Day 08 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the...
“…so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.”
– 1 Timothy 6:11
Additional Reading (AMPC)
1 CORINTHIANS 10:13
For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), {no matter how it comes or where it leads} has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man {that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear}. But God is faithful {to His Word and to His compassionate nature}, and He {can be trusted} not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will {always} also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
EPHESIANS 6:10
In conclusion, be strong in the Lord {be empowered through your union with Him}; draw your strength from Him {that strength which His boundless might provides}.
ROMANS 8:1
Therefore, {there is} now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live {and} walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.
God’s Word tells us that we are to run away from things that are evil and pursue, or run after, things that are good. So, what do you do when you find yourself running after the wrong things?
Remove anything from your life that draws your attention away from God.
Does that mean you have to get rid of your phone, your television, and your computer? Not necessarily. But, you may have to remove songs or apps from your phone, or turn off a show or movie that is causing you to meditate on the wrong things. Wrong thinking leads to wrong actions. What you think, you will become (see Proverbs 23:7) so remember that if you want to purse the right things, you’ll have to focus your attention on the right things.
Understand that God still loves you when you make a mistake.
When we make mistakes, it doesn’t cause God to stop loving us. God brings conviction so that you will turn to Him and repent, because He loves you and wants you to break free from sin. Condemnation will discourage you and make you feel like God doesn’t love you. It makes you feel hopeless and it will keep drawing you back to the sin that makes you feel condemned in the first place. God will empower you to overcome sin, so don’t allow condemnation to keep you from turning to Him to receive His love and forgiveness.
Never look back.
Once you have removed wrong influences, repented from sin, and received God’s forgiveness, don’t turn back to sin. Keep feeding your spirit with God’s Word, prayer, and worship. The stronger your spirit becomes, the more power you’ll have to overcome the sinful nature of your flesh. Remember, what you feed will lead! Keep your spirit well fed, so that your flesh isn’t able to take the lead.
God will always make a way of escape when we are tempted. So when you are presented with an opportunity to sin, look for the way out. Don’t just walk away from sin, run from it!
Confession for today: “Father, I am sorry for going after things I know are not pleasing to You. I ask You to help me to remove anything from my life that is leading me away from You. Forgive me and make me clean. Thank you for loving me and giving me the power to walk away, giving me an escape from every temptation. Help me, by Your power to run from things that are evil in Jesus’ name.”