In reading through chapters 7-8 of Hosea, the thing I noticed the most was the seriousness of sin, if it was not already stressed in reading through the other Prophets or the rest of the Bible for that matter. Sin is serious to the point where it is a killer. As Christians we can either kill sin in our bodies, as Paul lays out in Romans, or we can let sin kill us. What I also noticed reading these 2 chapters is, not only is sin serious, but the people of Israel were rejecting God’s help in getting rid of and removing sin from their lives. The end of chapter 7 talked about how the people slash their bodies (literally cut themselves for idol worship) and reject God, rather than turning to Him for help in defeating sin. This made me ask the question, do I turn to God for help in killing sin in my life or do I blatantly reject God’s help and instead enjoy my sin all the more? Reminded me of being a parent. I helped my son learn how to ride a bike. I held on to the bike and kept it steady and helped him stay upright until he could master riding on his own. Imagine if my son had rejected my help and told me he would ride his bike and teach himself. Imagine how much pain he would have gone through by falling over or running into things. This is similar for us. God wants to help us kill sin and remove it from our lives. To reject His help is choosing to slash ourselves and bring much more pain and suffering to us. Here are 3 ways God gives help to us in killing sin in our lives.
1-Prayer. As soon as we feel any temptation (which is not a sin), we need to communicate with God right away, turning it over to Him and asking His help to remove it from our lives. To not turn to God in communication is showing a sign of your faith.
2-Bible. What better place to find help from God in our battle with sin. Reading God’s Word, letting it speak to us, and having it convict and equip us is where the power is to fight and kill sin. Not reading and saturating yourself with the power of God’s Word is telling Him you can do it on your own.
3-The church. God has given us a faith family for a reason. Let the faith family encourage you in your battle with sin. Let the faith family hold you accountable for your sin. Let the faith family support you. And lastly let the faith family see your repentant heart when sin does win the day. To not turn into your faith family is to tell God you want nothing to do with Him.
1-Prayer. As soon as we feel any temptation (which is not a sin), we need to communicate with God right away, turning it over to Him and asking His help to remove it from our lives. To not turn to God in communication is showing a sign of your faith.
2-Bible. What better place to find help from God in our battle with sin. Reading God’s Word, letting it speak to us, and having it convict and equip us is where the power is to fight and kill sin. Not reading and saturating yourself with the power of God’s Word is telling Him you can do it on your own.
3-The church. God has given us a faith family for a reason. Let the faith family encourage you in your battle with sin. Let the faith family hold you accountable for your sin. Let the faith family support you. And lastly let the faith family see your repentant heart when sin does win the day. To not turn into your faith family is to tell God you want nothing to do with Him.
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