TO CHEW ON: "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." Romans 7:15
What happens when someone says, “Close your eyes and don’t peek”? Do you have a big urge to open your eyes and DO exactly what you’ve been told NOT TO DO?
That seems to be what happens when you concentrate on the things God tells you not to do. You know that disobeying our parents, stealing, lying and being jealous are things God tells you not to do. But have you ever found that the more you concentrate on those ‘don’ts’ the more you find yourself doing them?
In his letter to the Romans, Paul talked about the way people tend to act and feel this way. It is what makes it more natural for us to disobey God than obey Him. Later we feel sorry that we did what God said we shouldn't.
How do we escape from this circle of knowing we shouldn’t do something but doing it anyway? Paul gives us the answer.
Write the last words from Romans 7:25 in the blanks below:
“Thanks be to God – through ____________ __________ ____________ ____________.”
Some things that will help you escape the cycle of sinning:
A. Admit your sin to yourself and to God.
B. Ask God to forgive you.
C. Ask the Holy Spirit to alert you to when you take the first steps toward sin.
D. Ask Jesus to change you from the inside.
PRAYER: Dear God, Your power to change me helps me break habits of sinning. Thank you! Amen.
MORE: What If You Sin?
What things should you do when you sin? What things shouldn’t you do?
1. Get down on yourself and be discouraged for a few days.
2. Admit and confess your sin to God.
3. Memorize Bible verses that remind you of what pleases God.
4. Give up, because living for God is too hard.
5. Apologize to people you’ve hurt or wronged.
6. Accept God’s forgiveness and love.
ANSWERS
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
1 comment:
This is such an important point. Temptation is very hard to resist and most of the time we are tempting ourselves. What I do in these situations is tell myself, I was told not to for a reason and even if I don’t understand that reason I respect the person who told me not to do “this” enough to not do “it”. There is always a reason why me shouldn’t do something and if we are warned in advance why take the chance of harming myself? When I think about these two things, suddenly “it” doesn’t seem worth “it” anymore, whatever “it” is.
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