“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 1:8 (NIV) Sin always involves self-deception. At the moment you’re sinning, you’re deceiving yourself because you think that what you’re doing will actually produce better results than what God has already told you to do. To stop defeating yourself, you must stop deceiving yourself. You need to take an honest look at your life, face the truth, and deal with the issues. What in your life are you pretending isn’t a problem or you’re not addicted to? What are you saying “It’s no big deal” about? It really doesn’t matter whether you’re shooting heroin or running up your MasterCard, whether you’re reading pornography or a trashy novel—you’re using it all to try to escape your pain and sin. But you’re not going to get healing until you first acknowledge the root of your problem. You don’t have to hit rock bottom before you really change. You don’t have to go the way of destruction. You can admit the root of the issue and then deal with it. When asked, “What’s the biggest problem you encounter?” church counselors will say over and over, “People wait too long before they ask for help. Then it’s almost impossible to turn around.” Most people are in denial about the problem, wait until it’s too late, and then go through unnecessary pain. The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8 NIV). What are the hard questions you need to be asking about the sin in your life? What are the warning signs you’ve been ignoring? If you want healing, you need to acknowledge the root of your problem and face the truth about yourself. This is never the easy choice, but it’s always the right one. God is for you and working in you. With his power, you can overcome anything.
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“You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
John 8:32 (NIV) Have you ever wondered why you do what you don’t want to do? Ever wondered why it’s so hard to do the things that you know are the right things to do? Our sinful nature causes us to often make the wrong choice. You can probably relate to the apostle Paul when he says, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate . . . So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t” (Romans 7:15, 17-18 NLT). Even after you become a follower of Jesus, there’s this tension inside of you. You have your good nature that God gave you, but you also have your old sinful nature that is pulling at you. But there is a way out! Jesus promised in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NIV). The secret to personal change is not willpower or something you do or say. It’s not a pill, resolution, or vow you make. The secret to personal change is something you know. You know the truth. When you change the way you think, it changes the way you feel. And when you change the way you feel, it changes the way you act. Behind every self-defeating act is a lie you believe. It may be a lie about yourself, your past or future, God, or others. Why do you do something that you know is bad for you? Because you think there’s some kind of payoff. That’s the lie! You can only change and fulfill God’s purpose for your life if you start with God’s truth. If you want to change the way you live, you need to start in your mind. You need to know and believe God’s truth. When you know the truth, the truth will set you free. |
AuthorTaken from Daily Hope by Rick Warren. Categories
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