TSIYON NEWS

From Eliyahu

Consider this:

 

In the picture above, dad is frustrated. If you have ever been a parent with a child who refuses to listen, you know just how frustrating that can be. It is a terrible feeling when you direct your child to avoid disaster, yet that rebel child remains determined to run right into it. You know that their stubborn rejection of your parental wisdom can only hurt your child, yet your child wants the wrong thing so continues to seek it.

 

We hate to admit it - but sometimes that rebel child is us - each of us. Oh yes, as children of our Father in heaven, we like to think that we do a pretty good job of listening to His word. After all, if we love Him then we really want to obey Him. The problem is, the rebel child within has other ideas. I'm talking about our fallen sin nature. None of us want to be reminded of this, so sometimes we just put our fingers in our ears and don't listen. When we don't listen, that naughty child within I'm talking about can cause us a lot of trouble - and can cause collateral damage to others.

 

Once we have let our inner flesh man go off the reservation, we may see we did wrong, then the next part of the negative cycle kicks in. That's those horrible feelings of guilt and shame. This can develop into a crisis with the potential to destroy us. Think about Adam and Eve AFTER they sinned. "They heard the voice of YHWH Elohim walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of YHWH Elohim among the trees of the garden (Genesis 3:8).

 

When people feel guilty they hide. They don't want to face their guilt. This caused a rift in the relationship between our first parents and their Creator, and it can do the same if and when we sin. I should add, the devil loves it when this happens. Now he can accuse you of being unworthy, making you start to think that you will never be able to measure up in the eyes of the Lord. That can make you feel like giving up, and at that point, sadly, a lot of people do give up.

 

The results of that are nothing short of catastrophic. Once the sinner chooses to run away from guilt, shame, and finally God, denial soon sets in. The sinner no longer accepts the sinful conduct is sin. In fact they may actually become proud of it.

The good news is: there is an effective way to deal with sin, shame and guilt!

 

The first thing you need to know about sin is to realize that you have a sin nature, so sometimes you do sin. Knowing this helps to keep one both humble and alert to the potential for sin that one is always capable of.

 

The second thing you need to know about sin is that even the most careful believers have a sin nature and sometimes do sin. Paul put it this way:

I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7:21-23

Realizing that this "law of sin" Paul talks about sometimes gets the best of those who "want to do good" we must understand that even those whom we may see as the best of us sometimes sin. This helps us not to fall for that "you are not worthy" attack of the devil. No, you are not worthy, and neither is anybody else. None of us stands before God on the basis of our own worthiness, so that is not an issue we should be sidetracked by.

 

The way to deal with sin is to trust your Father in heaven enough to tell Him how you feel and what you've done. Every good parent I know has a soft heart towards the child that admits a failed temptation and asks mom or dad for help to overcome that temptation in the future. Your Father in heaven will just keep helping you so long as you just keep going to Him for help in time of need. Don't forget that He gave His own Son to pay the price of your punishment so that all your sins can be forgiven, and by the Spirit you can overcome sin. 

 

Israel is YHWH's rebel son. We, His nation, have had moments of great transcendence in our past. Unfortunately, the moments of triumph have often been marred by many more fits of rebellion, stubbornness, and sin against YHWH. Truth be told, because of not listening to our Father we have brought great troubles upon our nation and wrath upon our people. In this generation we are called to do better. Will we? I believe we will, so long as we will face up to our failings, trust YHWH and overcome! Let's follow our Leader, Messiah, to victory!

 

Getting a right assessment of past failings is a key to doing better as we press on. This is the point of Deuteronomy 9, which we will be discussing at tonight's online meeting.  Please join us at  Tsiyon.Net at 8 PM, CST. Yes, sin can be a problem, so let's learn how to effectively deal with it!

 

Blessings and good health to you,

 

Eliyahu
Tsiyon.Org

 

PS - a new episode of Hebraic Insights In The Gospels podcast is posted.
 

PS - Join us tonight at Tsiyon.Net!