Has anyone ever launched into the same cycle of events that landed them in the same exact spot they already occupied? We hear sin's call, and it is like we answer "do it again" - time and time again. Then we stand there scratching our heads wondering how we got the same results to a what we believed to be a new set of circumstances! Well, the answer is pretty obvious - we are "doomed" to repeat what we don't actually allow to be changed in our lives - not by our own effort, but by the grace and love of God!
God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. (Colossians 1:13-14)
As long as we are living by the "do it again" methodology, we are really doing nothing more than walking around a dead-end alley. What is at the end of an alley which "dead-ends"? A blockade of some sorts? What are the characteristics of an alley? An alley is not a very "pretty" place. It is riddled with all manner of garbage, back-doors into places which appear much "prettier" on the "store-front" side of the street, and stray this and that.
The illusion created on the "store-front" side isn't actually maintained in the alley! Why? The alley is not for "show" - it is for the unloading of what nobody wants to see on display in the store itself. It is the place of refuse! As long as we continue in the alley, all we will see is the place of refuse and the potential of dead-ended attempts! Zig Zigler is quoted as saying, "Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street." I think many folks may actually not believe this, though.
Too many of us see only the "wall" at the end of the alley of sin - looking around hopelessly at the predicament we are in and telling ourselves we have no way out. Even a dead-end alley has a way out. We have to turn away from the wall and head toward the opening of the alleyway. The same is true of sin in our lives - we have to turn away from it, begin walking in the opposite direction of that place of "refuse". We will only be discouraged and "held captive" by the dead-end alleys of sin when we keep our focus on the wall at the end of the alley. As soon as we take our eyes off the wall which tells us there is "no way out", we will be able to see the glimmer of hope at the opposite end!
What keeps a prisoner of war alive is his sheer refusal to "forget" the hope of release! He focuses on "getting out", not the abject torture of where he is at the moment. He remembers family, friends, projects he dreams of, and the "outside world". Why? So, the enemy doesn't dupe him into believing it is all over for him! The enemy of our souls wants us to think freedom from sin is "all over" for us. He wants us to believe it just isn't ever going to happen. We may travel the same alleyways time and time again, but here is the truth as God puts it: You have ALREADY been delivered from that "dead-end". He has already "set you up in his kingdom" - you may not be focused on that yet, but if you will hear his voice calling, you will find it is coming from the opening into that alleyway, not the brick wall in front of you! Just sayin!
God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He’s set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating. (Colossians 1:13-14)
As long as we are living by the "do it again" methodology, we are really doing nothing more than walking around a dead-end alley. What is at the end of an alley which "dead-ends"? A blockade of some sorts? What are the characteristics of an alley? An alley is not a very "pretty" place. It is riddled with all manner of garbage, back-doors into places which appear much "prettier" on the "store-front" side of the street, and stray this and that.
The illusion created on the "store-front" side isn't actually maintained in the alley! Why? The alley is not for "show" - it is for the unloading of what nobody wants to see on display in the store itself. It is the place of refuse! As long as we continue in the alley, all we will see is the place of refuse and the potential of dead-ended attempts! Zig Zigler is quoted as saying, "Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street." I think many folks may actually not believe this, though.
Too many of us see only the "wall" at the end of the alley of sin - looking around hopelessly at the predicament we are in and telling ourselves we have no way out. Even a dead-end alley has a way out. We have to turn away from the wall and head toward the opening of the alleyway. The same is true of sin in our lives - we have to turn away from it, begin walking in the opposite direction of that place of "refuse". We will only be discouraged and "held captive" by the dead-end alleys of sin when we keep our focus on the wall at the end of the alley. As soon as we take our eyes off the wall which tells us there is "no way out", we will be able to see the glimmer of hope at the opposite end!
What keeps a prisoner of war alive is his sheer refusal to "forget" the hope of release! He focuses on "getting out", not the abject torture of where he is at the moment. He remembers family, friends, projects he dreams of, and the "outside world". Why? So, the enemy doesn't dupe him into believing it is all over for him! The enemy of our souls wants us to think freedom from sin is "all over" for us. He wants us to believe it just isn't ever going to happen. We may travel the same alleyways time and time again, but here is the truth as God puts it: You have ALREADY been delivered from that "dead-end". He has already "set you up in his kingdom" - you may not be focused on that yet, but if you will hear his voice calling, you will find it is coming from the opening into that alleyway, not the brick wall in front of you! Just sayin!
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