the seductive nature of sin... is stupid.

freeeeeeeeeeeeedoooooooooooooooooooom!

oh braveheart. why do you always come back to mind?



today is a day to be glad because God is faithful and we are not abandoned! i can't even begin to dive into the depths, let alone scratch the surface of how good our God is! it makes me want to just breathe, to suck in my lungs as much of His life giving air as possible.

but the funny thing is, this is not a mountaintop experience. i'm not giddy. i'm free. and it has nothing to do with me, with my power, with my goodness or strength. I am not a deciding factor. i just accept! i accept Him and i reject anything that is not Him. seriously, how is this not good?

the gospel, the good news... that there is a God, that He does love, that there is good, that He is good, that i am not god so i need to stop acting like it by attempting to "run" my own life.... that all of this glorious truth is mine for the taking! and it isn't stagnant. it isn't like trying to eat a rock that plummets heavily to the bottom of my stomach to weigh me down as i attempt to live. its drinking life! its bathing in love! its knowing, despite yourself, that hope does exist!

tell me friends, why should we not be overrun with joy?

but sin. ahhhh sin. it tries so hard to steal and destroy. its so sexy, so seductive, and so deceptively appealing. it draws you in, alluring you with one hand and slowly strangling you with the other. i hate it, hate it. before i hated it because i feared no escape. it poisoned me to think that as long as there is breath in my lungs, i will be trapped in some sick cycle of its power. it makes me laugh now. not cynically. not out of bitterness. not out of some strange form resignation. i laugh because its really quite funny because the lies of sin are so absurd.

my goodness, we have God! we have Christ. the conquerer of death! the king of kings! holy freaking cow!

but here's something that i'm really starting to understand. its not magic. i am something completely different than i was before because of Christ. i changed, but i am not done. i am redeemed, but i am not perfect. i, in myself, cannot just exist and be free from sin. it is a pursuit. it is something you yearn for, groan for, and run after with all your might. holiness is not just a cool idea. righteousness is not a neato religious club.

it is life.

we don't hate sin because its merely bad. we loathe sin because it kills life! and in even a stronger vein, we don't love righteousness because its just something we just should do, we ache for it because it is the breath of life of Love Himself.

sigh. that being said we know the struggle. sin tears its bloody claws into us and we do what we hate even though we desire God with all that we are. but there is hope that i cling to...

"...you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. for if you live by its dictates, you will die.

But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.

for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God."

romans 8:12-14

but what about the practical nature. HOW do i live in the power of the Spirit?

" those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

so letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death.

but letting the Spirit control your mind leads to LIFE and PEACE."

romans 8:5-6







life and peace. i like that.