Devotional Thoughts for the Week of February 21, 2021 - A Desire to be Free From Sin
Over the past couple weeks Bart and I have been doing some snowshoeing on the prayer trail behind the church. In the woods it is fairly easy, but out in the open field where the snow is knee-deep and fluffy, it requires a lot of exertion. Bart is stronger and faster than I am, and he usually leads the way. Sometimes I try to walk alongside, blazing my own trail but other times I take the easy road and just follow in his tracks. Now that we have the path packed down, it is far easier to stay on the old trail than to make a new one.
I notice a similar pattern in my spiritual life. It is easier to stay in my familiar routine than it is to break old habits and go a different way, even when a new path would be holier, more pleasing to God. Jesus came teaching anyone who would listen, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15). Repentance means to turn and go the other way, acknowledging that God’s way is right and mine is wrong. Many religious leaders chose to stay in their familiar lifestyles rather than repent and walk in a new way of humble holiness. They refused to bring their lives under the domain of the King. Will we fall into the same trap?
I was struck yesterday by a request in our Seek God for the City prayer guide. “Pray . . . for God to give us, and others throughout our city, a desire to be free from sin” (p. 6). I spent the rest of the day pondering the question, How sincerely do we desire to be freed from sin? We all want to be spared the consequences of our sin, but do we truly seek to “Throw off . . .the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1) or are we fairly content to remain caught up in it? For example, I pray that I would honor God with my body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Then I consume sugar and other things that promote illness rather than health. Do I actually desire to be free from gluttony and idolatry in regard to my eating habits? Perhaps for you it is spending habits, or viewing habits, or self-talk that is contrary to Scripture. Are we making excuses for sexual sin or for giving way to anger and harsh words? (I have long taught kids the way they speak to their family members should be the same way they would talk to Jesus. How do your words and tone measure up to that standard?) Are we critical or prone to gossip or quick to pass judgment on those with differing viewpoints? God is calling us to leave the easy, well-trodden path and walk on holier ground. It won’t be easy, but if it pleases God, it’s worth it.
I realize that I have “gone to meddling” as preachers used to say. God’s standard is very high. It is much easier to stay on the familiar path, doing things the same way we have been doing them than it is to break new ground, forming new habits. One thing I have learned is that the easy thing and the best thing are hardly ever the same thing. I want to challenge you, as the Holy Spirit is challenging me, to spend some time this week seriously contemplating the presence of habitual sin in your life. If we are ever to become the bride of Christ that He desires - as we have been praying - then we must be purified, cleansed of all unrighteousness. I ask that you join me this week, and every week in praying “for God to give us, and others throughout our city, a desire to be free from sin.” May we be transformed into a more effective lighthouse which can be better used to draw lost people to the Savior.
Lynn
Over the past couple weeks Bart and I have been doing some snowshoeing on the prayer trail behind the church. In the woods it is fairly easy, but out in the open field where the snow is knee-deep and fluffy, it requires a lot of exertion. Bart is stronger and faster than I am, and he usually leads the way. Sometimes I try to walk alongside, blazing my own trail but other times I take the easy road and just follow in his tracks. Now that we have the path packed down, it is far easier to stay on the old trail than to make a new one.
I notice a similar pattern in my spiritual life. It is easier to stay in my familiar routine than it is to break old habits and go a different way, even when a new path would be holier, more pleasing to God. Jesus came teaching anyone who would listen, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15). Repentance means to turn and go the other way, acknowledging that God’s way is right and mine is wrong. Many religious leaders chose to stay in their familiar lifestyles rather than repent and walk in a new way of humble holiness. They refused to bring their lives under the domain of the King. Will we fall into the same trap?
I was struck yesterday by a request in our Seek God for the City prayer guide. “Pray . . . for God to give us, and others throughout our city, a desire to be free from sin” (p. 6). I spent the rest of the day pondering the question, How sincerely do we desire to be freed from sin? We all want to be spared the consequences of our sin, but do we truly seek to “Throw off . . .the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1) or are we fairly content to remain caught up in it? For example, I pray that I would honor God with my body which is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Then I consume sugar and other things that promote illness rather than health. Do I actually desire to be free from gluttony and idolatry in regard to my eating habits? Perhaps for you it is spending habits, or viewing habits, or self-talk that is contrary to Scripture. Are we making excuses for sexual sin or for giving way to anger and harsh words? (I have long taught kids the way they speak to their family members should be the same way they would talk to Jesus. How do your words and tone measure up to that standard?) Are we critical or prone to gossip or quick to pass judgment on those with differing viewpoints? God is calling us to leave the easy, well-trodden path and walk on holier ground. It won’t be easy, but if it pleases God, it’s worth it.
I realize that I have “gone to meddling” as preachers used to say. God’s standard is very high. It is much easier to stay on the familiar path, doing things the same way we have been doing them than it is to break new ground, forming new habits. One thing I have learned is that the easy thing and the best thing are hardly ever the same thing. I want to challenge you, as the Holy Spirit is challenging me, to spend some time this week seriously contemplating the presence of habitual sin in your life. If we are ever to become the bride of Christ that He desires - as we have been praying - then we must be purified, cleansed of all unrighteousness. I ask that you join me this week, and every week in praying “for God to give us, and others throughout our city, a desire to be free from sin.” May we be transformed into a more effective lighthouse which can be better used to draw lost people to the Savior.
Lynn
