Fallibility

Fallability. We all fall and we all sin. But how do we get to that process. You don’t suddenly just wake up and say, I think I’ll fall to temptation today. No one just stumbles into bed to have an affair, or steals from someone, or does a line of coke. It’s a small series of compromises that lead to a bigger compromise and then a bigger one. I think its like the frog in a boiling pot of water metaphor. You throw the frog in when its boiling it will jump right out. But slowly turn up the heat slowly and the frog won’t notice its slow boil until its too late and he’s dead. Christians are like this too….self included. I didn’t realize I was off track, until it was too late. But God is a God of grace and with a quick adjustment, it was business as usual. That’s the great thing about God’s grace. He doesn’t want to beat us up over our failures. That’s the job of the enemy. The enemy uses guilt and condemnation and that is a lot different than the conviction that God uses.

Another thing about sin is that God is always willing to forgive but sometimes the conviction that propels us to seek repentance sometimes goes away. Its like if you are living your life right, and you sin, there is guilt. You seek forgiveness and repent and start again. But if you sin again without repenting, there is less guilt, and less the next time, till there is no guilt remaining. The guilt erodes away with time. We become immune or resistant to the conviction of God. Romans 1:28 says “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not fitting, 29being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity. “ According to the Dictionary rep·ro·bate   

[rep-ruh-beyt] –noun1 a depraved, unprincipled, or wicked person: a drunken reprobate. 2. a person rejected by god and beyond hope of salvation.

That is some pretty scary stuff. Its almost as if a person wants to continue to sin, God will say, fine…have it your way and then turn His back on that person. He will always be willing to take that person back, but his protective covering is no longer on that person. I thank God that my addiction never got me that far. God had me on a very short leash. Occasionally, I will fall, but then Ill get back up again. So why do we fall? Why does the enemy want Christ followers to stumble? I was listening to a Charles Stanley sermon this week. Stanley said “If you don’t bother the devil, he won’t bother you.” So if you are living your life right, expect a lot more temptation to come your way. Consider it a mark that you are living your life right. But if you are straying, and not living your life right, the enemy will leave you alone. The enemy has a finite amount of resources so he strategically deploys his minions and evil forces to take down strategic threats to him, or strong Christians. He’ll take down the family whenever he can, or take down a minister, his aim is to divide and conquer. It was curious to me when I lived in Los Angeles. I felt like I was under constant attack or temptation to sin with my issue (pornography I have mentioned was my Achilles heal). But then when I moved to Oklahoma, suddenly it was a different atmosphere. The constant barrage of temptation was alleviated. I felt so refreshed and alive. Like I was breathing in the air after living in smog for so many years (OK that works literally, figuratively, and metaphorically in this case). I felt like I truly was in the buckle of the Bible belt. The temptations for me (Im estimating) dropped by 95%. Why? Im convinced that Hollywood/Los Angeles is a very strategic place for the enemy. Hollywood influences the world. If the enemy can take people down there, it can have a reverberating world impact. Just look at how Hollywood has shaped the morals of our country/world. Its kind of embarrassing. Plus look at Hollywood marriages. Tell me five Hollywood couples that have been married for more that 5 years. I’ll give you one, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, you fill in the rest. So Im thinking that Hollywood is like Baghdad, that’s the key strategic place for the enemy’s forces.

So I meant this blog to be encouraging. Sometimes when I write, I just let the Holy Spirit take over. I think for now, this blog is my ministry. Interaction with real people will happen as God will bring them into my life at the appropriate times.