TODAY’S DEVOTION (FRIDAY 31ST MAY 2024)
So he answered and said to me: “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ Says the LORD of hosts.
‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’ ” Zechariah 4:6-7 NKJV
WELCOME TO THE 152ND DAY OF OUR YEAR OF IMPACT.
Yesterday, the LORD guided us on what to ask Him in order to deal with tough times. I thank God that most of us responded and we are now riding on the wings of obedience.
One major thing that happens in tough times, especially for the weak is falling into sin. Yes, most young Christians return back to their vomit during tough times. And that is not the will of God for their lives, because sin still burns no matter the reason for committing it.
In fact, it has a way of making tough times last longer than necessary.
That is why we want to look at the subject of sin, and how to deal with it when you fall into it. This is not to encourage anyone who is being tempted to succumb, hoping he or she will bounce back using what we are about to share. That will be a mockery of God’s grace.
It is important to note that there is no place in the Bible that encouraged us to either live in sin, or fall into it. But there are places that show us what to do if we fall into sin.
Those scriptural portions are not written to encourage a life of sin, neither were they written to encourage falling into sin. In fact, if we take God’s mercy for granted and deliberately fall into sin every now and then, one day we will fall so terribly that it will be difficult to return back to God. We will be damned completely. The scriptural portions on what to do if we fall into sin are there to help us recover and not slip back into the hands of hell.
One of the scripture says;
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. 1 John 1:8-2:2 NKJV
IF YOU LOOK AT THIS SCRIPTURE, YOU WILL SEE FEW THINGS TO DO WHEN YOU FALL INTO SIN.
The first is, do not live in self-denial. The Bible says “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” In other words, do not say you have not sinned. Acknowledge your sin.
Sadly many live in self-denial after falling into sin. They do not acknowledge their sins.
Genuine repentance begins with acknowledgement of sins committed. You acknowledge with an intention not to repeat it again, because some acknowledge with an intention to win sympathy.
If they are given same opportunity they will repeat it again and again. Sometimes you need to acknowledge it in the presence of those you are accountable to. It could be a spiritual father or people that look up to you. It all depends on the weight of the sin.
A sin we do not deal with properly, will in-turn deal with us properly.
That brings us to the next thing to do when you fall into sin – confess your sins. The Bible says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.”
The last line of this scripture is practiced by many today. We will commit a sin and say we have not sinned by not seeing the act as sin.
We do many things that are sinful and do not see them as sin. We tell lies, masturbate, take things that are not ours without permission, appear nude in our wears seducing those who look at us, and do all manner of sinful things yet think we are not sinners.
That is self-deception.
For instance, many do not see the act of kissing or romancing an intending life partner as part of the sin of pre-marital sex. It is an already married wife or husband you kiss and romance not someone you are just planning to get married to.
Many do what we call “foul play” and do not see it as sin. That is what it means to say “we have not sinned”.
THE BIBLE SAYS IF WE DO THAT WE MAKE GOD A LIAR AND THE TRUTH IS NOT IN US!
It is the subtle way to cover our sins – sometime a religious way to conceal sins. That is not what to do when you sin. After acknowledging that you sinned, the next thing to do is to confess it.
Confess your sins to the right ears. Do not say you have not sinned and conceal it. Confess it. And let the motive be right. Do not do what many of us do today. If we are acknowledging our sins, or confessing them, is to prevent the consequences from falling on us, not necessarily to repent of them. That is why we go back to them if there are no consequences.
The Bible says until we confess with an intention to forsake, not just to win sympathy and escape the punishment we deserve, we will not be cleansed of it. That is why some confess and still go back to same sin.
Their confession was done with the wrong intent, hence there was no cleansing from their sins. And if there is no cleansing, there will be a repeat of the same sin.
Two things usually happen when God forgive sins. The first is, He removes the consequences or punishment. The next is, He gives the power to go and sin no more. That is why if we confess with the wrong intent, none of that will happen.
Our intentions will not let God cleanse us or give us the power to sin no more after confessing. Ordinarily, confession with the right intent evoke the forgiving and cleansing power of GOD.
Now, apart from confessing with the right intent, we are to confess to the right ear or ears. If we confess to the right ear, which is the ear of God or the ear of those He leads us to, there will be restoration and healing.
Our devotional text says,
“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” Proverbs 29:13-14
If you look at this scripture carefully, you will understand that it is the hardness of our hearts that does not let us do the right thing when we fall into sin. That is why many of us end up in calamity.
PEOPLE WHO HARDEN THEIR HEARTS AFTER FALLING INTO SIN, WILL ONE DAY START LIVING IN SIN AND EVENTUALLY FALL INTO CALAMITY.
If we deal with sin properly we will experience Christ in our lives as our advocate, defending us before the devil and making sure he does not use our sins to afflict us. That is why the Bible says,
“And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2 NKJV
In other words, if anyone falls into sin and deals with it properly, our advocate Jesus Christ the righteous, who is also the one who took away the consequences of our sin on the cross, will speak for him or her in the spirit realm, and make sure the sorrows of his or her sin, do not fall upon us! Hallelujah!
Friend, we shut down the advocacy of Jesus Christ when we fall into sin and not wake up to deal with it properly.
Any sin we do not deal with properly will bring trouble upon us because it will become impossible for our advocate to advocate for us and deliver us from them. Falling into sin and not dealing with it properly as a Child of God, will bring a spiritual hindrance of curse upon our lives.
The sin will become the curse or hindrance.
When someone says sin can no longer hinder us because of the blood of Jesus, it is true, but only true if we deal with that sin properly. We deal with it properly when it takes us to the threshing floor of fasting, prayers, and seeking God for mercy, or talking to the right ears where necessary.
God does not want us to be falling into sin now and then. He wants us to grow in our walk and talk with Him. He does not want us to live in sin.
He wants us to live in Christ. If anyone be in Christ he is a new creature. Living in sin is a character of the unsaved and unsanctified. Most of them sadly call themselves Christians – some are even preachers.
The Bible says whoever habitually live in sin is not of God. He is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. But those who fall into sin are not necessarily of the devil.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FALLING IN SIN AND LIVING IN IT.
David fell into sin when he saw a naked women bathing, took her in, and slept with her. And to cover it, he did another terrible thing. He killed her husband and married her. All was a fall in sin, that almost resulted in a life of sin, if God had not sent His prophet to confront him.
But Saul lived in sin – he disobeyed God again and again. God withdrew His mercies from him because of that. One who lives in sin will do it again and again, at best becoming remorseful in-between when confronted. And he stands the risk of losing God’s mercy completely.
However, one who falls in sin or suddenly finds himself in a sinful act and then become broken in spirit and genuinely repentant thereafter, will always find God’s mercy.
Falling into sin is a weakness of those of us who are still immature in our walk with God. But living in sin is a lifestyle of the rebellious. One who falls into sin and later becomes broken and repents, has a future of even becoming a great apostle like Peter became.
Remember, he denied Christ, got convicted and repented genuinely. But one who lives in sin and becomes remorseful when faced with the consequence like Judas, will eventually be erased from God’s program.
It’s my prayer that God use this devotional to guide you in your walk and talk with Him all the days of your life.
I will advise that you copy this devotional and save it for future reference or you just print it out and keep in your file. You need the wisdom in it again and again so that you can always put sin where it belongs. Amen!
MAKE THIS SCRIPTURE AN ADDITIONAL MEDITATION FOR THE DAY
Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.
But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].
No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God’s nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.
By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow believer in Christ). 1 John 3:7-10 AMP