weights and sins

Sometimes living the Christian life is pared down to what we can do and what we cannot do.  We look for Divine dos and don'ts and try to stick to them, so either so we don't get into trouble with God or so we can make Him happy.  It is definitely okay to see out what the Bible says not to do and avoid it, but overall, this isn't a healthy Christian lifestyle.  When we approach life this way, we consume things that may not be good for us just because the Bible doesn't specifically say not to.  That's like eating anything you see, so long as it isn't labeled poison.  Sometimes things aren't labeled bad for us but still are, both spiritually and physically.

What the Bible actually tells us to do is to not consume or carry anything that will slow us down, whether it is a sin or not.  Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."  So we must first understand what race it is God has called us to do, and then we must get rid of anything that keeps us from running that race well.  Sin is an obvious problem and is mentioned, but so are weights.  Weights can be anything.  Dating the wrong person can be a weight. Even if that person is another Christian, if they would keep you from your God-given race, they'll weigh you down.  The wrong school, career, or house can be a weight.  They may tie us down somewhere God hasn't intended us to run.  If we are to run with excellence, we must shed the weights.  Some runners may train with weights on their ankles and wrists, but when it comes to race day, you won't see competitive runners wearing them.  They get rid of all excess weight, so they can run as fast and as far as they can.

Here's the thing about weights: they aren't sins in and of themselves, so they can be harder to spot.  But God commands us to lay aside our weights, so we can run, so when we fail to do so, they do become sins for us.  The really hard part is that, like our sins, sometimes we just love our weights and want to hold onto them.  We find safety, comfort, and fulfillment from them sometimes.  But we have been promised those things in God if we follow Him.  So lay them aside.

What's weighing you down or holding you back from being who God wants you to be today?

it's always new. keep reading.

I have read Proverbs a lot.  It's probably my most-read book of the Bible.  It's either that or Genesis, which I usually read in January every year before scaling back to more modest Bible reading goals.  What I like about Proverbs is that it feels pretty disjointed.  If I were reading a story that was that scattered, I would be frustrated, but I like the constant flow of small pieces wisdom.  It gives me an opportunity to feel like I'm reading a new passage every time I read it.

I encourage you to keep reading your Bible (because the Bible says you should, of course).  Even though you've heard and read it all before, keep reading.  There's always something new.  The Holy Spirit is in you as a believer, and He will always reveal something to you for you from the Bible.  Sometimes He reveals one big thing.  Other times, He reveals several things.

Even though I've read Proverbs countless times in my life, I still have a lot of things to think and journal about.  This is what my quiet time has looked like recently.  I make lists of things God is saying and a corresponding list of what it should mean to me.



 

So what are you reading?

let the last time be the last time

One  thing I have noticed in my own life is how difficult it is to quit doing something you have done for years.  I quit drinking pop some time in March, but it didn't go away easily.  I originally gave it up for 2 weeks as part of a challenge to raise money for ActiveWater, but I realized I had a problem with it, so I decided to quit for good.  I did have very little pop recently, because I was out of water and needed to drink something, and I didn't like it.  It was my first reaction as I took a drink.  I thought it was gross and strange, which is really strange to me.  But then on Tuesday at small group, Dr. Pepper was put right in front of me, and I really wanted it.  I knew I didn't like pop the last time I took a drink, but I was used to liking it, and I wanted it.  So I took a drink, and I immediately thought that it was gross again.  And you know what?  I'll probably be tempted to drink it again and end up taking a drink, and I'll probably end up thinking it's gross again.  This may be a lifetime cycle for me.

It reminds me of sinning, especially when it's a sin you've grown accustom to.  You can quit sinning the same sin several times.  You can even get to a point of disgust with it.  You can fool yourself into continuing indefinitely with one simple thought: "Okay, I swear this is the last time."  You can also keep lapsing back into it by only remembering the very short-term pleasure it brought and forgetting your disgust and saying, "I'll just do it a little bit, just this one time, and then I'll go back to quitting."  How many times have you told yourself right before sinning that this will be the last time?  In comparison, how many times has it turned out to truly be the last time?  We allow ourselves to sin, and when the next opportunity comes up, we often tell ourselves the same lies again, and we tend to fall for it again and again.  This is the last time.

It's kind of a crazy if you think about it.  Why do you think about making this the last time?  Probably because the Holy Spirit is convicting you, shouting to you, "NO!  Don't do that again!"  So you tell yourself (and Him) that it's okay, this will be the last time.  What you're really saying is, "Please be quiet.  I want to sin."  You blow off the Holy Spirit's convicting you, and you proceed.  I know how this goes.  I've been through this.  But then I felt the conviction turned up a notch when I said, "This will be the last time," once.  Because I felt like God's response was, "No, let last time be the last time."

That's now what I tell myself when I am tempted to sin.  It's not a fool proof method, because I am strongly a fool, and I fail, but it works a lot more often than giving myself one last sinful hurrah after one last sinful hurrah. So what sin or sins did you already do one last time?  Keep them in the past.  Let the last time be the last time.