Letting Go

It’s been too long since the last devotion, and I have sincerely missed connecting with you. The new year has brought many changes, but through it all, the Lord has remained faithful. I pray that you are blessed in some way by the devotion today, and please drop me a line when you can.

Most of you have probably heard the story about the dog whose leash was tied onto a stake for a very long time—possibly months or maybe even years. Well, when the owner finally removes the leash from the stake and frees the dog, he refuses to go out any further than the distance that he was accustomed to being able to go with the leash. The dog just can’t seem to realize that he is free from the leash once attached to the stake. He had been bound so long that he didn’t recognize his freedom.

I think many of us fall victim to this. We can become negatively conditioned and confined by our own choices and we don’t recognize the freedom and liberty we have in Christ. We have done the same thing, thought the same way, and said the same things for so long that we don’t see God’s vision, plan, and purpose for our lives. In fear, we cling to the things that are comfortable and familiar to us, whether they’re ultimately going to be good for ourselves or not. Ultimately, we box ourselves in by our own choices and limit what God can do for us and through us by refusing to let go.

First of all, let me say that letting go can be difficult. Whether it’s letting go of negative thinking or speech, unhealthy relationships, bad habits and/or addictions, our natural man is going to protest letting go. However, there are no exceptions. We must let go of anything that separates us from relationship with Him, and sin is the thing that causes separation between us and God.

Many of us can quote Romans 3:23, which says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” This verse isn’t, however, justification for us to sin. Because we sin, we need justification that we have free access to only through our faith in the sacrifice that Jesus made for us (Romans 5:1). Now, once we are believers, we are justified by faith, fully covered by His grace. As a result, we don’t let sin reign in [our] mortal bodies.” We are just and justified through our faith in Him, so again, we don’t allow sin to have control over us. In other words, we must let go of sin. The evidence that we trust Him is clearly shown by our choices, lifestyle, and speech.

We have the power through His death, burial, and resurrection to triumph over sin. We do have the power to let go of anything that would hinder the Lord from using us to the fullest. Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Verse 8 from this same chapter says that “they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Regardless of what the world says, we cannot straddle the fence. We have to make the choice to eliminate sin from our lives, no exceptions, no excuses and no delays.

When we don’t recognize that we have to let go of sin, we are actually operating just like that dog on the leash that doesn’t recognize his freedom. Jesus has paid the penalty for sin for us, and when we sin, we are refusing to accept the gift of freedom from sin that He has given us access to by remaining a slave to the sin. We can either be a slave to sin or a slave to righteousness. Romans 6:18 says that “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.” When we serve Him, we are free! Galatians 5:1 tells us to “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” We are free to live for Him, free from the bondage of sin and our selfish desires, and free from spiritual death.

I pray that any person who is struggling to break free of a sinful situation, thought-pattern, or behavior acknowledges the sin and repents today. I pray that anyone who needs to let go, recognizes it, and turns their faith towards the One who is worthy of all of our trust, the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that His peace may be with you now and always.

Letting Go With You,
MaRita

Have You Cleaned Your House Lately?

It’s been a while since I’ve last connected with you all. I pray that your new year is off to a blessed beginning.

Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of house cleaning—both in the home I reside in and in my spiritual house. Inevitably, when you begin doing really serious cleaning of any kind, there’s usually a good amount of debris and trash that needs to be discarded. There’s no such thing as cleanliness residing in the midst of mess. It’s either clean or it isn’t. So, as I work, I thought I’d share some things that are helping me to spiritually clean house over the next few devotions.

When I clean, I like to go around the house and sort of scope things out first. Although I see the house daily, it requires a different type of perspective to see what exactly needs to be done to get it clean. For example, on a daily basis I don’t notice the cobwebs that may be in the corners or the dust behind a door. Generally, I overlook this type of examination day to day. Similarly, when we want to clean our spiritual lives, we have to examine ourselves, not neglecting to see ourselves and actions as we really are.

Self-examination is so very important to spiritual growth and maturity, so despite the difficulty in doing this, I can’t get things in order without taking a sincere and honest inventory of what’s going on with me. I’ve even gone as far as writing down some things that I really need to pray about and work on so that I can be used by Him. I no longer want to justify or excuse sinful behavior or thoughts.

After we all do some serious self-examinations, we have to be fully prepared to get rid of things in our character, actions, and spirit that are no like Him. I can be transparent and say that one thing that really challenges me is my quick-temper. When I began to do some self-examination, my quick temper is one thing that I know I need to get rid of. How do I know? I know because having a quick temper is not in line with the Word or God or His will. There are numerous scriptures that speak to this.

For example, James 1:19-20 says, “let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” Proverbs 16:32 explains that “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” In addition, Proverbs 25: 28 says that “He that hath no rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” It has been sobering to think that having no self-control leads to having no protection or covering from the Lord.

Meditating on these scriptures and others about being quick-tempered has helped me to identify the behavior when it comes and cast it down. I can admit that it’s still a challenge, but I believe that it is something that I will be delivered from with continued prayer, consecration, and meditation on the Word. As a matter of fact, as I’m typing this, my one year-old insists on typing with from time to time in spite of the fact that he has several lap tops age appropriate for him (ugh!). My initial response to him laughing while pushing the escape button was to raise my voice in anger, but after he climbed back up and pushed it the second time, I remembered what I was writing on, stopped typing and re-directed him with something else. By the way, he’s happily reading an Elmo book and I am not frustrated because I took the time to take control over my emotions.

Whatever issues (attitudes, behaviors, people, thoughts, etc.) you may have that need to be worked on and/or discarded, whether big or small, I am praying that you have the courage and strength to take an honest inventory of your “house” because the Word tells us, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (I Corin. 3:16, 17).

Let’s begin 2010 with no more excuses for being who God wants us to be and doing what He has for us to do. The time to act is now. Ready to clean house with me? Drop me a line and let me know or visit the devotional blog site at MaRitaTeague.blogspot.com or MaRitaTeague.net

Blessings and Love,
MaRita