Secret Sin

James is one of my favorite books in the bible because it shows us how we should live our life as Christians. Elevation did a series a few months back on some of the important verses that we should know and live by in James. Today I was reminded of one of the verses in James that really stands out to me. James 5:16 reads

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”

I believe that this verse is so important for Christians if they desire to eliminate a certain sin. People sin all the time and most of these incidents are a recurring sin. People carry out the same sin over and over again. For most of us, we sin, we repent but then the very next day we perform the same sin once again. It is a cycle that must be STOPPED if we ever want to be Christ like. Confessing my sin to friends is something that has really helped me. I have accountability partners and they also are praying for me to stop this recurring sin. They are something that makes me think twice about committing that same sin. Other thing to think about is that keeping a sin from people is letting it have more power over you. It becomes a secret and normally secrets are bad and very destructive, especially secret sins. Don’t get me wrong some people have the strength and the determination to get rid of a reoccurring sin alone, but most of us need a little help and encouragement. We also have to remember that we have God on our side too. The saying, we have heard since we were kids, to remember is that “good always triumphs over evil”. Having people pray over you and encourage you during the struggle to overcome a sin is something that is helpful.

Don’t let sin take over you, instead take over it and stop it before it becomes destructive

L.O.V.E.

This will be my first blog entry:
The way God loves us is something that I have been thinking about for a few days now. He knows what we have done, and what we will do in the future. I don’t see how anyone can love us after we have betrayed someone so many times. We sin everyday; and every sin is another way that we have betrayed our creator and our best friend. He is someone that we can turn to no matter what the situation is and no matter what we have done. He is ready and willing to listen. He knows everything about us and still loves us unconditionally and loves for us to come to him when we are in need. It is hard to wrap my mind around that kind of love. This truly is Crazy Love. God also knows our thoughts. My thoughts are anything but pure. I can’t believe that he loves me after knowing everything that I have done and everything that I have thought. I have sinned so many times and he still loves me and desires to have me in his kingdom forever. This kind of love makes me happy but it also makes me feel undeserving. I hate to harp on this depressing concept but I have betrayed God so many times and I can’t help but to feel that I shouldn’t be saved from my sins and that I shouldn’t be able to get into heaven. No matter what I do or what I have done God loves me. He died for me to not feel undeserving and to harp on past situations. In Psalm 103:9 the bible says that “he does not treat us as our sins deserve.” He forgives them and moves on. He loves us no matter what. That is what I call Crazy Love!