so Pastor Ivan preached at Edinbrook on sunday and he talked about bondage. about how our sin becomes our bondage - tying us up and holding us back.
but how? it seems so OBVIOUS...dont allow yourself to be tied up, right?
but sin is tricky...the devil is tricky. and something that's been on my heart a lot lately is the truth of who satan really is. one of the things PI brought up is how the devil wants to steal, kill and destroy us. thats it. that is its goal while he has time left on this earth.
revelation 12:12 tells us -
rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.
he knows he doesnt have all the time in the world and he knows he will never win - so he is going to take anyone and everyone he can down with him, whatever he has to do.
and PI talked about how we get in our heads that we can manage our sin. like if we only do it a little bit - oh if i only watch this movie, or if i only gossip a little bit, or if i just go this far this one time......
we're basically saying "satan, sure - ok, i'll let you in BUT only a little tiny bit - and then you have to leave..."
sounds manageable, right? however - satan doesn't play by the rules.
one thing i want to say -
Jesus cares about you. He LOVES you. He cares enough to love you no matter what you do or how many times you mess up. He cares enough to do everything He can to give you life, without forcing you to love Him back. He leaves it up to you - all He needs is your heart, and for you to let Him work in you. to let Him free you.
satan does not and never will care about you. he will lie to you over and over again. and he doesnt care what happens as long as he can get you away from Jesus. and all he needs is an open door, even if its just a crack. and he can force his way in...he's not going to stand there and wait for an invitation to make himself at home, and he most likely isn't going to ask for our permission to stay.
so how do we keep him out?
step into God's arms and close any doors that have been opened to satan.
for good.
yes, its hard- he makes it look so fun and it seems harmless most of the time. i mean - we'll only do it to a point where we can still control it, right? so its fine!
imagine standing on a mountain...and you decide you want to keep a certain rock, you know - as a souvenir or something.
you can see this particular rock seems to be holding a lot of other (bigger) rocks in their places - but still...its just one, right? and you want it. besides - you'll be careful, and if any fall - well you'll handle it.
so you pick it up and start to walk away.
and all the other rocks begin to fall...............
are you going to tell those boulders to stop? quick explain that you only wanted the little one?
regardless of what any of us would try to do in that situation - we would not be able to stop those rocks from falling, we would not survive that on our own. its just not possible.
same goes for our open doors...we may not intend for satan to come in and stay, we might have just wanted to try a little but things have gotten out of control.
bad news - you cant fix it yourself. good news - God can. and He will.
we just have to turn our backs on satan and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
He is the ONLY truth, and He wants only the very best for us...
John 10 says
the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy...
but i come that you may have life and have it abundantly
dont settle for taking a little rock when you can overcome the whole mountain.
i dont know if you have ever heard of Lecrae (if you know me...you most likely have...haha) but he is a christian rapper and i just really love his lyrics. he works a lot of scripture into his songs and actually more than one of our dramas/videos have been inspired by a Lecrae song.
anyways - i recommend his music. :)
this particular song has been an encouragement to me - just reminding me what sin really is...and helping to keep me focused - no matter how good satan makes it look in that moment.
because no matter what he offers - its not Jesus.
so listen to the song and read the lyrics. and ask God to free you from any bondage you might be stuck in... because like i have said SO many times before on this blog...we. have. the. VICTORY in Christ!!! and nothing can take that away from us.
:)
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