Tag: desire

Agreeing with Sin

Published on by amylinnea3 Comments

For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…..she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:5

How long do you think Adam and Eve were in the garden before listening to the devil?

A month?

A year?

Too bad Eve never experienced pain free childbirth, yes?

That was part of her punishment from God.

But back to the devil.

Why did Eve almost immediately believe the snake over God?

Guessing this was maybe the first time she had spoken with it?

The devil played to Eve’s desire for more.

Wanting to be like God. Or maybe living as her own god, knowing everything our God does.

Did Adam help his wife resist?

Nope. He happily ate, too, when given the opportunity.

No protection for his wife, just partook in the snack.

After they finished, they were immediately changed.

Changed for the worse.

Knowing they were naked, they made themselves clothes, hiding from Almighty God.

First of all, imagine walking with God every day, talking about this and that.

Wow.

Now imagine the panic of your daily walk approaching, knowing you have done the ONE thing you were not supposed to do.

I’d hide, too.

But you can’t hide from God.

Nothing can be hid from Him as He knows all things.

Imagine God watching Adam and Eve eat that fruit.

Probably similar to watching your own child do something naughty.

Except this was when sin actually entered God’s perfect world.

A little worse, yes?

When Adam and Eve obeyed the snake instead of God, they awakened what separates us from God.

Our flesh crying out for control.

Wanting our way over God’s.

The desire to satisfy our flesh over God’s commandments.

Fulfilling that leads to sin.

What are you hiding from God?

Release everything to Him as He wants your everything.

Tell Him what you’ve been hiding, not sharing with a living soul.

He won’t turn away. He’ll help you change.

He knows it anyway.

Photos by Dee., Kristina V, David Vig, & Emmanuel Phaeton on Unsplash

Yielding Ourselves

Published on by amylinneaLeave a comment

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Ephesians 6:10

Ever tried to stop doing something you know you shouldn’t?

Could be eating too much sugar, drowning your sorrows in alcohol, or spending way too much time scrolling through your phone.

Could even be your attitude or reaction when things don’t go your way.

Or choosing to listen only to yourself instead of others.

All of it points to placing, you guessed it – yourself on the throne instead of God, the One who created you and all things.

Yielding to Jesus will break every form of slavery in our human lives.

Food, exercise, exhaustion, perfection, fear, anxiety, or pride.

Anything placed before Jesus can become a form of slavery as we feed that characteristic within ourselves instead of feeding our relationship with Jesus.

Some of those things are super great, like exercise or eating healthy.

But if that desire replaces your desire for God, then that desire has become a god to you, probably rooted in fear if you don’t perform exactly right.

We can only find victory over ourselves through Jesus.

Through Jesus’ peace and strength.

Love this poem from Amy Carmichael, a missionary to India in the early 1900’s:

Before the winds that blow decrease, teach me to dwell within Thy calm; before the pain passed in peace, give me, my God, to sing a psalm. Let me not lose the chance to prove the fullness of enabling love. O love of God, do this for me; maintain a constant victory.

Don’t you just love that phrase: maintain a constant victory.

A plea for God to not only win in our lives, but to keep winning.

Only happens when we yield ourselves over to God, who is infinately more capable than our sinful selves.

Lord, give us a portion of your sweet spirit, spilling out your life and love to others.

As life consumes us, help us to place You on the throne of our heart, wanting only what You want for us.

With You, we will have constant victory, even if we don’t see it.

Because You have already won. You are our constant victory.

Photos by Joshua Earle, Pablo Heimplatz, Guillaume de Germain, & Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Attracted to Godliness

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…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:5-8

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Are you?

Attracted to godliness?

Or are you enamored by the things of this world?

Enthralled by power, status, money, and things?

Do you desire goodness or do you selfishly want whatever toots your horn?

Is your first thought the service of others or do you want others to serve you?

Are your needs first or are the needs of others above yours?

When you are all by yourself, would God himself be at home by your side or would you be covered in embarrassment at your actions, thoughts, or attitudes?

Deep down, do you cherish God’s opinion, or do you want to feed the hunger of your flesh?

Are you attracted to godliness?

Or are you living for yourself?

Think a moment.

And repent, knowing it’s impossible to be completely attracted to godliness aside from the grace and strength of God Himself.

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Photos by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Watching

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And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3

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Are you aware that others are watching you?

Watching you react in this life?

Watching you respond?

Are you aware?

As Christians, we are a witness for God.

We are a witness either for God or against Him.

When we, as Christians, respond with love for others, serving them and meeting their needs, we are the face of God.

When instead, we, as Christians respond with selfishness, wanting the best for ourselves, we are also a witness of God.

But when we respond with selfishness, we mar His face.

Placing God in a negative light.

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Where do you frequent on a weekly basis?

Do waiters look forward to your visit or try to avoid serving your table?

Ever asked them about their day?

God is love.

And as Christians, we are full of His love.

We should be spilling Him out everywhere we go.

When we leave a space, it should be better then when we entered.

Better because we have determined to be an honorable witness for Him.

He has given us this life.

He has also given us a charge to make disciples across the earth.

How many people have you come across on this earth today?

Create a desire in others for God through your witness.

With His help, create that desire.

Don’t destroy it instead.

Photos by Josh Hild, Swaminathan Jayaraman. Claudio Schwarz | @purzlbaum. Nick Cooper, & Emmanuel Maceda on Unsplash