You need an 'ad blocker'

 Arthur C. Clark reminds us, "The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible." Scripture reminds us: “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked. Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.” (Matthew 19:25-26 NLT) Everything seems impossible until God intervenes, especially when it comes to dealing with our sin nature. The truth of the matter is that the harder we try to resist sin with little more than our willpower, the harder it will be to actually break the cycle of sin and compromise in our lives. We need the Spirit of God if we are to ever break free of sin's downward cycle in our lives.

Discovering the limits of our own ability to 'resist' is the beginning of our journey toward what is 'possible' ONLY through the help of God. We might think we are doing a pretty good job of resisting sin in our lives, then we realize we are just 'managing' sin - it still has an enticement, and that pull is very, very real. God can help us break free of the 'pull' toward temptation, but that doesn't mean our crafty enemy will not try other ways to loop us back into that downward cycle. In fact, it might just mean he will redouble his efforts to get us into compromise once again. Once you have heard and learned truth, it is hard to go back, though!

What are the limits of the 'possible' in your life? When you finally stop long enough to think that one through, you might just begin to see where compromise begins. It is probably more possible to resist the hamburger with all that juicy cheese, secret sauce, and bacon galore if you never see the advertisement. Do you think advertising moguls and media chains don't know that? The airwaves are riddled with all kinds of enticing ads depicting that juicy goodness, not once a night, but repeatedly. They are working on our defenses, trying to break us down so we go get one! Sin is like that - the 'ads' just keep coming until we finally give into the compromise.

We need God's help to resist our enemy's 'ads' that entice us into compromise, don't we? If we understand the cycle of sin's pull through his enticing words or images - the very things that stimulate our memory and entice our emotions - we might just stand a chance to break free of them once and for all. I just have to block the ads on TV to never see that juicy goodness of that hamburger. We need God to help us block the enticement to sin in our lives. When we begin to pray that prayer, he goes to work showing us where we encounter those influential 'ads'. When he does, pay attention and take note. Then ask him to show you how and where those influences can be blocked. He will enable a 'sin ad blocker' through the power of his Spirit (something way more powerful than our willpower will ever be). Just sayin!