Love you all, praying for you,
(Praying that you will stay with me on this one. His Word can change your life.) I just love God’s Word – it calls you out. And then, it gives you a way out! If you are a Christian, and have given your life to Christ… Have you ever struggled with sin in your life? Are you right now? What is sin? Anything different than what God said Any violation of God’s laws of how people should live and treat one another. Anything not holy, man’s way not God’s way. Anything less than His Word, His will or His best. That’s sin. First things first. Let’s just tell the truth. Sin is not a struggle, it’s a choice. You didn’t struggle with it, it wasn’t much of a struggle. You just got tempted, and did it - again. Like a bull with a ring through its nose, it didn’t take much, you have no power over it, it has power over you. You choose sin, because you love sin, more than you love God. You prefer the natural tendency of the flesh, the passions and the temporary pleasures of the world, more than the praise and blessing of God. You’re not struggling with sin, you’re doing it, you’re choosing it. And you don’t know exactly how to stop. Maybe it’s the sin that so easily besets you, or a whole list of new ones that you don’t know how to resist. You’re hanging out with the wrong people, or in the wrong places, or feeding your eyes and mind with the things of the world, the influences of this sinful culture. You’re not fixing your eyes on Jesus, renewing your mind with His Word, and moving your feet. Rather than separating yourself from it, and feeding your spirit over your flesh, you’re indulging it and the results are predictable. Like Paul said, Romans 7:15, 24-25 - The things I want to do, I don’t do, and the things I don’t want to do, those are the things I keep on doing... What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our LORD! Rom 6:11-18 – Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin will not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or slaves to obedience, which lead to righteousness? (Bob Dylan was right, “Ya gotta serve somebody, it may be the devil or it may be the LORD, but ya gotta serve somebody.) But thanks be to God that though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the teaching to which you are devoted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness… Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness… Paul shared that Jesus died so you could be free from sin, so it doesn’t control you anymore! He goes on to ask. In verse 20 – When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness - but what did that get you? Those things result in death. But now that you have set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (And life more abundantly.) For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our LORD. So what is life? Being a slave to obedience which leads to righteousness, rather than slaves to sin, which leads to death. So how do you walk in victory over sin in your life? First, if you haven’t been saved yet, if you haven’t put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and committed to Him leading your life, you’re not really concerned with sin. You are just living a life on the path that leads to destruction. Doesn’t matter how good you think you are… You’re either ignorant of your sin, and the wages of it – which is death and eternal separation from God… Or you have rationalized your sin – saying it’s not really sin (It is), or saying “God is ok with it” (He’s not), or I’m not that bad, not as bad as that person (Irrelevant), Or you’ve just given up hope, I can’t stop it, so why fight it. The Ostrich method of dealing with sin, burying your head in the sand, is what you’re going with. But reality is, the sin problem you have is not about being good or bad. God said there is no one good, not even one. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory (the Holiness) of God – which disqualifies you from heaven. That’s why He had to die for your sin. You need a Savior! Your problem is, one sin made you a sinner, unholy not holy, disqualified from heaven, no matter what else you do. If you murder someone, you are a murderer. Just cause you haven’t done it for over a week now, or love your Mom, doesn’t remove what you did. Murderers don’t get into heaven, they are disqualified. Whether murderers, liars, the lustful, the prideful, the greedy, if you stole something, or took the Name of the LORD in vain, slandered someone, caused division instead of unity. But you haven’t done this just once, you’re got a record when it comes to sin, just like that life-long criminal and it ain’t pretty. If you did just one sin, and only did it one time, you’re a sinner. The Ten Commandments alone, much less the law of Moses, or the Commands of Christ – reveal you’re disqualified from Heaven, you have no chance to be in the Presence of a Holy God – completely pure, and without sin – the requirement of heaven. The brightest light that anyone has ever seen, you can’t even look into it – He’s that pure and Holy. You’re disqualified, your sin condemns you, not God. He’s just the Judge – who died himself for you. What will send you to hell is actually not just sin, it’s the rejection of Jesus, God himself, who died for you, your only chance, the only way, but you won’t choose Him. You couldn’t pay for your sin anyway – you aren’t the sinless Lamb of God sent to take away the sin of all the world. So you couldn’t even die for yourself, you are dead in your sin. What you think about sin doesn’t matter. The truth is - Sin separates you from Holy God – and