Friday, December 26, 2008

"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, in order that they might have rights to the tree of life and might enter into the gates of the city. Outside [The City] are dogs, sorcerers, The Sexually Immoral, murderers, idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying." Rev. 22:13-15.

Even among Christians some take sin lightly. "I'm not so bad." "God isn't that particular." They do not seem to realize that forsaking sin is a crucial need in the Christian life. While our performance does not save us, a pattern of sin can have such a deep impact on our lives that we lose our way in the end.

We cling to cherished behaviors because they exciting, attractive, or meet certain internal needs. Sexual attraction, for example, is particularly dangerous. A pastor named Randy Alcorn, therefore, offers a powerful solution for sexual temptation: "Whenever I feel particualry vulnerable to sexual temptations, I find it helpful to write out what effects, what consequences, my actions could have. Here's what I write:

"'If I go farther down this road, I will probably grieve the One who redeemed me. I will probably drag His sacred name into the mud. . .One day I will have to look Jesus, the righteous Savior, in the face and give an account of my actions.

"'If I go farther, I will probably inflict untold hurt on my wife, who is my best friend and who has been faithful to me. I will lose my wife's respect and trust; I will hurt my beloved daughters. I will destroy my example and credibility with my children. I might lose my wife and my children forever. I could cause shame to my family.

"'I could lose self-respect. I could create a form of guilt awfully hard to shake. Even though God would forgive me, would I ever be able to forgive myself? I could form memories and flashbacks that could plague future intimacy with my spouse. I could heap judgment and endless difficulty on the person with whom I committed adultery. I could possibly reap the consequences of deseases like gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes, or AIDS. Maybe I would invoke shame and lifelong embarrassment on my self.

What an incentive to end a train of thought or an affair in the making! And I would add to his list the danger of a place outside the Holy City, as our text warns. Over the short run, sinful actions may seem harmless, but in the long run the consequences are too heavy to consider.

Lord, I thank You for the challenge of this text. Help me to remove everything in my life that divides, separates, hinders, or fails to honor You.

And we are permitted to unite with Him in the great work of redemption and to be sharers with Him in the riches which His death and suffering have won. The apostle Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians: "What is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? for ye are our glory and joy." 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 20. This is the treasure for which Christ bids us labor(TFMB 90).