This morning I received the opportunity to fall back into my sin, but for the first time I was the one to resist. By the grace of God, I was able to resist and I am now seven days clean. This is where I am getting nervous because I have never made it past this point today. Extra prayers sent my way would be appreciated because I know the battle is far from over.
This morning I read Matthew 3-5 and noticed that it repeats "the kingdom of heaven is near." That made me think. If the kingdom of heaven is near, should we not be preparing for the arrival of our king? Should we not be about His business, serving Him in everything we do? I, for one, want to be doing what He has called me to when He returns.
Another passage that stood out was Matthew 5:33-37 where it says not to swear by anything but to simply say "yes" or "no" and mean it. Of course, I thought right away of swearing oaths in court and making wedding vows. Does this passage mean we ought not be doing those things? And then I read the notes in my study Bible and realized it was talking about living a life of honesty in a dishonest culture. We should live such honest lives that there is no need to swear. We should not need to make promises to each other. I remember telling my mom when I was little that I had lied to someone but that it was ok because it was just a white lie. She told me it doesn't matter- a lie is a lie. How right she was! It is the presence of even these white lies that make it so that we need to swear oaths and make promises to each other. Wouldn't it be easier just to be honest in every situation?
This morning I read Matthew 3-5 and noticed that it repeats "the kingdom of heaven is near." That made me think. If the kingdom of heaven is near, should we not be preparing for the arrival of our king? Should we not be about His business, serving Him in everything we do? I, for one, want to be doing what He has called me to when He returns.
Another passage that stood out was Matthew 5:33-37 where it says not to swear by anything but to simply say "yes" or "no" and mean it. Of course, I thought right away of swearing oaths in court and making wedding vows. Does this passage mean we ought not be doing those things? And then I read the notes in my study Bible and realized it was talking about living a life of honesty in a dishonest culture. We should live such honest lives that there is no need to swear. We should not need to make promises to each other. I remember telling my mom when I was little that I had lied to someone but that it was ok because it was just a white lie. She told me it doesn't matter- a lie is a lie. How right she was! It is the presence of even these white lies that make it so that we need to swear oaths and make promises to each other. Wouldn't it be easier just to be honest in every situation?
