Respectable Sins: 4,5,6

Hi Girls

Well, I’m running late on this post… sorry. Thought I’d better post it before we discuss the next chapters tomorrow!

We did meet to discuss Chapters 4, 5, & 6. And here are a few of the thoughts we discussed.

Preach the Gospel to yourself every day: We were reminded once again, how important it is to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. In doing so we recognize how sinful we are, and appreciate and love his great Mercy all the more. But it also helps us to refocus on the Lord, and remember that His work is accomplished, That Christ has the victory and we will overcome. It helps us put all our trust in Him as we try to put to death sin in us. Through Christ’s work we are freed from its Guilt and its power “… Christ, in His work for us and in us, saves us not only from the penalty of sin but also from its dominion or reigning power in our lives. This twofold aspect of Chris’s great work is beautifully captured in Augustus Toplady’s great hymn “Rock of Ages,” with the words,

Let the water and the blood,
From the riven side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.
Page 33

“Stepping forward to accept my place as a sinner in need of the gospel each day drives a dagger into my self-righteous heart and prepares me to face up to and accept the reality of the sin that still dwells within me.” Page 34

I think its so useful in fact, to Preach the Gospel to yourself daily, that I decided to put it into the monthly planner this year to help us do just that.

Will you preach the gospel to yourself every day?

The Work of the Holy Spirit: What an encouragement it is to know that the Holy Spirit works in us to change us. That He transforms us. “… That is, Paul urges us to work in the confidence that God is at work in us. Though Paul refers to God, presumable God the Father, as the One at work, we have already seen that God works through the Holy Spirit as the transforming agent in our lives.’ Page 43

The Beauty of Trials: Can trials be beautiful? Can we look at our trials and see and opportunity to put to death certain sins? Do we recognize that often our trials give us great blessings through the lessons God teaches us. They cause us to truly trust in the Lord, and to sense our great dependency on Him.
“… It is obvious that we can deal with the activity of our subtle sins only as the circumstances we encounter expose them.” Page 44

What are trials? Are the always the big things? Circumstances that bring us to tears? Or do we face little trials every day? We should accept even the little daily trials as opportunity to put to death sin? We should focus on our sins, and concentrate on putting them to death when opportunity to sin arises? And, Not only Not committing certain sin in each trial, but actively practicing the fruits of the spirit in our daily response to our circumstances.