There was once an elder pastor whose service to God was well loved and admired. God abided powerfully in all his sacred work. When asked what the secret to his faithful service was, he spoke of six principals he followed to keep himself sinless in front of God:
- Do NOT be proud.
- Do NOT be greedy for riches.
- Do NOT lust for sensual pleasures.
- Do NOT preach anything against the Bible.
- Do NOT sin.
- Do NOT compromise with the world.
This elder knew that sin can sap our spiritual strength, contaminate your sacred service to God, and make you lose your discernment of good and evil. How God hates it when you let sin take a foothold in your heart! God says in Isaiah 1:15-17: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes.â€
Everyone is vulnerable to certain weaknesses. God knows and Satan knows what they are. They have been common to humans from the beginning. For this reason, Satan exploits these weaknesses by using the same old hooks to trap our souls. He hides the hook with a delicious piece of meat. If our weakness is an ambition for success, status, or fame, Satan will attack us using our pride. If it’s lust, then he will be sure to plant opportunities to hook us into committing a sexual sin.
Through the past year, I learned how easily one could be hooked by sin without even realizing it. I daytraded in stocks and thought I was earning money legitimately. I spent countless hours researching companies and stocks, waking up at 5 a.m. to catch the news in the pre-market hours. I was so proud of making thousands of dollars.
One day, I lost everything. I awoke to find I not only had lost money, I had almost lost my God and my family. I’ve learned how well Satan can hide the hook of sin. My weakness, greed, had caused me to latch onto this hook and compromise with the world. God calls us today to discover the hooks of sin in our lives and to “put away the sin that is in our hand†so we may rebuild a new relationship with Christ.
Lord Jesus, do not hide your face from me so that you do not hear. Help me to deal with my sins—the iniquities that separate me from you. Heal my callous heart. Help free me from the hook of sin so that I may be truly righteous and obtain life everlasting.
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