abatishko's blog

In Revelation 3:1-6 there is a letter which is written to a church located in the city of Sardis. In part it reads as follows:

"I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent."

Like the people in Sardis, we run the risk of forgetting what we have received and heard from God. It can be easy to let all of the other tasks and responsibilities of life take priority over the things that God wants us to do. After all, if we have been saved, doesn't God just need us to live a good life?

To the contrary! The letter says that the people in Sardis had a reputation of being alive. They were living a good life. But God says that they were dead. God still had something for them to do, and they were asleep to the things they should have been doing.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 - Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Over the last five weeks I've challenged you to recognize those things in your life which are keeping you from God, those things that you just can't seem to give up. I've very lightly touched on some of the key issues that are important to keep in mind when fighting against a habitual sin. There is so much more to consider, but this is not the appropriate place to go into greater detail.

Last week I covered the first of two ways in which the Bible instructs us to repent of our habitual sin. I talked about turning away from our sin. This week we're going to talk about the second part, which is turning to God.

Acts 3:19-20 - Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you -- even Jesus.

There are a large number of places where the Bible talks about turning to God. Many of those places are directly tied to the concept of being forgiven by God. As Christians, our goal is to follow Christ's example. As he lived a life that was oriented towards the goals and desires of God, so we are to do likewise.

Last week I pointed out two sins that we are guilty of when we turn to something other than God to satisfy our needs. We also looked at the Bible's answer to those sins. This week we'll take a look at one of those two answers: turning away from sin.

Ezekiel 33:14-15 - And if I say to the wicked man, 'You will surely die,' but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right -- if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die.

Last week I challenged you to start looking for a partner to help you deal with your addiction. This week we're going to start taking a look at what you need to do to find freedom.

Jeremiah 2:13 - My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

This verse points out two sins that we (like the Israelites) are guilty of when we begin to live a lifestyle that involves habitual sin (addiction). The first sin is that we turn away from God. This can happen because we do not believe that God can provide for us all that we need and desire. The second sin is that we turn to something other than God to find what we are looking for. We seek to fulfill our needs and desires through whatever it is we are addicted to.

Last week I challenged you to examine your life for things that are getting between you and God. This week, it's time to start taking a look at what you can do about the problem you have identified.

The thing about an addiction is that by definition you are unable to control it in your life. If you were able to control the problem, you would already have permanently eliminated it the last time you felt God prompting you to deal with it. Your best efforts are not enough to bring you purity in your walk with God.

Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Deuteronomy 6:5 - You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

When we hear the word "addict" we are quick to think of someone who uses drugs, or is an alcoholic, or possibly even someone who can't stop gambling. Out of curiosity, I did a Google search on "addiction". It came back with over 67 million pages. If you start scanning through the results, you can find pages that talk about addiction to all sorts of other things: sex, Starbucks, shopping, video games, food, work, the internet... The list just keeps on going.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 - “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Hebrews 12:6 tells us that because God loves us, He disciplines us when we turn away from Him. The verses above from 2 Chronicles demonstrate God applying this same principle to the entire nation of Israel. There are many other places in the Bible that we also see this concept being played out in people's lives.

The great thing is that God does not put us through this as punishment. No, He loves us and He desires for us to come back to Him. We might still have to deal with some of the consequences of our sin in turning away from God, but as verse 14 above explains, He is willing to forgive us and heal us.

Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
This book is available from the church book store.

Alex and Brett Harris run a popular website for christian teens called The Rebelution. The website and book both promote a message that our society does not challenge teens, but instead encourages them to grow up in an environment of low expectations. This leads not only to difficulties later in life, but is a great waste of the potential God has given each person. Alex and Brett (teens themselves) write in order to challenge teens to rebel against low expectations and set out intentionally to do hard things with the end purpose of glorifying God.