"I have hidden Your Word deep in my heart, that I may not sin against you. "
- Psalm 119:11
I remember a pastor mentioning once that sin complicates life, and to my understanding, it complicates life simply by putting distance between me and God. If we are farther from God, we are less exposed to His grace and favor, and God knows how much of that we need in all of our dealings in a daily basis.
I am aware of the fact that nothing cannot separate us from the love of God because Jesus Christ died for our sins, but let us not make the mistake of testing how far we can go by ourselves. There is the pain of sheer emptiness associated to a significant lack of God's presence, brought about by sin.
What, therefore, must be done? The Bible says that if we confess our sins to God He is faithful to forgive us. The catch there is that we should not only come from the standpoint that we recognize that we hurt ourselves, or that we hurt anyone else - we should realize that we hurt God. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before, but that's how repentance works. There's something about confessing that we hurt God through our actions that strengthens our will to stop doing the same mistake again.
Make no mistake - if we confess to a sin once, we are still vulnerable to committing the same sin again. The way we're wired to the world makes it difficult for us to truly, truly make strides to making a 180 degree turn from the sin the cripples us. That's why we have drug addicts, alcoholics, chain smokers, and perverts - these people have tried to take matters into their own hands and ultimately failed to stand against a force that's had centuries of practice in overwhelming countless people in the past with temptation.
I believe that an awareness of the Word is needed in this world... If we keep the Word close to our heart, we keep the Lord close, and the Word says that if we dwell in Him, He will dwell in us, and if the Lord is with us, we can be sure that He will direct our paths.
Every single action we perform in this world, be it significant or insignificant to the eyes of man, has its own effects and implications, immediate or delayed, seen or unseen. I am sure that this responsibility comes with the Bible as the perfect guide, and I am committed to acting, thinking, speaking, and feeling the Word this coming year.
May the Lord bless and keep you this 2010.
- Psalm 119:11
I remember a pastor mentioning once that sin complicates life, and to my understanding, it complicates life simply by putting distance between me and God. If we are farther from God, we are less exposed to His grace and favor, and God knows how much of that we need in all of our dealings in a daily basis.
I am aware of the fact that nothing cannot separate us from the love of God because Jesus Christ died for our sins, but let us not make the mistake of testing how far we can go by ourselves. There is the pain of sheer emptiness associated to a significant lack of God's presence, brought about by sin.
What, therefore, must be done? The Bible says that if we confess our sins to God He is faithful to forgive us. The catch there is that we should not only come from the standpoint that we recognize that we hurt ourselves, or that we hurt anyone else - we should realize that we hurt God. I'm not sure if I've mentioned that before, but that's how repentance works. There's something about confessing that we hurt God through our actions that strengthens our will to stop doing the same mistake again.
Make no mistake - if we confess to a sin once, we are still vulnerable to committing the same sin again. The way we're wired to the world makes it difficult for us to truly, truly make strides to making a 180 degree turn from the sin the cripples us. That's why we have drug addicts, alcoholics, chain smokers, and perverts - these people have tried to take matters into their own hands and ultimately failed to stand against a force that's had centuries of practice in overwhelming countless people in the past with temptation.
I believe that an awareness of the Word is needed in this world... If we keep the Word close to our heart, we keep the Lord close, and the Word says that if we dwell in Him, He will dwell in us, and if the Lord is with us, we can be sure that He will direct our paths.
Every single action we perform in this world, be it significant or insignificant to the eyes of man, has its own effects and implications, immediate or delayed, seen or unseen. I am sure that this responsibility comes with the Bible as the perfect guide, and I am committed to acting, thinking, speaking, and feeling the Word this coming year.
May the Lord bless and keep you this 2010.