Haven’t I Already Learned This Lesson - printable PDF

 

100% for Life

Haven’t I Already Learned This Lesson

 Day One - Heb 12:1* Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

 

It is imperative that we realize, even as Paul did, that there are sins that will easily entangle us. These are the areas of our life that because of hurts from our past, doors that we have opened, or being manipulated by our fears and paranoia, will cause us to be more easily tripped up and driven back into dysfunctional and sinful behavior. He references that we can draw strength from seeing how others who suffered with similar entangling sins were able to overcome them, and now pray for and cheer us on. It is critical that we see that we are not the only ones who struggle. Even some of the greatest Bible heroes had great struggles. It is imperative that we see through the work of God in their lives that these areas can be overcome. It requires, however, an active dedication on our part to get the right tools and supportive relationships, so that we can run the race without these entanglements.

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Day Two - Rom 7: 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

In Romans chapter 7 Paul describes the struggle that every one of us faces. While we delight in God’s law in our mind, we also struggle against the desire of sin that is always a temptation in our life. As he looks at the tangled mess that can often result, he confidently concludes that the only one who can save us is Jesus Christ. Yet, the incredible truth is that He alone can save us. He can bring radical new life change where old things are passed away and everything becomes new in our life. We can take heart in the fact that even Paul struggled in the same way that each of us struggle daily, and also in the fact that through the work of Christ he was able to be set free and allow his life to count powerfully for the kingdom of God.

Day Two Additional Reading – Romans 7:15 – 25

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Day Three - Heb 5:12* In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! 13* Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. 14* But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.

 

In today’s passage we are confronted with the truth that we can have an immature faith, as well as a mature faith. To become mature we have to not only know the principles but put them into practice in our life. As the passage describes, it as a training of ourselves to be able to discern and, in fact, act on that which we know to be good and to not give into evil. It is so easy to rationalize why we struggle rather than realize that the rationalization is a huge part of why we are stuck. It’s not until we call sin what it is, that we will ever begin the process of being set free from it. No one can teach us to be mature, it doesn’t come from a class, or from a church service, it comes from a life totally committed to Christ and the faithful daily walking out of his call and commands for our life. Maturity doesn’t come just with age it comes by commitment to the truth.

Day Three Additional Reading – Hebrews 5:12-14

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Day Four – 1 Peter 5:6* Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7* Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8* Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9* Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

 

We need to be aware that our enemy, Satan, is out to destroy us. If we are not self-controlled and alert we will fall prey to his schemes. It is amazing to me as pastor how people describe the intricate interplay of circumstances and situations that lead them to the action or decision that shipwrecked their lives and not recognize that they were set up to fall, by Satan . It is by humility before God, every day, and the realization that every decision in our life has an impact, that we can live with health in a fallen world. We cannot rationalize away dysfunctional behavior and expect to have health. The great news of this passage is that when we humble ourselves under God’s powerful hand, He does raise us up at the time that we need it. 

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Day Five - James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6* But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8* he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

In our passage today we see a powerful statement that double-mindedness creates great instability in our life. I daily encounter Christians who know the right Biblical answer in their situation, yet the actions of their life and the words from their mouth completely deny what they know and believe God’s truth to be. The result is always great instability, both functionally, in their actions and in the results of those actions. We are called to seek wisdom, which is knowledge that is correctly applied in the situation we are in. God assures us that he will provide the wisdom we need, if we will seek Him for it. Doubting is not usually just the thoughts that run through our head, it is an unwillingness to walk out the wisdom and truth that God has given us. Most of the time, the difference between single-mindedness and double-mindedness is walking out the truth God has given us, in spite of the fear or uncertainty that may be plaguing our mind.