Go & Sin No More

God awakened me from a dream that took me to the place where I realized where sin entered and ruled my life.  God revealed to me what Satan took away from me before my sinful behavior.  Just as Satan came into the Garden of Eden and deceived Adam and Eve, Satan also came to me.  I did not have a solid foundation at the time, nor was I rooted in Christ's truth, promises or Word that would help me to recognize this deception let alone to fight or rebuke it.

Wow, God continues to come to me through dreams to take me deeper into the root causes and painful truths of my sin. None of us are immune to it because of the fallen world we were born into.  However, God has given us His Word, the Bible, to prepare us for the time of tribulation, chaos and catastrophes.  Acts 14:22 forewarns us of this that it is necessary in order to enter the Kingdom of God.  Other scriptures about this includes John 15:20, 1 Thessalonians 3:3, 2 Timothy 3:12 and Romans 8:17.  We will be tested and persecuted by Satan who is looking to devour us in any means possible.  As God continues to reveal to me the depth of my own sin, He also is revealing to me the evil spirits that are roaming in all of us trying to divide us, the systems that diminish us instead of restoring us, the structures that strangle the well-being for all and the tolerance of our social and cultural norms to accept certain behaviors. 

All of us, me included, must continue to pay attention and to ask God to reveal to us our known sin, our sin that is hidden and the sin of past decay in our lives that we must be delivered from.  If we fail to acknowledge our dark side, the enemy will continue to use it as a hook to keep us stuck in those sinful places where it is an obstacle that prevents us from being in a close relationship with God which the enemy so desires.  By acknowledging our sin before God, it no longer has power over us.  We bring it to the light, and it releases the strongholds and bondages that it has had upon our life.

There is no sin that is better or worse than any other.  Simply put, sin is missing the mark and separating us from a relationship with God.  Sin has serious consequences that may not be obvious in the moment, but in 1 Timothy 5:24 it does say that they do trail behind us.  The Good News is that Paul tells us in Colossians 3 that because we have died to sin that our life is also within Jesus Christ.  Since we are co-heirs with Christ, victory has already been won and nothing can separate us from God.  We must understand this faithfully though to not go about sinning knowingly because we now know God's truth with no excuse of ignorance.  A quote that often resonates in my head is,

"Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay."  The author is unknown, but what wisdom I resonate with this as I understand what sin has done and cost me in my life.  It is a painful truth sometimes too hard to bear. 

Jesus said in the Bible on two occasions that I am aware of in John 5:1-15 and John 8:3-11 to, "Go and sin no more."  Jesus knows we are not perfect, but He does ask us to consider the cost and consequences of our sinful lifestyle choices.  What grace, mercy, truth and holiness He offers us when we don't deserve any of it.  When I reflect on this unmerited gift, it is my longing and desire to give all of myself to Jesus who came to die for me.  How can it be, that we are LOVED in such a way to be set free.  It is overwhelming to comprehend and fully understand.  I praise God and thank Him though for His enduring LOVE for me, a sinner.  Amen!