"Striving Against Sin"

 "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." (Hebrews 12:4 KJV)

  "If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." (1 Corinthians 10:12-13 NLT)

 Just so you know, I was thinking about making this verse separate from verse 5 - 11; only because it has a personal meaning, which is then followed up with discipline of our Heavenly Father. It is really not that hard to fall into sin, if you don't remember how easy it is to be tempted, then you will be very susceptible to the passions and desires of your flesh.

 We must always be on guard, knowing that our flesh can and will want to be fulfilled; as we are always at war with it, night and day! The moment you think that you have it under control and have subdued it, will be moment you fall or come under attack. Trust me, this is a real thing! When you think you have won the battle, the big guns come out! 

 Yesterday I had the opportunity to hear Pastor Jack sharing about the life of a Pastor. As he was sharing, it really touched my heart about the way he mentioned the difference between other occupations, versus the occupations of Pastors. Lawyers start out to be lawyers, and finish being lawyers; doctors start out being doctors, and finish being doctors; but there are pastors that start out being pastors, but don't finish the race! 

 The thing that makes it so real, is the reality of what a Pastor actually is not! Being a Pastor is really not an occupation! When it becomes an occupation in the heart of a Pastor, then it becomes less than a calling and more about work.

 The reason I felt that needed to be shared, is that there really is no difference between what a Pastor goes through and us, regular followers of Christ. It really doesn't matter what you are or where you work; whatever we do and however we do it, we must always do it as if we are doing it unto the Lord.

 That might not seem relevant for this message; but it all flows down the same river! Anything you do as if it is on your own, whatever it might be, if the Lord's not in it, you better be careful! I heard another message yesterday, Pastor Mike was sharing about Cain and his sacrifice. A little different of a twist on the offering the Cain gave to God, which was rejected; because in this message, Cain's heart really wasn't offering it to God, but it was more for himself...

"I don't want you to forget, dear brothers and sisters, about our ancestors in the wilderness long ago. All of them were guided by a cloud that moved ahead of them, and all walked through the sea on dry ground. In the cloud and in the sea, all of them were baptized as followers of Moses. All of them ate the same spiritual food, and all of them drank from the spiritual water. For they drank from the spiritual rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ. Yet God was not pleased with most of them, and their bodies were scattered in the wilderness." (1 Corinthians 10:1-5 NLT)