O God of Justice and Wisdom, I see sin as an act of my rebellion against Your will which places a premium on following my own will as opposed to Yours. Sin fills the vacuum left when Your truth no longer fills my life. I sin when I … disobey Your commands … knowingly separate myself from a relationship with You … I do not treat my fellow man the way I want to be treated … I try to excuse what I’ve done or minimize its effect … take another god in place of You … or I see evil as good and good as evil. My offenses separate me from You and continue to separate us until I confess them and receive Your forgiveness. You came to rescue me from the powers of sin that strive to lead me away from You. Becoming freed from the power of sin was an impossible task for me or any other human, except you, to achieve. In its simplest form, sin is separation from You and destines me for a life of emptiness and grief.
Sin is like a cancer that starts out small but spreads throughout the body unless caught and dealt with early. It will spread and permeate my morals and upright thinking. Chemotherapy for sin first begins with confession of my sin, next purposing in my heart not to let the sin control my life, and finally seeking the help of the Holy Spirit to resist it. Continuing therapy consists of reading and meditating on Your Word and regular sessions with You in prayer. Overcoming the power of sin to draw me into thoughts and actions that violate Your will is something You won for me on Calvary. It is my job to plug in to that power so I can begin to live uprightly. When I release the Holy Spirit into my life, change becomes an inevitable outcome. Former desires no longer entice me and my chief aim becomes pleasing You. The Holy Spirit helps me relate to You and better distinguish between good and evil.
Whether I sin once or many times, whether out of rebellion or ignorance, my sins separate me from You. Only forgiveness will free me from their consequences. An important part of not falling back into sin is to avoid the situations and/or people who lead me back into sin. Your Word encourages me to be strong in Your power. A tool that You provide to help me is Your armor (truth, righteousness, faith, the Gospel, and Your Word) which helps me build up a strong deterrent against the wiles of my enemies. I must remain alert for the enticements of evil and pray for Your strength and perseverance. You have said that standing firm is important to my success. In my heart, I must be truly repentant and have a strong desire to do what pleases You. I must understand that my enemy will try every device in His bag of tricks to turn me away from You and back to sin. I must resist!! And it’s in Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN!!
Ephesians 6:12 For our struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the forces of evil in Heavenly places.