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23rd June 2024
SundayReflection
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'Scott Roberts offers'
Hope in Christ Church
'The Sin that So Easily Entangles'
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The Christian life is full of joys and trials.
It is full of victories, but then there are those times when we seem to be defeated.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to
"throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
But that isn't always as easy as it seems, is it?
Each of us is unique, and that means each of us has unique areas of weakness.
Those weaknesses seem to pop up at the most inopportune times.
To worry is to believe that we must take care of ourselves, for no one else will - so we plan and plan and make innumerable backup responses, ordering them from A...Z
What are you to do when the sin that so easily entangles has either tripped you up, or is trying to trip you up?
Interestingly, the answer is the same for both situations.
First, the Hebrews passage reminds us that we are surrounded 'by such a great cloud of witnesses.'
We must remember that we are not in this race alone.
There are people who have gone before us, people that are running with us now, and people that will run after us.
Because of this, we must not try to live the Christian life in our own strength and power.
We need community.
We can look back and consider the lives of others, realizing they were frail and they struggled just like we do, and we can draw strength to get up and continue on in the race.
If God used them to do great things, he can use us.
Just take a gander through Hebrews 11 and you will see that many of the people that are heralded as the 'great cloud of witnesses,' had plenty of entangling sin.
And yet, God allowed these men and women to stand up and keep running the race.
Their sin didn't knock them out of the race, rather, it caused them to fall back upon the grace of God.
Second, Hebrews goes on to tell us to 'fix our eyes on Jesus.'
When you are running in the race and sin tries to come upon you, or actually has its way with you, the solution is to look to Jesus.
Satan wants us to wallow in our sin.
Satan wants us to tear ourselves apart and to think that we have been disqualified for the prize.
He wants us to think that we are injured beyond any ability to continue being of useful service in the kingdom of God.
But that is a lie.
Jesus is the 'author and perfecter of our faith.'
Our successful completion of the race depends upon His merits, His strength, His endurance.
And He has promised never to leave us or forsake us.
For then, He comes and bandages our wounds and carries us onward, until we are healed once again.
But the same is true when we are running and sense the lure to sin.
Most of us get tripped up because we begin gazing upon the sinful thing, and that just reinforces it into our psyche.
Have you ever tried to not think about something?
The very act of trying not to think about it brings it to the forefront of our mind.
So notice what instruction we are given: fix your eyes on Jesus, (not on the sin that entangles.)
Instead of looking at the temptation, look upon the one who overcame every temptation.
Look upon the victorious one.
Think about His sacrifice and His love.
Remind yourself that He reigns in glory and nothing is more powerful.
(I confess that I am not always good at shifting my gaze, but when I do, victory is assured.)
Sing praises to him.
Sin always looks less enticing when we are worshipping.
So worship, even if it means 'staying up all night long' in order to see that the tripping hazard is destroyed and has passed.
If we would but remember these two things, I believe that every believer would experience a new joy in the Lord, and a new power in their ministry and life.
So go forth remembering that you are not alone, and keep Jesus at the front and centre of your life.
><(((°>
This is an edited version.
The full article is avaiable on request
Pastor Scott Roberts
My wife, Jennifer, and I came to Hope in Christ Church in December 2007 from five years of working with university students at two campuses in Colorado Springs, CO.
We have 8 children and intentionally live a simple life that includes reading, farming, hiking and camping.
We love cross-cultural missionary work and have served in numerous countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and Latin America in both urban and rural settings from 3-weeks to one year.
We love Jesus, desire his kingdom to come, believe that all Scripture points to Christ and want our children to be rooted in the historic, reformed faith.
We look forward to sharing our lives with you.
Contact the Rector
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