Week 6
Sin..........Well this week I'm to move from the general concept to looking at my own. In the midst of that I've read a few books that have dug at my conscience. I have no touble realizing I'm a sinner. I have made horrible choices in my past. Big, ugly, dark, sin covers that part of my life. I know what I'm capable of in the darkness of my heart. The most insidious sin is the so called little stuff. Selfishness, pride, anger, bitterness, worry, envy, greed. The stuff that skulks around, the stuff most of us deny. That is the evil that fills my heart now.I've glimpsed the selfishness and greed in my heart. I hate it utterly, but bend to it anyway. I read this book today where the main character gets chance to see the results of a moment of decision, two choices actually. You see the struggle of this person as two different realities unfold from this moment of decision. I teach my drama students about the moment of decision all the time. When a character reaches their moment of decision their fate in the rest of the story is decided by their choice at that moment. It will end badly or well depending on what they choose.
As much as I teach this concept, how much do I listen? I'm not intentionally sinning in big obvious ways, but those insidiously quiet sins: pride, selfishness, greed, worry, anger, those spin around in my heart more frequently than I care to admit. I'm not happy about my choices in that moment of decision. Lord help me choose wisely, send Your spirit to guide me into all righteousness, and give me the strength to do the right thing.
Grace.....the rest of the story is grace. I'm supposed to look at my sin in order to see the wideness of God's mercy. I do see that. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Nobody knows that more than me. If there is any good in my heart it was placed there by the grace of God. Fill me with Your love and grace for others. I need You desperately. The other day I read a book that entitled the first chapter STOP PRAYING. My first response was horror. What would I do if I could no longer pray, if prayer went nowhere, if it didn't matter? I felt sick and lost. Stop praying? I could no more do that than stop breathing. How could I stop talking to You? My only hope, the only truth. Your grace and redemption are the only things in my life worth anything. Everything else that has come to me is from Your gracious hand. Stop praying? Never. I look forward to the day when my prayers are spoken into Your glorious face.
As much as I teach this concept, how much do I listen? I'm not intentionally sinning in big obvious ways, but those insidiously quiet sins: pride, selfishness, greed, worry, anger, those spin around in my heart more frequently than I care to admit. I'm not happy about my choices in that moment of decision. Lord help me choose wisely, send Your spirit to guide me into all righteousness, and give me the strength to do the right thing.
Grace.....the rest of the story is grace. I'm supposed to look at my sin in order to see the wideness of God's mercy. I do see that. Amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. Nobody knows that more than me. If there is any good in my heart it was placed there by the grace of God. Fill me with Your love and grace for others. I need You desperately. The other day I read a book that entitled the first chapter STOP PRAYING. My first response was horror. What would I do if I could no longer pray, if prayer went nowhere, if it didn't matter? I felt sick and lost. Stop praying? I could no more do that than stop breathing. How could I stop talking to You? My only hope, the only truth. Your grace and redemption are the only things in my life worth anything. Everything else that has come to me is from Your gracious hand. Stop praying? Never. I look forward to the day when my prayers are spoken into Your glorious face.