Week
7 Hope and Anticipate
Day 43
Freedom Path
Whosoever
abideth in him sinneth not…
1 John 3:6 KJV
Jesus
does indeed save him from his sin—not by the removal of his sinful nature, but
by keeping him from yielding to it. [i]
Andrew Murray
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he flesh is like an
out-of-control child that can’t be left to its own devices even for a moment.
It will always act in self-interest; our sinful natures cannot be trusted. Thus
if we are to participate fully in the hope we have in Christ, we must accept
that apart from Him we are unable to
make Godly choices. Sin within us is much more powerful than our merely human
resolutions to do better. This knowledge of the futility of our own thoughts
and motivations is an excellent incentive to abide in Christ moment by moment
throughout our days. Our hope for freedom from sin lies fully in Christ; as Hannah
Whitall Smith says, “Plainly the believer can do nothing but trust; while the
Lord, in whom he trusts, actually does the work intrusted [sic] to Him.”[ii]
A beautiful illustration of abiding in the Lord comes from my mom who, at
this writing, is in the twelfth year since her Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Her
short-term memory is nonexistent; she does not remember a visit three minutes
after a guest leaves her room. I can’t imagine the sense of confusion this must
bring, but Mom’s lifelong faith comes to her aid. She often whispers over and over, “As you
will Lord, as you lead…” When she is in this frame of mind she is always
peaceful. This is abiding in Christ.
We can each work hard to trust the Lord constantly and without wavering,
but we will sometimes fail. It’s important not to waste time with fruitless
self-recrimination when we sin. We can allow our sin to highlight our need for
Christ, repent, and move on. The Lord provides us a roadmap to restoration when
we fall away:
Confess: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness"
(1 John 1:9).
Cry for Mercy: "Have mercy on me, O God, according
to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my
transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin
" (Psalm 51:1-2).
Repent: "Create in me a clean heart, O
God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and
take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and
uphold me with a willing spirit " (Psalm 51:10-12).
Receive Comfort: "Comfort, comfort my people, says your
God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that
her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for
all her sins... Have you not
known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the
ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is
unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he
increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall
fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they
shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:1-2, 28-31).
Receive Encouragement: "‘Not by might nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the Lord of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6).
Pray: Lord, please forgive me for the ways I’ve hurt others today. Please
wash my sins away with Your blood and purify me from all unrighteousness.
Please teach me how to abide in you more consistently throughout every hour of
my day. Help me rest in the truth that it isn’t my hard work but Your power
that will deliver me from bondage to sin. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.
~~~
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,
not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might
not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds
were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil
remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this
day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to
the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit
of the Lord is, there is freedom…
2 Corinthians 3:13-17
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