My pastor told a story about a young man that he was counseling. He said that this young man needed help and was very distressed about his life. So Pastor Stoney said something that rocked my very foundation, "I told this young man that God could not help or bless him if he continued to live his life the same way he had been living because if God did that He would have to rewrite the entire Bible." I never thought that the way I lived could affect how God could help me, but the realization is, it does.
I struggled for many years with this very issue. Back and forth I would go, trusting God, doing my own thing, begging God to help, doing my own thing, and so on and so on. But here's what I've realized in the last 3 years, I was allowing myself to participate in my old lifestyle and expecting God to bless me and help me when things didn't go the way I planned and He was saying "No!" He saved me and accepted me, but He never intended me to stay the same way as when He found me.
This comment stayed on my mind all day, so last night I looked up the word "free" in the Bible to see what it said about being free and freedom. Here's just a couple of the scriptures that I found. John 8:32-36 "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." Then later in Romans 6: 12-18 it says this, "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."
When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, we were set free, but we forget that while Jesus hung there, our sins on His shoulder, God turned His back. He couldn't look at the sin! So why do we continue to live as though God doesn't see us, as if he can look at our sin and still help us? He couldn't even look at or help His only begotten son, so how do we expect him to look at our sins and help us? As Christians, we have to be aware of what God sees us doing: are we keeping our eyes focused on what pleases Him or what pleases the world? The world condones all things. Granted, we live in the world, so we will still make mistakes but we have to remember who we are and who we belong to. Living Holy requires the mindset of God. If you are questioning whether you should do something, then the truth is, it's probably not Godly. When I remember who I used to be and how I belonged to the world, my eyes look down in shame and suddenly I'm trapped, but when I look back and see all that God has done for me and what He uses me to do now, I look up to the sky because I know I am finally free!!
Think about it!
Are you free? Are you keeping your eyes on God and not letting your life be a stumbling block to others? Who are you enslaved to, righteousness or worldliness? Maybe it's time to get real with God and repent from your sinful lifestyle and turn back to God and be Holy. Stand up for Jesus. It's not always the easiest thing to do, but the payoff in Heaven will outweigh this earthly reward.
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