Key Scripture Passage
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Titus 2: 11-15a NIV
Reflection
I remember as a teenager hearing a preacher say, “if you don’t give your life to Christ after hearing the gospel message over and over, your punishment in hell will be even worse.” That scared me enough to get me out of my seat and head down the aisle to the altar to pray for Jesus to save me. The funny thing is that after that prayer, I waited for my life to change and nothing seemed to happen. I kept falling into the same old sins. Why was I unable to “go and leave my life of sin?” I tried my best to stop sinning, but this salvation thing just didn’t seem to be working for me. Nevertheless, I kept going to church and listening and gradually the Holy Spirit began revealing God’s truth to me, convicting me of my sin and I made an amazing discovery – Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sin, and the Holy Spirit was there to give me power to stop doing the ridiculous and destructive things that the devil had convinced me were good. As I took my baby steps towards Jesus, I discovered that following Him was delightful. Saying “no” to sin and “yes” to Jesus was an amazing adventure.
In those early days of following Christ, the sins I was learning to say “no” to were the ones that theologians call “sins of commission” (the things we do that we shouldn’t). But now, the struggle is oftentimes with the “sins of omission” (the things that we should do but don’t). When I look at the list of the “go” passages that we are studying this year, my sins of omission are glaring . . . go and make disciples, go back and report what you hear and see, when you pray, go into your room, go with him two miles. And just like when I was a young believer, I realize that I need the Holy Spirit to show me God’s truth, to convict me of my failure and to give me joy in obedience and eagerness to be on the adventure with Him. Failing to obey Jesus’ most important instructions for extending His kingdom to earth is the life of sin that I must leave behind.
Questions to Consider
What are the sins in your life that you are ignoring? Sins of commission? Sins of omission?
Action Step for the Week
Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the sins He wants to help you overcome. Write them down in your journal. Confess and ask for His forgiveness and His power. Take steps today to follow Jesus in obedience in each of the areas He shows you.
No comments:
Post a Comment