To sin, I mean.
"Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?" declares the LORD. "Do not I fill heaven and earth?" declares the LORD." Jeremiah 23:24
I fell asleep last night thinking about this. Why do we sin at all? Think about it. As Christians, why on earth do we justify a sin and follow through with it? I mean, I know that the devil constantly puts temptations in front of us to try and get us to sin, but why do we let him win? It seems to me that in the face of temptation, this verse alone would make someone think twice. Think about a child. A child has been told absolutely not, they may not have a cupcake until after dinner. Yet the cupcakes are on the counter in the open (temptation). If the child is going to "sin" they are going to wait until no one is in the room and try and sneak a cupcake-likely heading off to a hiding place to enjoy it. Now if there are parents in the room watching the cupcakes at all times- is that child likely to try and sneak a cupcake? Not likely. Now unlike this pretend cupcake scenario, the fact is that God is always watching. He knows absolutely everything- he knows my every thought, and every hair on my head is numbered. (That's a lot of hair to number!)
We can say that "we're human" and sin happens sometimes...but I'm starting to wonder if it doesn't. If there is an option to not sin. And why not? Part of what this journey through life is, is the growing process to become more Christ-like, more holy so that we can be admitted to heaven. And sinning does not equal more holiness. When we become save we repent our sins.
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." Matthew 3:2
"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15
"I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" Luke 5:32
The dictionary defines repent as "to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's life", so repenting is more than just confessing our sins- it's changing them. Repentance is changing our mind and the way we think so that we don't sin.
Now the truth is that if we did sin, if we did make a mistake, we can take comfort in the fact that we have a Heavenly Father who will forgive us even then, we know that. But for me... I think that's simply not good enough. It's not enough to wake up in the morning and be thankful that I have a God who forgives me when I do wrong. Instead, I want to change my mindset. I want to wake up in the morning and say "God, let me become more like you today- keep me from sin and from trouble." By focusing on "the adult in the room" instead of the temptation, I can change the way I think. After a while, the temptation will fade away and not be so prominent, and over time, those cupcakes won't even be an issue. I think it's time. I think it's time to end the sinful nature and strive to become more like Christ.
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" Matthew 6:21
Now if you've read this far and read to the end today, I also just wanted to mention today that this post is the 500th post here at Heart and Soul! Who knew! There have certainly been days where I have thought about hitting the delete button and freeing up my mornings, but, oh, the journey I would have missed! I'm still interested in adding a few more people to the site here. Have you thought about sharing from your heart? Not every day, not even once a week, but I've had thoughts about how wonderful it would be to have a group of people that just share from the heart things they've been learning from God- whether that be daily devotionals, or something more personal. We can set it up too to be completely anonymous if that is an interest for you, but if you've had the thought, maybe it's time to give it a try. No conditions, no commitments, and no requirements other than a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Let me know, I'd love to have you on board. erika@tummytreasure.com
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