Romans 6:11

…Count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

When we accept God into our lives as our Lord and Savior and promise to live for Him, we die.  Not literally, of course.  People don’t drop dead when they accept Christ.  It is figurative that we die and are “born again”, to signify that we are no longer held captive by sin.  Thus, count yourself dead to sin.  It sounds simply, right?  Of course it does.  The hardest things often times sound the simplest.  You may be dead to sin after accepting Christ, but that doesn’t mean sin isn’t going to come around and try to resurrect you.  It will, over and over, and the mistake many people make is that it is a natural process that we give in to sin every once in a while.  God’s always ready to forgive us, so it’s all good, right?  Wrong.  Not that God is always ready to forgive us.  He is.  But that doesn’t mean it’s all good.  Just because you know God will forgive you for sinning doesn’t give you the go ahead to sin.  In fact, if that thought occurs to you, it means you know what you’re doing is a sin and you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place. 

Know that God will not send anything at us that we cannot stand against (1 Corinthians 10:13).  So we can stand against any temptation that comes our way.  If we don’t, if we give into that sin, it’s not God’s fault, it’s not Satan’s fault, it’s our fault.  We failed to stand strong in our faith and thus fell prey to sin. 

None of this is to say that it’s easy.  None of it is to say that if you sin you’re weak and pathetic.  I can’t hold that I don’t sin on a daily basis, because I do.  Big or small, it is a daily presence in my life.  I have to fight every day to even recognize it.  Human nature is sinful, and that makes it very hard to be able to see my sins.  It could just be an angry word, but that is still sin, for God tells us to control our anger.  Anger is one of the parts of my old self.  A part I said I would leave behind when I accepted Christ. Before, I didn’t even realize it was there.  Now I have to fight against it daily, and let me tell you, it ain’t easy.  Not by a long shot.  But through God’s grace, I am improving. 

Never underestimate the power of prayer.  When that temptation hits you, just pray.  About anything.  Give thanks for your life, your family, and your friends.  Pray for those you know are in need.  Pray about anything in your life, and that temptation will fade away, I guarantee, because you can’t maintain sinful thoughts when you’re talking with God.  It has helped me time and time again and it can help you too. 

The end result is, as always, pursue God will everything you have and He will take care of you.  Sin cannot stand against Him, and if you are strong  in Him, it cannot stand against you either.

Die so that you may live.

Dear Lord, I thank You for the many blessings You have given me.  I ask for Your help each and every day as I try to draw nearer to You.  All that is good and beautiful in this life comes from You, and that is all I want.  I thank You for this reader and ask that You enter their life and show them Your will and help them stand strong when sin comes knocking.