As you may have noticed, my blog looks different. Just in time for Autumn. I love the smell of leaves, apples, and the cool, crisp air.
I think fall and winter are two of my favorite seasons. You may also have noticed about 5 of my postings are gone.
Ihave agreed that these were more appropriate for a journal that I actually handwrite in. I still feel uncomfortable having deleted these entries, but I think as time goes on, I'll just get used to it. I am having such a battle trying to follow Christ, even though people close to me refuse. I bring up scripture, talk about these struggles & what God's standard is (note: I am not denying that we fail at this & that we struggle, but the point is that it IS a struggle, not just a laying down of or giving up on who God calls us to be), yet I get no recollection of sin, not even admittance that it's there. Sin is like a necrotizing fascitis or pressure ulcer. It develops in stages, and, if left untreated, the ulcer becomes deeper and deeper, wider & more encompassing. Pretty soon, as the layers of skin is bloodily worn down to the bone, nerves are affected and if infection sets in, the blood is infected and you've got a gargantuan problem on your hands...all because you didn't move or couldn't move & didn't have any help. That's exactly what sin is like. Is there hope? Yes. Comparing this to a pressure ulcer again, the old, necrotic (dead, black, nonviable) tissue must be debrided away from the good tissue, and regeneration must be allowed. Yes, you got it. Debridement means to tear away from, or separate from , and it hurts beyond anything you can imagine. The same happens when we truly repent. We recognize there's a problem (whoa, I have a real big owee & gross looking skin), we turn from it ( um, hey can you help me God? This looks bigger than I can handle), and get help (schedule surgery). It hurts to detatch ourselves from sin completely, but Christ says there is no other way to be rid of sin. Once we do all this, it's a daily walk in healing (the damaged tissue is allowed to grow viable scar tissue. This may take more debridements in order to allow oxygen from the blood to permeate all the tissue). It's not just a one time deal either. God wants all areas of our lives to be saturated by Him. He cannot exist where sin does, so the parts of us that we with hold from Him will become dead. He can bring life again. There will be battle scars, but nothing that He can't handle. I don't think I've found a better analogy of sin than this one that most closely related to how I feel. Not only about my close family's issues, but in reality, my own. I don't wish to point the finger at others, I just want to stand in UNITY in Christ & uphold His standards with those who've prayed & claimed the same desire. My hopes & encouragement in the moment seem to always be thwarted as I experience situations in which I see repetetiveness in sin. There's a big problem here. Bigger than we think. Many a sin separate us, because we chose for them to. In other countries, these sins are apparent and forthwright. In our country, we hide them in closets & sweep them under our conventional rugs. Instead of using that rug to WIPE OFF THE DIRT, we use it to COVER THE DIRT. God help me, expose things within me that are sickened, debride me. Take the sin & help me fight. Help me to hold on to You, the one True Hope.
I think fall and winter are two of my favorite seasons. You may also have noticed about 5 of my postings are gone.
Ihave agreed that these were more appropriate for a journal that I actually handwrite in. I still feel uncomfortable having deleted these entries, but I think as time goes on, I'll just get used to it. I am having such a battle trying to follow Christ, even though people close to me refuse. I bring up scripture, talk about these struggles & what God's standard is (note: I am not denying that we fail at this & that we struggle, but the point is that it IS a struggle, not just a laying down of or giving up on who God calls us to be), yet I get no recollection of sin, not even admittance that it's there. Sin is like a necrotizing fascitis or pressure ulcer. It develops in stages, and, if left untreated, the ulcer becomes deeper and deeper, wider & more encompassing. Pretty soon, as the layers of skin is bloodily worn down to the bone, nerves are affected and if infection sets in, the blood is infected and you've got a gargantuan problem on your hands...all because you didn't move or couldn't move & didn't have any help. That's exactly what sin is like. Is there hope? Yes. Comparing this to a pressure ulcer again, the old, necrotic (dead, black, nonviable) tissue must be debrided away from the good tissue, and regeneration must be allowed. Yes, you got it. Debridement means to tear away from, or separate from , and it hurts beyond anything you can imagine. The same happens when we truly repent. We recognize there's a problem (whoa, I have a real big owee & gross looking skin), we turn from it ( um, hey can you help me God? This looks bigger than I can handle), and get help (schedule surgery). It hurts to detatch ourselves from sin completely, but Christ says there is no other way to be rid of sin. Once we do all this, it's a daily walk in healing (the damaged tissue is allowed to grow viable scar tissue. This may take more debridements in order to allow oxygen from the blood to permeate all the tissue). It's not just a one time deal either. God wants all areas of our lives to be saturated by Him. He cannot exist where sin does, so the parts of us that we with hold from Him will become dead. He can bring life again. There will be battle scars, but nothing that He can't handle. I don't think I've found a better analogy of sin than this one that most closely related to how I feel. Not only about my close family's issues, but in reality, my own. I don't wish to point the finger at others, I just want to stand in UNITY in Christ & uphold His standards with those who've prayed & claimed the same desire. My hopes & encouragement in the moment seem to always be thwarted as I experience situations in which I see repetetiveness in sin. There's a big problem here. Bigger than we think. Many a sin separate us, because we chose for them to. In other countries, these sins are apparent and forthwright. In our country, we hide them in closets & sweep them under our conventional rugs. Instead of using that rug to WIPE OFF THE DIRT, we use it to COVER THE DIRT. God help me, expose things within me that are sickened, debride me. Take the sin & help me fight. Help me to hold on to You, the one True Hope.
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