Sin Robs...

The bible says that God is love.

If the exact expression of God is indeed love itself than that leads me to believe, although NOT stated in the bible as far as I know, that the devil is sin.

I know it may sound a little far fetched to some of you, but think about it...God can only give what he is...which are GOOD things...the devil can only give what is bad. Maybe a better word for him would be evil rather than sin. However, I was prompted to write on sin and what it does.

This morning I was thinking, as I still lay in bed, about how much sin really destroys us. The bible says that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. Think about that...he comes to take away the things that we love...he comes to kill the desires that God has set in our hearts and he comes to destroy those things that God has given us...such as marriages, jobs, children, ministries, etc. And guess whose fault it is when he is able to do these things?!?
Not pointing fingers or placing blame...but we can't be complacent and let him take these things any LONGER! Since sin is so present in the world and will be until the second coming of Jesus Christ, than we need to (as children of God) take up our swords and fight! We should never let the thief come in...we should never open the door to him and welcome him in.

Picture this: We know a thief is on the loose and we are home...alone. We hear knocking on the door...we ignore for a time being...we choose to lay down on our couch or just pretend like it is the wind...we do NOTHING to protect ourselves or our homes...we are so lazy that we don't feel like locking the door, although we know what could come into our homes. We SLEEP with the door unlocked...the door to our hearts...the door to our souls. We lie dormant! Until eventually...the thief is able to break in...and sometimes too easily...sometimes we might as well leave the door wide open to the thief "sin".

People..we need to RISE UP and stop letting sin take control. The bible says that "He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins if we confess them"...and YES, our God is SO FAITHFUL...he forgives us, he is merciful beyond comprehension and altogether lovely....
but we need to be careful because as much as he forgives us...and loves us...sin STILL steals our blessings and destroys our lives. Just because he forgives us doesn't make things all better...we need to do some work in order for our lives to be purified.

What is it today that is holding you back from the fullness thereof??? Is it lying, cheating, stealing?? It is lust, envy, drunkeness? Or is it a cold, hardened heart towards God and his people? Ask yourself...be honest with yourself and with God...he knows your heart and thoughts anyway. The bible says that the word of God is a double edged sword and knows the intents and thoughts of the heart!!

Repent. Repent does not mean to ask God to forgive you over and over again....it means to literally TURN AWAY from your sins...to reject evil...to cleave to what is good...to turn towards God...never to return to your sins.

God loves you and longs to give you the desires of your heart...are you ready to give him the things that keep you from them?