Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 13, 2016
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 1 Timothy 1:15… If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 1 John 1:8
My propensity to sin is directly related to my perspective of how sinful I am. For example, if I lose my sensitivity to the dangers of an emotional attraction to another woman—other than my wife, I become sensitized by the sin of pride. I lower my moral guard and I become vulnerable to the foolish actions of following my sinful desires, justifying all along the way—that I can handle a little zest in my life. If on the other hand—I cling to Christ in my daily devotion and recognize my need for His cleansing power over my soiled soul—I will be on high alert of my inability to handle temptation alone—and by faith will crucify sin’s arresting influence. But, alone I’m done.
Yes, the man who wrote much of the New Testament described himself as the worst of sinners—not just for an exaggerated shock affect, but to illustrate the need of our desperate dependence on Jesus. Familiarity with the faith is a precarious place where pride incubates and begins to deceive a believer into thinking they are okay when nursing small compromises, only to soon develop the chronic spiritual sickness of not dealing with sin. Paul’s religious resume was a liability to him forgetting to engage in the need of the Spirit’s conviction, thus he stayed sensitive to sin—to overcome sin.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2). “Do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires” (Romans 6:12).
Be careful that your convictions do not conform to the world’s way, instead of transforming the world by living out the way of Christ. Similar to a developing photo, as it gradually sensitizes to the darkroom dynamics, so our mind and heart can grow accustomed to sin’s darkened influence. The bright light of the Lord’s righteous expectations overexpose sin’s picture of false hope and brings the truth out into the open on captivating display. An attractive life walks in God’s light.
A community of loving accountability is necessary to keep our standards for living aligned with the Lord. We finish well in the faith—together, not by ourselves. Our private prayers deepen our intimacy with Jesus, when complemented by our public prayers with fellow followers of Jesus. Our individual confession of sin to God grows in honesty, when we are open to confess our sins to one another and be healed. Our temptation to sin is tempered when we give permission to other God fearing friends to call us out if we dismiss God’s word and drift toward foolishness. Sensitivity to sin is the Spirit’s anti-venom serum to not be sensitized by sin’s poisonous bite.
“Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly! In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper. Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things” (Proverbs 23:31-33).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, keep me sensitive to hate what You hate and love what You love.Application
What sin have I grown comfortable with that I need to run from and what community do I need to run toward for accountability.Related Reading
Psalm 51:5; Mark 14:38; Romans 5:21; 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 1:15Post/Tweet today
Our temptation to sin is tempered when we give permission to other God fearing friends to call us out if we dismiss God’s word. #WisdomHunters #sensitivetosinWorship Resource
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Excellent article. For future reference, the correct term was desensitized, not sensitized. Look it up and you will see.
Dear Marcia,
Thank you for letting us know. We always appreciate hearing from our Wisdom Hunter’s family and will take note of your correction. From time to time, we make grammatical mistakes in our devotionals and are thankful for the diligence and accountability of our readers.
Again, we thank you and hope you will continue to be blessed by the Wisdom Hunter’s devotionals.
Believing and trusting~
Gwynne
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great if your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion, says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in Him.”
Lamentations3:22-24