SIN OUT

    

       "The chains of sin are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken".  Tom Drout

      

   Do you ever think about sin?  I don't like the word sin nor do I like to sin! I do not think it's very ladylike. It's not very ladylike to sweat either so I use the term 'glow' when referring to the glisten of a workout session.  I suppose we use the word 'mistake' for the same reason. Sin just punches but mistake is a more palatable description.  What happens when we respond to sin sometimes? We decide to give into temptation, and we get a little check in our spirit. We ignore that check thinking that we will still be fine. Sooner or later though, just like the ground rising up to meet me, our sin reaches up hard with its consequences and there is no avoiding them any more. It's too late to turn back.  Sin always finds it’s root in our own selfish desires and self-gratification.

      

    We generally do not plan to go out and sin... at least not at first. We get tempted  - then we think about it a while. "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."  (James 1:13-15)

      

   Even if we manage to "get away" with sin, and believe that "no one knows", our sins will come back to bite us.  "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs." (Matthew 10:26-27)

Sin will take you farther than you want to go,

Cost you more than you want to pay,

And keep you longer than you want to stay. ...

Not only does sin have consequences, but also each time we sin, we reinforce a pattern that becomes harder and harder to break. If we persist in sin with the thought that one day we will get right with God, we should remind ourselves that God may still be there to forgive and restore but we may not be.

A pearl to string:  Always have an emergency plan. First, run from the temptation. Second, when we fall, we need to return quickly to the grace and mercy of our loving Father, seeking His forgiveness. A fall into sin will not cause us to lose salvation, but it can damage our relationship with Father and have earthly consequences which haunt us the rest of our lives.  In other words, flee from temptation. But if you fall, rush back in the waiting arms of your Abba Father.

Stay safe in His Word,

                                Lyndi