Good Thursday morning! Praise God for the new day! Whoo, it got cold last night. As of now we are all the way up to 20° right here in western Nebraska. As we might have expected from the late start in December, winter is not ready to let go yet. Last night the pastor had a bee in his bonnet, and he shared the buzzing with us in our Bible study. When the Holy Spirit puts something on your heart, rest assured that it is going to come out. I have felt the same thing on my heart at times the night before I sit down to write the devotional. You can bet that the Spirit will not let me forget just because I had a night to sleep it off. We started with homosexuality last night, but what struck me most was that some people struggle with it. As Christians we can run into a host of problems with this, but one of the sneakiest is where we first thank God that we don't struggle in that area, and then we puff out the chest a little and look down on those who do.
You probably struggle in some area. I have found that not many Christians seem to have it easy in that regard. There is almost always some sin that is the thorn in our side. Sexual immorality including; homosexuality, pornography, adultery, fornication, masturbation, imagination, and probably quite a few others is one that many of us struggle in. Others may struggle with gossip about those who struggle with the above list. Name any sin and you can find a Christian struggling with it. The sneaky sin is when we look at that other fellow, or even "them", the ones who struggle with a particular sin, but we don't know any names to go with the group. We find it easy to look down on "them" and wonder how God could put up with "them". We might even discuss "them" behind their collective backs, perhaps not knowing that one of "them" is in our very group. Surely that group of "them" people are facing imminent judgment and God has a special smiting reserved just for "them"! As usual, I tend to inject a little humor into a serious subject, but you may have to admit that at some point you and I have been guilty of that sneaky sin.
Not one of us is holier than the other. When Jesus found you and me, we looked to him just like all the other sinners he had rescued from a world of sinners. It doesn't matter which sin you and I struggle with, each reminds us that we are no better than "them". If you cannot think of a sin in which you struggle with almost daily it seems, you can praise God, and get to work praying for those of us who do struggle. Of course the sin you struggle with might be that sneaky one; that looking down on other Christians as being somehow less than you because of their struggles with other sins.
When we look down on some group of our brothers in Christ who struggle in an area of sin that has never tempted you and me, we might tend to think that is because God has made us strong in that area. The truth is that it could be just the opposite. It may be that we are so weak in that area that God has held up the stop sign to Satan and we are protected from that particular temptation. Perhaps we are strong in an area of life, but before we become puffed up with some of that pride, we may want to consider that opposite viewpoint. Are we all just lost then? No hope at all for us in our struggles? If you are counting on your own goodness to save you, then yes your doom is at hand. But! That is not the good news.
The Good News is that Jesus Christ came to save us and died to save us from the penalty of all of our sins. Not just those before we came to believe in Jesus, but those we may commit tomorrow or the next day. Jesus knew all of your sins and my sins when he died on the cross. Now if you are like me, you might feel a certain curiosity about that list, but then again, we are probably better off not knowing what those future sins might be. When Jesus told the disciples about the sins of the mind, like committing murder by hating in your mind, or committing adultery by looking at a woman with lust, the disciples despaired a bit. "Who then can be saved?" they asked the Lord. Jesus told them that what is impossible for man, is possible with God. In other words, with man it is impossible to save ourselves through good works and remaining sinless. However, with God it is possible to have the Son of God come down to earth, die to pay the penalty for our sins, even the ones that happen only in our hearts, and save us through faith in Christ.
I would like to boast about my good works, but not one will save me. I would like to boast of my victory in the struggle with sin, but that battle has only been a long defeat in my own efforts. I will boast of what Jesus has done in me, and of the forgiveness I have even in those sins that I still commit in my life. We consider Paul one of the best of all Christians, but we can also read of his struggle with sin in Romans. We all struggle with sin and temptation to sin, therefore we have no reason to look down on "them" in their struggle with a sin.
We do have a reason to boast of the victory of Jesus over sin and death. Have a great day in Christ!
Bucky
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