Determined not to sin
Jacob
longer wants to continue to sin as he used to, but he wants to stop
sinning and start pleasing God. This is the result of God's seed (1Jn.
3:9) beginning to grow inside him. Earlier he enjoyed sin, but now he
doesn't want to. It is not that he stops falling into sin altogether,
but he doesn't want to. The elderly apostle John said that this was a
mark of a child of God (v.6-10). The new born Christian is of course
not able to overcome all temptations or be victorious all the time
because he is weak as a baby and needs to grow in grace and in the
knowledge of the Lord. God knows this very well. He wants to save us
from our sins and He doesn't want us to sin, but He has made provision
for us to confess our sins and receive forgiveness (1Jn.2:1,2;1:9).
One danger we face after we have come to know the doctrine of
unmerited favour from God and His unlimited love and mercy is that we
slowly allow ourselves to lower our guard against sin. Satan helps us
in this direction by warning us (as if he is an angel of light) that
we shouldn't be legalistic about the commandments of God. But when we
are not "watching and praying lest we should fall into temptation" (Mt.
26:41) we fall! Temptation comes unexpectedly and in subtle ways, and
we are caught off guard. We may fall not only because of this, but
this is one of the main reasons why we fall, and one that Jesus has
specially warned us about.
A well known military saying is, "In times of peace, prepare for war."
Times of peace are when training gets done, equipments are bought or
refurbished, strategies are learned and tested, enemies are studied
and analysed, etc. Most of us don't do this in our spiritual life. We
tend to go on living just like every one else around us, and call on
God only when we face a calamity. Our spiritual muscles don't get
exercised, and our spiritual alertness cools down.
Let us make a distinction between severe calamities that force us to
go to God and the daily temptations that trouble us in daily life. In
our daily life we are tempted to tell lies, react in anger or
irritation, become anxious, jealous or bitter, entertain lustful looks
or thoughts, etc. Some of us may not even of think of such things as
temptations to sin! We aren't going to be able to overcome such
temptations if we aren't determined to. But if we are determined to
fight against temptations and overcome them, then we will also get
into the habit of watching and praying.
This is not just about praying. It is a whole attitude set against
sin. This will lead to preparations against temptation -- getting to
know God better, hearing His voice more clearly, understanding His
mind and His ways better, understanding more about our own weaknesses
and special tendencies towards sin, learning how others have managed
to cope with temptations, etc.
We can't hope to get much further on this way if we have no time to
'spare' for such things!
tobi ayo
From: Jacob <jni...@gmail.com>
To: ChristLife <chris...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Sat, April 10, 2010 2:35:44 AM
Subject: [ChristLife] Determined not to sin
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OJO SADO
Re Determination not to sin
I appreciate your boldness to come out of sin. This are my suggestions i believe they will help you by His grace.
1. Ask God to forgive you for all known and unknown sins 2. Believe He has forgiven you 3. Get filled with the Holy spirit. 4. Attend a bible believing church. 5. Reduce your closeness to unbelieving friends also those who say they believe who still indulge in sin be careful with them. 6. Join the church prayer band. 7. Read the bible daily 8. Commit to memory scriptures that give God promises 9. Meditate (think) on those scriptures you read . 10 Fast at least twice a week this should be between you and God. 11 Pray always
God bless you
Bro Sado.
From: tobi ayo <ayvi...@yahoo.com>
To: chris...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Mon, April 12, 2010 1:12:08 PM
Subject: Re: [ChristLife] Determined not to sin
tobi ayo
From: OJO SADO <ojosa...@yahoo.com>
To: chris...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Tue, April 13, 2010 11:58:46 AM
OJO SADO
Greeting in Jesus name.
It is true the devil will ALWAYS tell you, you are not ok, you are not perfect etc. But you are the one that will stand against all those thoughts by replying the devil with scriptures that confirms your established relationship with God like John 1: 12 (But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:) Tell the devil that God has forgiven you. Other scriptures that will help you are as follows.
Gal. 3 : 13, Ipet. 1 : 18, Rev. 5 : 9, and Pslm 91: 1 - end. Confess these scriptures all the time loud, let them sink into your subconscious mind. Also learn to pray out loud, (not as eye service please) so you can be hearing what you are saying.
Remain bless in Jesus name.
Bro Sado