if you die, you will be separated from Him for eternity in a place called hell. You need a Savior, Jesus Christ, and you’ll be a new creature, forgiven, and reconciled to God in relationship with Him as His Son and Daughter. You can do that right now. A: Admit you’re a sinner, repent, think differently about it, it’s not ok! Repent and turn to him, B: Believe Jesus died in your place to cover your sin, that God raised Him from the dead, and then! C: Commit your life to Him from this day forward, to live as He commands, and He’ll help you! If you do that, you will be saved, you’ll live in heaven with Him, for all of eternity, He promised in His Word. If you did that, please call me, I’d love to pray for you, and encourage you in your new life journey. But today’s daily huddle is for those who have already been Saved, but find themselves still struggling with the sin that wants them back… Let’s say you got saved, maybe a year ago already. You are now a new creation in Christ! But the old life wants you back. Leave sin in the past, or it will control you again. The devil wants you to sin, even after you become a Christian – so it causes a wedge to come between you and God - so you will be separated in your relationship with God, under His correction, His wrath, or ultimately, His judgment. The devil wants to entice you back onto the merry-go-round of guilt, so he can bring you to ruin, and steal the fruit that God has for your life, and keep you from the purpose He created you for. So if you’ve been choosing sin first, not God first, in some areas in your life… How do you overcome that sin nature that wants to control you – even after you have become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior? How do you truly live by that salvation commitment to living life with Him as your LORD. He’s not your LORD if you’re still stuck in sin, it’s still lording it over you. If your sin nature is too strong, how do you resist the devil, so he flees from you, so you can leave sin behind, so you walk in the righteousness that God has for you. This is not a formula, these are just some things that if you follow God’s Word in doing them, God will give you the power to overcome sin. Your choice, but these will surely help you – to walk in victory – in that newness of life! Eleven Things To Overcome Sin .1 Salvation – without Jesus, you cannot escape sin, it owns you. You are a slave to it. .2 Baptism of the Holy Spirit – it’s the power God promised to help you overcome sin (witness means martyr – dying to the old life, so you can live the new life in Christ). It’s the power that helps you choose His Grace! Your choice, but with the Filling of the Holy Spirit - you’ll have the power. That’s why God said, “Don’t leave Jerusalem til you get.” .3 The Fear of the LORD – Love what God loves, hate what God hates. He hates sin. People sin because there is no fear of God before their eyes, they love sin, more than they love God. Learn the Fear of the LORD. The Fear of the LORD is to turn from evil, fully obey, say nothing harmful, seek peace and pursue it. See the Fear of the LORD packet. If you learn the fear of the LORD, you’ll hate sin. It will be repulsive to you. You won’t go back. .4 A More Powerful Law! The law of righteousness that now controls you is infinitely more powerful than the law of sin that used to control you. You are the righteousness of God in Christ, you’re just still submitting your members to sin, instead of submitting them to Christ. Adam sinned once, and it enslaved everyone after him. That’s the law of sin that controlled you. But Jesus didn’t just die for one sin, Adam’s sin - that’s controlled everybody all these years… Jesus died once for every sin ever committed by every one ever! So Righteousness could reign over you like sin used to. The law of sin that controlled you – came from just one sin. The Law of Righteousness that controls you now if you let it - came from every sin ever - forgiven! Past present and future, cancelled by the Blood of Jesus. Paul said if the law of sin that came from one sin controlled you, how much more will the law of righteousness that came from ‘every sin forgiven’ now control you! The Law of Righteousness from Jesus, is infinitely more powerful than the law of sin from Adam. A trillion times stronger. Every human sin forgiven, is way bigger than Adam’s one sin. All you need to do is walk in His Law of Righteousness. Submit your members to it. Like a chain saw versus a hand saw. Start the engine! .5 God’s Word – How can a young man cleanse His way by taking heed according to your Word. Your word I have hid in my heart, so I won’t sin against you. His Word brings victory over sin. Ephesians 4:13 - It is God who works in you - both to will and to act according to his good purpose. He even gives you the want to, the Grace to Choose Grace, the way out. Soak in God’s Word, and your mind will be transformed. PRISM and PRISM Topics will help you! You will get the mind of Christ – which is righteousness, not the mind of man – which is slave to sin. .6 PiVAT Daily – Get God’s Plan for you today, and do it, and you won’t be walking down her street near her house! You’ll be nowhere near there, you’re busy doing better things – that God planned for you today! Sin isn’t one of them. Learn to obey what He told you today, be faithful to obey His plans for you in this hour - and you’ll be distanced from anything that leads to sin. .7 Confess – confess your sin to God and He will forgive you, ( I John 1:9) and confess your sins one to another and pray for each other that you may be healed. (James 5:16) If you choose wrong, and you confess and forsake it, God will forgive you. But God also says, confess your sin to one another and pray for each other, that you may be healed. Few Christians actually do this. They’re embarrassed, they don’t want others to know what they did, and the devil tells them “better just keep this one to yourself.” Keep this in the dark, rather than bring it into the light. Things in the dark usually remain undealt with, so they remain. .8 Daily Call – Exhort one another daily while it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. If you get hardened to it, you’ll go back. You need a Daily Call – Hebrews 3:13. Start obeying God’s plan for you, and transforming your mind with His Word, and overcoming (the devil and sin) by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of your testimony. This is a tool that God prescribed to walk in the law of righteousness. Exhort one other daily. Ask God who He wants you to walk with in a Daily Call. .9 Resist – Choose Grace. The next time temptation comes. Choose Grace to say no to ungodliness. You make that choice now, not in the heat of the moment. David said, “I have inclined my heart to obey your word.” Decide now, commit to choose Grace now! So you will when you need to. Speak with your mouth, and move your feet. Leave your coat behind if you have to. Choose Grace. The power God gives – to say no to sin. .10 Declare – David’s Declarations, Declare what you will do! Obey every time! And what will God do? He’ll bring victory! Psalms 101:2-3 - I will walk in my house with blameless heart, I will set before my eyes no unclean thing, the deeds of unfaithful men I hate, they will not cling to me. David knew the power of God’s Word, and the power of his word in agreement – the power of declaration. .11 Intervals – In an area of your life, if it's un-surrendered, shorten the interval. If you can’t go a day without cussing, start with an hour. Shorten the interval, Ask God for help this hour. Let Jesus do the work, He’s already done it. He’s done it for you! Declare God’s Word, Your Obedience, His faithfulness, and Praise Him for delivering you! You can declare by faith – He promised. Then start filling your mouth with Praise, and truth and life. If you’re praising, you’re not cussing. Celebrate every hour the Victory God just gave you over sin. Share your testimony! Get some obedience momentum. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. He’ll come at you with the kitchen sink, but if you start getting that obedience momentum, He’ll back off – He doesn’t like taking the “L.” He’ll try again later, but you’re ready, God’s Word is making you stronger! God will help you see Him coming. You’ll Choose Grace – cause the Law of Righteousness that now controls you is infinitely more powerful than the law of sin that once did. You’ve got some momentum, you’ve got a testimony that you overcome with. And more testimonies are coming! Every day is a new victory. It’s that law of righteousness that now controls you! Note: If you ever fail to choose Grace to Say No to sin. Confess immediately, To God and a friend. And turn from it. I John 1:9 – God will forgive you. Get back on your horse – and obey this hour! Shorten the interval to fifteen minutes of you have to. Start a new string of obedience momentum. Get busy with God’s plan for you today – just fully obey what He told you to do in this hour. Thank Him for His mercy and forgiveness. Soak in the Word that tells you what He did to free you, and cleanse you. The Bible says He even forgives the guilt of your sin. The devil will try to throw that back on you, decline, resist him. That isn’t for you to carry anymore. God forgave you, so the guilt the devil tries to put on you – is fake. If you aren’t turning from sin, it’s not fake guilt, you’re guilty. But if you confess, repent, and forsake it, God will forgive you for sure. Thank Him for it, and just choose grace in this hour. Celebrate every victory over sin. It’s a big deal! God is faithful! The Law of Righteousness now at work in you. The Holy Spirit whom you are walking in. Pray in the Spirit, build yourself up in your most holy faith, Speak God’s Word, Declare that you are choosing His Way out, and you will choose it the next time, and every time! Move your feet, Get about your business what He told you to do in this hour, and praise Him for His mercy and grace – His victory in your life, that takes you from victory to victory, from glory to glory. If you have Jesus in you, the Holy Spirit filling you, you have a new law controlling you, the law of righteousness infinitely more powerful than the law of sin that once controlled you. Submit your members to Christ, not sin, and do these things that His Word says. And you will walk in victory over sin, in newness of life. The fear of the LORD will be a shield for you. Read the PRISM Topic – You’re not fearing God for nothing. It will encourage you. Learn the Fear of the LORD, and you’ll choose the grace that comes with that law of righteousness. You will gain victory over sin, it will no longer control you, you are now controlled by a much higher power – the law of righteousness. Far more powerful than the law of sin ever was. Because of Jesus, your Savior and your LORD. The One who gives you power to overcome. Christ in you, the hope of glory! Love you all, dad
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AuthorKelly Kamentz - Jesus follower, husband, father, and friend, helping others surrender time, thoughts, money, and testimony, to fulfill their purpose! Archives
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