No one is free.

We are slaves. We serve someone, something or some idea. Paul tells us that we are either slaves to Christ unto righteousness or we are slaves to sin, which leads to death (both physically and spiritually). The Longer I live the more I realize the truth behind Paul's words. In this life we have many things to pick and chose to serve. In the end it all boils down to serving God or the Devil. The pharisees thought they were serving God. They had all the outward manifestations of holiness. The Law, the dress, the honor of men. Yet Jesus tells them their father is the Devil, who was a lier from the beginning. I pray that as I grow in my walk with the Lord, I wouldn't just have the outward appearances of religion. But I would have and indwelling assurance that I'm serving Jesus. My Prayer is to be a slave of Jesus. Slaves only respond to their Master, may I truly by the grace of God be a slave to Righteousness and not sin.

I love the quote by John Owen.
"Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you."

You either obey God, or by default your obeying the Father of Lies. This life is war.

vigorous meditation

My little boy is learning to talk and his favorite word is "Ball". Everything is a ball, he has the concept down. He looks at an apple it's a "Ball", or a grape, the list is endless. He's totally infatuated with "balls". When my son wakes up the first word he says is "Ball", it's not the only word he knows but it's his favorite among the 15+ words he knows.

My prayer for him is that one day in God's providence he (that is my son) would have the same infatuation with Jesus. That all he thinks about, talks about, gets excited about is God. My prayer for him lately is "Father I thank you for his passion for balls, and some day may that passion be placed on You, and may he serve you and follow hard after you all his days."

My sons passion is a little convicting. I ask myself, "Do I have that kind of vigorous determination to latch on to something and not let it go?" And to often I have to answer with a resounding No!

John Owen when talking about theology and studying God's word mentioned one of the key elements to his method was a "vigorous meditation" on the words of God. Not just reading a passage a couple of times, but meditating on it, thinking about it, letting the truths of scripture sink deep into your soul, and praying for the Holy Spirit to enlighten His truths to your heart and mind.

This coming year I pray that the Holy Spirit would help me to "Vigorous meditation" on the things of God. To take a passage of scripture and like my son with "balls", think about, talk about and get excited about Gods words. To let it sink deeper and deeper into my heart to the point that it flows out of my life, not only to a lost and dying world, but to my son.

God Alone.

"To suppose that whatever God requireth of us
that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make
the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect."

- John Owen

A False Turn for Good

When a man, on some outward respects, forsakes the practice of any sin, men perhaps may look on him as a changed man; God knows that to his former iniquity he hath added cursed hypocrisy, and is got into a safer path to hell than he was in before.

War Within

"If sin be subtle, watchful, strong and always at work in the business of killing our souls, and we be slothful, negligent, foolish, in proceeding to the ruin thereof, can we expect a comfortable event? There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled."

As Owen says above, we need to be vigilant with waring against sin in our lives. If were passive we can be assured sin is not. So we must fight, but we are not alone. If we have come into the family of God, we have the Holy Spirit in us helping us and empowering us to ward of the sins which so easily beset us.