Hey Friend!
To start, YOU are LOVED and WANTED by GOD. He wants a relationship
with you. He wants you to KNOW Him. He also wants us to pursue him endlessly.
God laid on my heart to write on the slow drift and falling away
from God. How does it happen to so many people? How do such strong people slip
away from their Biblical foundation? Well, let’s open God's word and take a
look at it.
I think James 1 really hits this nail on the head. Let’s start at
verse 14 and 15.
James 1:14-15
“But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his
own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when
it is fully grown brings forth death.”
So, now I want to further break this down into three different
pieces:
1) Each person is tempted when he is lured by
his personal desires.
The beginning to any sin or falling away from God starts from our
personal temptations. Every person has specific weaknesses that may be hard to
resist. I tend to label these specific weaknesses “pet sins.”
James 1:13 says: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being
tempted God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no
one.”
Therefore, that temptation is not from God. It is straight from
the enemy. If the enemy figures out what sin you are vulnerable to, he will try
his best to tempt you personally with that so that you are separated away from
God. The enemy’s goal is to push us as far away from God as possible. He attempts
to do this through these pet sins. It’s a lure with a hook, and we are hungry
fish. The lure may look good, smell good, and be hard to resist; however, that
lure is laced with a dangerous hook ready to yank us out of the water to our
death.
2) When we let desire grow and manifest, it
gives birth to sin.
The goal is to set our mind on things above (Col. 3:2), but often
sin starts as a fleshly desire in our minds. The longer we let those sinful desires
hang around, the more they come into reality and begin looking more acceptable
to us personally. When this is fully developed it turns into sin. And, to just
think… It started as a minor temptation.
3) Sin brings forth death.
As we submit ourselves to those sins, we have allowed that sin to
creep into our minds and lives. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death,
but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Sin causes
death and separates us from God.
When we give the devil an inch, he will ask for another. Then,
eventually, we will have given him a mile. And, that mile brings us death.
Hebrews 2:1 says:
“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard,
lest we drift away from it.”
That slow fade, that creeping of sin, that DRIFT can happen so
slow and gradual that we fall away if we are not engaged in our relationship
with God. We have to PAY attention to God’s Word. We have to let it become
alive in us and by being an active part of our lives. Do not become enticed by
the lures of the flesh. It’s not worth it. It brings us death. I encourage you,
precious loved one of God, to be persistent, to avoid temptation, to SEEK GOD.
James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under
trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which
God has promised to those who love Him.”
Let me pray for us! Father, help us to understand Your Word and be
receptive to your teachings. Holy Spirit, please speak to us and help us to
understand the message you are conveying throughout this Scripture. Bless this
reader as well as our time together, and help them grow in their relationship
with You, Lord. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
I leave you with this:
Be strong and steadfast, loved one. Be blessed. Be alive through
Christ. Love God.
Blessings,
Courtney Busbee
