Wednesday - "Sin"

Greetings Internet Campus,

I used to teach middle school. I've seen it all. Kids get into trouble for many reasons...and, believe it or not, most of the time they KNOW that what they were doing was wrong. How did they know that? Easy...because they knew the right thing to do but chose not to do it. Sound simple, right?

How many times does this happen in one day. We know the right thing to do but we don't. We know the right words to say...but we choose others. We understand how we should think...but thoughts of a whole other kind slip into our brains. You know what I never realized...the Bible calls that...

sin.

"...If you know what is right to do but you do not do it, you sin." James 4:17, NLV
But God...that's just me exercising my free will! I'm only human! If you didn't want to make me do it...you wouldn't have made it so easy (or fun)! I've heard them all. I've used them all. If we know the right thing to do and we choose not to do it...we sin. We go against God's design for our lives.

I've known some people who don't attend church so that they can't learn what the "right thing to do" is. They know that with knowing comes the responsibility of doing. That's too much to some. If you are a Christ-follower, however, we must learn and do it if we are to become more like Christ.

As a Christ-follower, many times when you are about to say or do the wrong thing, you get this "feeling" over you where you know that you shouldn't be doing or saying what you are about to. That is the Holy Spirit. You will always know in your heart what is the right thing to do. He (the Holy Spirit) will give you that urging. A lot of times we will think..."I knew I shouldn't have..." That's the Holy Spirit telling us to do otherwise. If we are going to seize the day and really go after God's purpose for our lives...we have to listen to those nudges from the Holy Spirit and make the right choices daily.

Write it Down: Have you ever made a decision you regretted? Did you know the right thing to do and chose not to? In your journal today, write a prayer recommitting yourself to making good choices and doing the right thing.

See you on Thursday!
Pastor Brian