August 17, 2023

“The true Christian hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, considers it his greatest plague, resents the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be completely delivered from it.” – J.C. Ryle

What it means

Still on the subject of sin – so very true, sin is a real problem for all of us living in this world right now.  As much as we like to think we’re nice people and it’s everybody else who’s more messed up than we are…sorry, but not true…it’s all of us.  I know, really cheery Brian, thanks for picking us up 😊.  And it’s also true that we flee from it, fight it, and really resent whenever we find ourselves falling short of the mark.  Nobody likes to be under its influence, but what’s the trick to accomplishing just that?

What it means to me

The correct response from us, every time, is to repent.  Repent.  Turn away from it…and run as fast as you can, the other direction.  Now…sounds easy enough, right? Just repent and we’re completely healed from whatever sin habit we may find ourselves enslaved by…no more slipping into our bad habits.  Again, no…rest assured that you will fall again and again…so what do we do then? Same thing – repent.  Leave it with The One who can help us so much more than we can help ourselves…and He will.  He will help us and, God willing, one fateful day, we may find ourselves free from our particular shortcoming.  Some of us may never entirely kick the habit, but if continually try to repent and leave the final results with The Lord, He will be faithful to meet us where we are…so don’t get discouraged, or think that you are somehow defined by your shortcomings, because you’re not.  You are a child of God, He loves you very, very much…and He will always be by your side as your greatest cheerleader as long as He is your Lord and your Savior.

Love you guys, see you in church on Sunday!

In Christ,

Brian