Sin separates you from God. Also, it separates you from God’s will and delays God’s work in your life.
Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”
God has a will for you and work for you to do. You will find great joy and satisfaction in fulfilling the purposes for which God created you. One man said, “Success in the Christian life is to find God’s will and do it.”
[shareable]What a privilege that God seeks to use us in spite of all of our shortcomings![/shareable]
Sin postpones God’s purpose in your life. Sin holds up your progress. It delays your Christian growth. It suspends God’s blessings. Sin hinders you from doing what you were made to do. Is the fleeting pleasure of sin worth neglecting your reason for living? I think not.
God’s work marches on with or without you. His overall purposes will be fulfilled for His glory. He will make sure of that.
Nevertheless, God desires to employ you in His great plan. You have a part to play. What a privilege that God seeks to use us in spite of all of our shortcomings!
Romans 13:11-13 gives us context for the Truth today. These verses tell us that some Christians are asleep. They are caught up in sin wasting away the opportunities God has given them. Sin is postponing God’s purposes in their lives.
God admonishes them to wake up and get busy serving while there is still time. Jesus could come today! Even if you live a full life, it is but a vapor. It will be over before you know it. There is no time to waste!
Today’s verse gives us 2 ways to overcome temptation and fulfill God’s plan.
1. Put On The Lord Jesus Christ
Decide to be like Jesus. As you chose your clothes today and put them on, you must choose to be like the Master. What would He do? What would He say? Where would He go? Learn from God’s Word what the Lord Jesus Christ would do and do it.
You can’t be righteous and sinful at the same time. Break off your sins by righteousness. Get so busy doing good things that you don’t have time to sin.
2. Make Not Provision For The Flesh
Don’t give yourself the opportunity to sin. This simple Truth will save you so much trouble.
Sin makes you weak. You don’t have enough willpower to say no to the sins that have you in bondage, so stop giving yourself space to sin.
Make it difficult to give in to temptation. Remove the items you use to sin from your life. Don’t go to places where you can sin. Stop being with people who allow the sin. Recruit an accountability partner to question you. Every hoop you have to jump through before you sin gives you one more opportunity to say NO.
If you’re still breathing God is not done with you. Say NO to sin and YES to God’s Will.
[callout]“Lord Jesus, I want to be like You today. I don’t want sin to keep me from You or Your will. Strengthen me to say No to sin. Give me the wisdom to see all the ways I can stop making provision for the flesh and help me remove the opportunities to sin from my life. Amen.'[/callout]
Today’s Bible Reading: Romans 13
Read this devotional series from the beginning here.