What
happens when our body stops breathing? Our relatives bury our body in the
grave, but our soul and spirit go immediately to our eternal reward - either
with the Lord or banned from His presence (John 3:18, 5:24, 6:37; Romans 5:1,
8:1; 1 Corinthians 11:32).
Our
eternal destination is decided by our own choice, either to believe in Jesus
Christ as our Savior, or to reject Him (John 3:16-18). If we choose to believe,
then Jesus exchanges our sin for His righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
If
we choose not to believe, we condemn our self to eternal damnation (John 3:18).
This world and its lusts are passing away. It is only as we do the will of God
for our life that we abide forever (1 John 2:17).
The
more we give-in to temptation, the stronger the attraction is the next time it
comes around. Eventually, we shut out our internal warning system, and we sear
our conscience (1 Timothy 4:2).
We
no longer hear God's still, small voice, or we ignore His caution that always
comes before His judgment. Our sin separates us from Him and causes our resistance
against sin to diminish.
We
also lose our peace and joy, and God no longer experiences any pleasure in our
actions (Psalm 5:4). We grieve the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30) and we cannot
hear His guidance for us each moment of the day.
The
Holy Spirit is always ready to empower us to break the cycle of sin and to walk
in God’s Righteousness (Philippians 2:13). He helps us to remember the promises
of God and to trust Him to provide us with every good and perfect gift (James
1:17).
We
never want to become so accustomed to sin that we consider it normal behavior.
Instead, we follow hard after God (Psalm 63:8), and seek Him as the deer pants
for water (Psalm 42:1).
Prayer:
Father
God, give us Your eyes to judge between right and wrong, so that we never lose
the joy of being in Your presence. Jesus walked in sinless perfection, and He
abides in us, which give us hope for freedom from temptation.
We
want to spend our time, effort and energy furthering Your Kingdom in the earth,
rather than living on the fence and attempting to see just how much sin we can
get away with. When we stand before You on judgment day, we want to hear You
say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Thought
for the Day:
When
we focus on the fact that Jesus already won the victory over sin and death, we
have stronger will power to resist the temptation from our flesh, the devil and
the world, before we become addicted to the aberrant behavior.
-1
Corinthians 15:56-57
