Image courtesy of Maggie Smith/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Halloween seems like a perfect time to pull out the skeletons from the closet, dust them off and go bury them in the backyard where they belong…with lots of prayers that Rover won’t go dig them out and prance around the neighborhood with them!! Yikes!
That would SO be my luck! Thank God I don’t have a dog!!
Seriously, we ALL have skeletons in our closet. It doesn’t matter who we are, what we do for a living, what people think of us or what we think of ourselves…we tend to hide those nasty sins that we don’t want anyone to know about.
But God knows. Sigh.
And don’t we sometimes forget that?
Instead we spend our time hiding, covering up, making excuses, blaming others and ignoring our wrong-doings when we really should be laying our sins out on God’s table and choosing to turn away from it. (The table is just a metaphor…I’ve never sat at God’s table and I don’t even know if He has a table for sins…but, you get the idea!)
For one, we may hide our short-comings from the people around us, but God is the One who matters the most anyway and He already knows…EEK! For two, there is no shame in admitting we fall short of perfection…because, well, we all do.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…. Romans 3:23
The problem I struggle with is that I can confess all day long that I’ve sinned (and believe me the list is lengthy), but I like to pick up that ole’ sin and try it on for size again…and again…and again. Geez!!
That skeleton is taken out of the closet, danced with, played with and then stuffed back in until the next time I decide that that particular sin is appealing and I want to partake. Grrrrr….
What I should be doing is taking that sucker out and handing it over to God for Him to take care of it. However, with that…I have to CHOOSE to give it UP!
Unfortunately, through our choices to turn from God we become chained to a life disappointment, a lack of contentment and a peace that will always elude us.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. John 8:34
The truth is that there is a way out of this sordid mess! Here’s the plan…
Confess – Sit in a quiet space and just spill those beans to God. No matter how small or big…I promise, He can handle it.
Request – Ask God to forgive you for all of those said beans that were spilled.
Act – Get on your knees and ask God to help you turn away from sin.
Repeat – Do the above three steps as often as needed.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:8-9
I want to be free. I want to live free. And I want to be who God created me to be. I can do none of those if I don’t really take a look at my life and make changes that align my desires with God’s Will.
God loves us. He loves you. He loves me. He’s not surprised by anything and He gave us the gift of salvation even while we were still sinners (see Romans 5:8).
BUT…we have to choose to accept His gift.
What do you choose today?
Some Wisdom for Today: Proverbs 18:3 – When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace.
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