To call sin by its name and don't give yourself excuses

We all have sin in our lives. From sin like a white lie or a bad thought to dreadful sin like murder or rape. Humans tend to categorise sin as ‘the really bad sin’ to ‘the small little ones’ (usually dismissing those sins). But here is the truth, sin is sin. No matter how ‘small’ or ‘big’. The thought of murder is murder. And yes, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Those are such high standards to live by and we cannot do it by ourselves. Just say it “that is ridiculously high standards God!!”. That is why He sent Jesus. The blood of Jesus was shed to cleanse you and make you pure and holy. Bridge the gap between you and God. Its through His grace and mercy that we are saved and through the power of the cross that we are redeemed. We are free! 

I do not carry the burden of my past sins. When I do sin, I repent of my ways and turn from my ways. Wish it was an instant realisation sometimes but sadly, it takes time for me to realise it sometimes. There are times when God shows me the sin that is in my heart and wants me to deal with it. Why? Cause that sin has ramifications on my relationships (whether personal or professional), effects on how I behave and how I react to situations and circumstances, etc. For example, if I do not deal with the pride I have in my heart….I will not be able to deal with my anger. This sin will have negative effects in my life and I will reap the consequences of my bad behaviour. So when God asks us to deal with sin, its not just that we be good witnesses of Christ but so that we have peace and joy in our everyday life. It’s a healing from the INSIDE. Its not this ‘I can do it’ attitude but an ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4 : 13)’ attitude. Some people remember the beginning but don’t realise that it’s the ending of the verse that is the key.

Don’t be hard on yourself if you struggle with some things. You need to be aware that you have a problem and deal with it. You realise what you have done wrong, call your sin by its name and hand it over to God. Example, if its fear of the future or insecurity….call it by its name and hand it over to God. Of course it doesn’t just end there. These sins have deep roots in us and sometimes it takes a lot of dealing with the dirt to uproot the sin from our lives. Have the assurance that when you hand it to God, its in the Best Hands. Sometimes the process is long. Don’t give up on God and His amazing plans. The devil will put thoughts in your head and put up a good fight. Remember that the devil has been in the business of messing with human lives since the time of Adam and Eve. He has had a lot of practice! Don’t think your wisdom will get you far. Equip yourself with the Word of God to protect you from the wiles of the evil one. You need Jesus, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1 : 14).

One of the reason I love the story of David,‘the man after God’s own heart’, is because he was not perfect….but he ran back to his Perfect God every time he made a mistake. If you read the Psalms, David was transparent with God (Psalms 51-prayer of repentance after David committed adultery). He murdered, was an adulterer and just so full of flaws. But God still chose to bring Jesus through the bloodline of David. Was David deserving of it by religious standards? Nope! But that’s how amazing His grace is. His love covers a multitude of sin (Proverbs 10 : 12). We all have struggles….the question is ‘how do you cope?’ Do you pretend your sin is not there and bury it. Believe it or not, one day your sin that you buried ‘so well’ will grow until it’s a 10 foot cobra, stand tall and bite you. Stop the pretence and examine your heart. God is in the business of healing and saving your soul.

As I have learnt, I pray you have been blessed.