By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh's daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
(Hebrews 11:24-26 NIV)
God even this very night I have felt tempted to sin in many ways in my heart and in my actions. Each day and each moment in every temptation I want to give it over to you. I want to choose to fight sin and fight for my life and for you God holding to your promise and your guidance of what is pure and holy and satisfying and good.
God remind me every day and in every temptation that the pleasures of sin are fleeting and pathetic compared to the lasting and satisfying pleasures of righteousness in Christ.
God teach me to take to heart the reality of sin like this example in proverbs that sin quickly leads to choosing out of God and death:
Wisdom will save you also from the adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her seductive words, Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
(Proverbs 2:16, 18, 19 NIV)
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
(James 1:14, 15 NIV)
In Christ there is forgiveness. But when inset my heart and hopes on the fleeting pleasures of sin the path to death is steep and slippery and hard to climb back up. God can certainly do it, but it is far better to flee from sin urgently now and hold to the hope of God and heaven than to give in to the momentary pleasures of sin.
God give me a great awareness of sin and death in contrast to truth and love and life and hope and heaven and your presence God. I want to flee from sin, but I need your help. I also know I must choose it every day, I can not half heatedly fight.
If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell. (Matthew 5:29, 30 NIV)
God I literally want to cut sin out of my heart and life. God I want to run from sin! It will be painful and awkward and less instant gratification. But I choose you and I choose heaven. Holy Spirit live in me and cast out the evil one, strengthen me as I face temptations.
Amen
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 NIV)
ReplyDeleteNo temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV)
Yet we must choose to look for the escape and to abandon all pride and set our eyes on Jesus to flee by the route God has provided. He will not make us run, for he allows us to be tempted and to grow in character through mistakes and victories.
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. (Hebrews 12:4 NIV)
It is a war that we must be willing to fight and shed blood to win. Our victory over sin is only through Christ with great anguish and great reward.
Yet there is most certainly hope.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7 NIV)
Praise God because we can victorious!