Everyday Sin

So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. --James 4:17

I have been reading and hearing this verse of Scripture for most of my Christian life. And yet...somewhere along the way I stopped applying it to my own personal life. Or in other words, I could say, I stopped taking it seriously. If I go deeper than that (and I will) I'd have to honestly say, that at a core level, I have ceased to fear God. Therefore, it is "I" and not God whom I serve.

What does this mean? The message in the verse is clear. And yet...there exist areas in my life that I'd rather keep to myself than surrender to the Lord; the God of my salvation; the One who gives breath and meaning to my very existence.

Dear one, are you with me? Can you...do you hear the voice of your God and Maker calling you to repentance?

Precious sisters, come with me. Let's together, take the mirror of God's Word, illumined by the Person of the Holy Spirit, and look deep into our own hearts. What is the thing that you hold tightly in your hand, thinking you deserve; have a right to; have earned, etc., etc? Is it the right to gossip or slander anyone who doesn't think like you or agree with you? Is it the P word, PRIDE? Is it the big G...GLUTTONY? What about this one, CONTROL - control of all the details in your husband's life and the lives of your children? Is it a sour attitude? Or perhaps wasted time and resources? Is it SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS -you know the sense of rightness that's all about you, you, and you again?
I could go on and on and on. But I'm not trying to beat upon you or myself. I'm not trying to dig a hole, fill it with the stagnant water of self-condemnation, then jump in and drown myself. No! No! No!

What I am doing is inviting you to respond to the invitation that your heart receives everyday. Say yes to the Father's wooing, seeking voice and do as 1 John 1:9 commands.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Whatever "it" is, let us today decide to take it to the Lord in confessing prayer and receive the promise of cleansing, which equals freedom.
Let's take from the enemy of our soul the power of shame, false guilt, etc. Let's chose instead to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, who resides in us, enabling us to remember, Romans 8:1-4.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

No condemnation! No condemnation! No condemnation for those who are in Christ.
Praise God from whom all mercy flows!!

Stephanie