"Knowlege of Good and Evil"

 "I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness:" (Ecclesiastes 7:25 KJV)

  "So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding." (Hebrews 6:1-3 NLT)

 Looking at this verse this morning, I could not but think about the first time that I slipped after having given my heart to the Lord. If memory serves, it was about two or three days later, and I had the duty of cleaning the dorm. In the process of my cleaning, I stumbled upon a magazine that caused me to sin.

 You can imagine what that might have felt like, because I had quite a day of prayer and begging the Lord to forgive me. It was after that experience that I decided I needed to begin pouring God's word into my mind, pushing all of the garbage out. So I started working on a crossword puzzle that was all about Jesus. For several weeks I work on that puzzle, looking up all the areas in the Old Testament which had any sort of connection with Jesus, and then all the references in the New Testament with proof showing that Jesus is God.

 Unfortunately, that was not my last mistake; there have been more than I care to think about; some, more frequent than others. One thing I discovered over the many years of trying to live holy: You have to learn how to sin! That doesn't mean what you might think it means, because sinning comes easy, if you don't avoid it, or if needed, run from it. But you have to learn how to live in a way where you grow accustomed to the sin, as if it just part of your struggle here on earth. 

 I know that sounds as if you have given up; but if that's what you think, it isn't what I meant. We should never give up trying to do right; but at the same time, when we sin, we must also never forget that Jesus has delivered us from that sinful nature, and we need to keep asking Him to help us not do it again...

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding the shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne. Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won't become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin." (Hebrews 12:1-4 NLT)