8-1-2023

Good Morning All,

     Genesis 4:7b; “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

    Over the years, I have watched children as they have struggled with “doing the right thing,” that is; to avoid sin.  I have watched them when they are young when candy gets passed around.  They are told to take one to be sure everyone gets one and you can almost bet that one of them will take one, put it in their mouth and then take a second one.  As they get older, it is pretty much the same, but the value of the items increases.

    Many of us struggle with “sin crouching at our door.”  The devil loves to wait for you to slip in his muddy trap.  For you, it may not be to take an extra piece of candy; it might be that little piece of gossip that is just too juicy to pass up.  Maybe the internet leads you to websites you shouldn’t go to.  We all have those sins that are just waiting to sneak up on us.  Perhaps you are a little too critical of someone else.  Maybe you are a little too quick to make a crude or rude remark.  You might even speak without really thinking about it. 

    One of the really dangerous things about these sins is that they prey on you and weigh you down.  These are often the sins that the devil tries to convince that we need to hide.  “No one will know” might be the tact that he uses, or he might go the other way, “If anyone knew you did that; they would never speak to you again.”  Whatever he can say to you; the devil uses sin to try and separate you from God.  

    That is what sin does, it separates us from God and his love, and it leaves us cold and alone.  The devil’s goal is for you to think that you are in a tiny life raft in the middle of the ocean, all alone, with sharks circling around you.  The devil wants the exact opposite of what God wants.  God wants for you and for me to have good, strong relationships.  God wants us close to him, close to our families and friends, close with our Christian brothers and sisters.  God wants you connected to his love.  The devil wants you unconnected.  That way he can torment you at his leisure.

    This is why daily prayer and devotion time is so important.  Prayer and reading God’s Word is the holy conversation between you and God.  This gives us a stronger desire to be with God and thus weakens our desire to sin.  God’s love for you is greater than anything the devil can throw at you.  We must trust God’s promise to defeat the devil and his lies.

Dear Father, give me the power and the strength to avoid the traps that the devil sets for me.  Keep me strong through your grace and when I do fall, restore me with your tender mercy.  In Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret