us focus on God - and never on ourselves. Realize that all that you have in your life is because of God - and never because of your own efforts. And if there is something that is there because of your efforts... well, the sooner you give that up, the better!
I picked this picture of Aragorn from "Lord of the Rings" because of the emotion behind it. At that moment he felt like he will not possibly make it, yet he chose rather to die, than to go back to where it all was before the battle. I also often feel like that - sometimes the sin seem like too big of a fight to handle. But I fight to the blood, to the death, protecting precious ground God had entrusted into my hands. If I win, it's for His glory. And if I lose, He will meet me with His pierced arms wide open. But giving up is not an option!
Stand your ground! See you on top of the stairs!
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