Living Free - Sept. 6, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Despair
Today's Scripture
"So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor. (James 4:7-10 NLT)
Thoughts for Today
One result from the vicious cycle of sexual sin we've discussed this week is despair. Hopelessness. Feeling powerless to control the sexual compulsion driving a person to destruction.
Satan wants to drive us to despair. When we are trapped in a cycle of sin, he will tempt us with these lies: "You may as well go do it since you already have shown you can't resist. You are nothing but a sinner, so go do it. You know you like it. It will make you feel better." He uses guilt and shame to push us back into the sin cycle.
Consider this . . .
Satan condemns. The Holy Spirit convicts.
Satan uses guilt to push us away from God and further into our sin. He tells us we may as well give into the sin - God wouldn't want us after what we have done. He makes us feel ashamed to approach God and does all he can to drive a wedge between us and our Savior. Condemnation.
But the Bible tells us there is no condemnation in Christ. "So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1 NLT).
The Holy Spirit addresses our guilt, but not with condemnation. With conviction. Urging us to turn from the sin. Drawing us back to God.
Whose voice are you listening to? Are you letting your guilt and shame push you further from God? Then you are listing to Satan, the accuser. Today's scripture tells us if we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Admit your guilt. Humble yourself before God and repent. "But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness" (1 John 1:9).
Father, thank you that I can come to you for forgiveness. I thank you there is no condemnation in Christ. I'm so sorry for what I have done. Please forgive me and help me overcome. Help me resist the devil and follow completely after you. In Jesus' name . . .
These thoughts were drawn from …
Crossroads: Choosing the Road to Sexual Purity by David E. Longacre. Crossroads deals with choosing the road to sexual purity and is suggested for use in support groups and Christian counseling.
- Describes the sexual addiction process
- Shows how the sin of proximity often precedes sexual sins
- Shows the way out of sexual addiction
- Presents biblical insights to help a person break free and stay free
- Gives practical actions for renewing the mind
- Serves as a powerful evangelistic tool by providing a way to minister to people's felt needs and then pointing them to Christ
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