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Do it because you love it???

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doitbecauseloveit1

As you can guess from this picture I ate at a Chinese restaurant once and for laughs I opened up the fortune cookie that they always give you and what it said spoke to me but in a different way than most people would look at it.  I’m guessing most would look at it as a motivational saying.  I took it in a totally different way.  I started to think about “sin” and why we do it.  And you wanna know why we do it?  Because we love it.  Because we enjoy it.  Because it gives us pleasure and makes us feel good…in the moment anyway.  Hebrews 11:25 talks about enjoying the pleasures of sin for a season.  Why would we bother doing it unless we got something out of it?  And that’s the devil’s trap.  And it’s like he gives us amnesia to the fact that we really want to obey God until we we’re done giving into our fleshly desire for pleasure.  Once it’s over than he changes tactics and tries to overwhelm us with feelings of guilt for failing God.  And it’s a vicious cycle.  So how do we overcome it?  You’ve got to start to see sin as God sees it.  Disgusting, repulsive, repellent, offensive and just plain gross!  Would your Mom or Dad let you do something they found offensive in front of them?  I would hope not.  But here’s the thing.  EVERYTHING we do is in “front” of God because He sees everything at all times.  Just because we aren’t aware of this at every moment doesn’t mean it’s not true.  So knowing this would you really want to put your own pleasure ahead of pleasing our Heavenly Father when you know you’re grieving Him?  Don’t look at this as changing your behavior but rather as changing your mind about sin.  Once you change your mindset then the proper behavior will automatically follow.  Ephesians 4:23 (NLT) says let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.  And Ephesians 5:26 (NLT) says we’re to be washed by the cleansing of God’s word.  So through the Bible and with the help of the Holy Spirit we can transform our mind first so that our behavior will line up with the will of God.  What do you love more?  Your sin or the God that suffered and died on the cross for you to free you from the power of sin?

Held back by the past.

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For some of us the greatest obstacle to reaching toward what God wants for our future is our past. The past keeps many of us in bondage. We’re in chains of emotional pain. In prisons of feeling worthless. In shackles of “I’m just not good enough.” Handcuffed by “What if I mess up?” BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS FOR YOU! JESUS came to set the captive free! Not only DID He do it (past tense) but it’s already done! You already are free! It’s the enemy who has lied to you and said you’re trapped in jail but Jesus busted the door wide open for you already! Get out of there people!!! God has so much more for you but you gotta move out of the past and into your future. No more waiting! The time is now! GO GO GO!!!