The Chase Chapter Nine: Putting Sin to Death

After reading this chapter, I find that this part of the chase for holiness is my main hurdle.

The effort of holiness isn't the problem, its the breaking of habits that the book brings up in the latter parts of the chapter where I really struggle.

I personally deal with internal sins that trip me up to this day, that I can't share with people, because personally they ashame me. It's the kind of sin that would make your mother cry if you told her.

Like the only person who I can talk to about it is God alone, because I fear what others will think of me if I share it.

We need to make the effort to stop our habit of sin, we have a responsibility to, as the book says.

'We need to cut off any life- the very bloody supply- we give to the sins that rules our lives before Christ.'

I love the analogy they use with the video game, if only it were as easy as that, and with video games, most people decided to just input cheat codes if the game is too difficult. Just like they try to find shortcuts through life.

I watched the movie Luther not too long ago, and people tried to get out of spending time with God by buying indulgences, like doing such a thing would bring them closer to God.

The question the book brings up in this chapter is dealing with after you have put your old life to death.

"How do I cut off the of sins controlling me"

Now I thought I was ready to do such a thing, but it's hard, almost enough to make me quit. In fact for a little while I did in fact. I just let my habit sin control me.

But we can't have anything of this world get in the way of our relationship with God.

NEVER, EVER.

Now then the book tells us that we have to stay in the word for this matter, because how can we be obedient to God's laws, if we don't even know them, right?

How can we know if something is a habit sin, if we never learn it's wrong in the eyes of the Lord.

One way to keep the truth rooted in your heart, to throw at the enemy when he tries to convince you that 'it's only just this once' or that 'it's not bad enough to displease God' is to memorize scripture concerning it.

I'm going to attend RAW, it's a great program that I know God has called me into to further my development into my area of ministry, service.

What better way to learn more about serving, then to memorize scripture concerning service?

Same goes for holiness, and beating our habitual ( if it isn't a word, it is now) sins? To memorize scriptures concerning them.

The hard part about holiness, is owning up to your sin, but making the effort to own up and break down the fortress of control the enemy has built around you allows us to enter a unique and deeper fellowship with God.

We all have to make a commitment, to chase after holiness, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, as the book puts it, or we are just leading ourselves towards the fall.

I'm chasing after it, although I'm still quite not ready to make myself vulnerable enough to share the sin that has dominion in my life, hopefully I will soon.

-Brent