Where... Has.....

   I am currently working through a book based on the movie Courageous entitled, 'The Resolution for Men' and as I do so, I may share more of my thoughts on this part of my journey here in this blog, but for today, I want to focus on a particular passage from the book that I read yesterday that stood out to me.

Where sin has crept into your life - repent
Where bitterness has taken root - forgive
Where lies have been woven into the script - seek truth
Where traditions have taken precedence - start fresh
Where problems have tried to steal and malign - pray
Where hindrances are piling up - consecrate and dedicate your family to God.

   I haven't gotten too far along in the book as of yet, but this particular portion from chapter 3 jumped out at me, and I strongly felt that it deserved a much closer look, especially considering the fact that we, as humans, can get so caught up in all that is going on around us, that we forget to 'examine our ways' (Lamentations 3:39-40).
   This is something that I feel we all struggle with, and I myself have been guilty of failing to take a daily, spiritual, inventory of myself, and I can tell you that I am paying for it right now, because there are so many areas of my life where I feel like a windsock in a hurricane, flapping, and being stretched to my limits.
   So then, I start by taking a look at the sins that I have allowed to creep into my life, and although I realize that I am human, I also know that if I accept that thought without doing anything about the sin in my life, I am accepting the lies of the enemy, and I DO NOT want to do that!
   For me, the first 2 of these things on the list are at the top of my list, for I can allow myself to get angry about hings, and at times I have been known to blow up, but I know that there is hope, and that hope can be found in Jesus, however, the only way that I can tap into that hope, is for me, personally, to repent of my sins, and my mind goes immediately to the 'sin that so easily entangles' (Hebrews 12).
   What I find there as I read that passage, is that it is vitally important that we have others around us that will hold us accountable for our actions, (12:1) and that we allow them to hold us accountable without pushing back so hard that they stop trying. I am guilty of this in my own life.
   The second thing that God has illuminated for me in this passage is that when we fail to do this, we make ourselves available to be 'tripped up' by the sin that we constantly return to, and we greatly diminish our ability to run the race that God has set before us. But there is hope. Jesus.
   It says in verse 2 that we can accomplish this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. So then, what excuse do I have for allowing the enemy to trip me up? I can make up plenty, but there is not one that can be found valid. I must keep my eyes on Him if I ever hope to move away from anger and other sins.
    So if I hope to do this, I must first determine in my heart to repent from my sins, no matter what they are, or how I might try to justify them, and move toward that which is pleasing to God, and I know that my anger is not pleasing to Him.
   The very next thing on the list addresses bitterness, and I have begun to genuinely realize that I have been, can be, and I still am bitter in so many ways, and directed at so many people that it all runs together at this point.
   This is something that I deeply want to change, and in our new men's accountability gathering, I hope to find others who God will raise up to help me through speaking directly to the tough areas of my life such as this one.