Not sinning is as easy as, not sinning!

I am totally serious, not sinning is easy!

Yes, I know that fighting sin always feel complicated, but not sinning is just as easy as, well... not sinning!

Before you look at me like a karate chop hitting a tomato, let me explain.

James 1:13-15
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

This scripture is great because it highlights the fact that if we don't desire sin, then not sinning is super easy.

But, what if we want to sin?

...huh

Well, I guess that makes things more complicated then.

Or does it?

So You Were Forced To Sin At Gunpoint, Yeah Right!

When is the last time someone held a gun to your head and told you to do something sinful?

All the time I am sure.


Riiight...:)

The reality about sin, is that nobody sins unless they want to.

No one ever forces us to do something sinful, we choose to do it.

I Know It Is Bad For Me, But I *Really* Want To!

For the sins we just can't seem to let go of, it is important to understand that there is something about them we enjoy or we wouldn't be doing them in the first place.

For example:

People won't put their hand on a red hot stove because they know it will hurt.

But some people eat junk food, not knowing whats going to happen to there body.

 Sin Doesn't Run On Batteries, It Runs On You

The vast majority of sins are willingly chosen, just like we choose what to eat, what movies to watch, what clothes to wear, etc...

The Most Powerful Thing In The World Is Your Free Will

God gave us a free will; total freedom of choice.

This means that he gave us the freedom to make decisions based on what we want or don't want. You may ask why doesn't God stop us right before we make this act of sin? Well, I don't think anybody really does, or at least I don't.

The power of our choices is incredibly strong, and, for better or worse, it determines a huge portion of our life.

For example, we can choose to do amazing things, like:

Fulfill God's word by resisting sin and overcoming the temptations of the world

1 John 5:3-4
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world

Welcome God's blessings into our lives when we choose to seek him

Jeremiah 29:11-13
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart

Be recognized as Jesus' disciples

John 13:34-35
A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

However, in other examples, we can choose to do horribly negative things, like:

Make Jesus' sacrifice powerless to change our lives

2 Peter 2:20
If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning

Lose our salvation and nail Jesus back on the cross

Hebrews 6:4-6
It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace

As you can see, our will and choices are extremely powerful, so it is no mystery why it is important to guard them at all times and guide them towards righteous decisions.

If the powers of darkness could nail Jesus back up on the cross, they would have done it a long time ago, but they can't, they need us to do it for them

The Power To Choose, In Everything

Don't ever feel like sin is something you can't overcome, because, as you can see, your choices are capable of doing anything.

And besides, not sinning is just as easy as choosing not to sin, that is all there is to it!

God gave us freedom through Jesus, and we need to own that by honoring him with our hearts and minds, not just our words or ability to sit still for a few hours on a Sunday.

  

Matthew 22:27
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind."

Now I am not saying stay clean of all sins and bad things out there, and I am most definitely not saying sinning is necessarily a good thing, but honestly if I wouldn't have made some of the mistakes I made this week, or last week, or years ago I wouldn't be the person I am. Like everyone says, "Learn from your mistakes and don't do it again!"  When you have that gut feeling like you know its wrong, just don't do it in the long run you'll be so happy you did the right thing. I swear the "gut feeling" is a gift God has given each and everyone of us. I mean ahhh, it saves me often.The "gut feeling" is usually God's voice, it is for me. It tells me no to what I need to not be doing, and yes to things I should be doing.

If you have sinned...I do, on a daily basis..I am not kidding. It could be bad, or just one little wrong move with my brother. It could be anything. But, I encourage you to repent(say your sorry to Jesus and any people you hurt.) And get up and stand strong. Life always gets better.

God Bless,

~Jenna
                                                   An encouraging verse to me this week:

Matthew 7:7

     Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.