The sin that so easily entangles.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. (Hebrews 12:1-3 NIV)

 

I was reading this verse in Hebrews this morning in my quiet time and these words jumped out at me.

Sin easily entangles.

It seams easier to sin than it does to not sin.

How do you define sin ?

Missing the mark, missing the target, ......has been my best ever definition for my life, and it seams that for some, maybe you, and certainly for me... Its easy to sin. Its easy to miss the mark, to miss the target of my life.

Why ? What ? When ? How ?

Those questions are sometimes easy to answer to, but I don't want this blog to be negative, I want it to be positive... A blessing to someone who has missed the mark today and is reading this blog.

When we sin, some of us, feel shame, guilt embarrassment, even disgust in ourselves. But the writer to the Hebrews says .... Throw off the sin that so easily entangles. Don't dwell on it. " fess" it up to God and get back on the bike so to speak. Run your race, the one marked out for you....

Run it with perseverance, run it with resolve, run it with confession and repentance, run it with grace, run it in mercy, run it in forgiveness, run your race...not someone else's ...run your race.

Don't give up, becuase you hit a hurdle and tripped up.

Don't give up because you fell over on the sprint.... Get yourself back up, shake off the dust, and start your race again.

Don't ever give up.

Ever

Ever

Ever.

Sometimes it seams easier to know what the sin is, but way harder to identify the why behind your action.

So... Understand Hebrews ,

Throw off everything that hinders you...whatever that is.... A bad thought, a wrongful action, a lie, lust, greed, a bad habit, an inner thought which trips you every time, ...whatever it is...throw it off... And leave it off.

The sin that so "easily" entangles you ( me )

And get back on track.

It dawned on me today, that this sin easily gets us. We were born sinners right ?

It's often more natural for us to sin than be holy.

And that's where Jesus comes in, for He gives us an ability to be holy and to enable and empower us to throw away the sin.

So...fix your eyes upon Him, and not your sin.

Trust in him! to pick you up when you fall and fail.

Ultimately He loves us with love that we do not truly comprehend.

He extends grace to us when we least deserve it. And that's what grace is.... God's unmerited favour.

 

So if today, perhaps you are reading this and you have messed it all up. Made a mistake, fell over, hit the hurdle in your race and taken a tumble....

Don't stay down. Get back up. And get back into the race.

Satan would have us defeated and down. Jesus lifts us back up.

The rest is a our choice to position ourselves in one of those camps. Either with Satan or with Jesus.

Yep the sin easily entangles.

But Jesus is the great "un-entangler" . He loves us so much that if we will trust Him, he will help us sort out the tangles and get things back in order once again.

 

I have found, that when I have fallen in my past, that when I own that, confess it to him! receive his forgiveness and mercy! that he restores me... That he truly lifts me, that He allows me to see the error of my ways, and then gently...lovingly....he walks beside me until I am receiving and starting to run again this race marked out for me.

 

That's my God. Ever faithful. Never failing.

He is your God too.

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