The Loudest Sound

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1st John 1:8-9 NKJV

I had an in-depth discussion with a friend who sadly had been caught in sin and he was trying to control the fallout. Unfortunately, he was more concerned with the fallout than repenting and seeking forgiveness. He actually didn't see it as a sin, although Scripture clearly defined it as such. He believed it was "just a bad habit"... 

I believe it is Rabbi Israel Salanter who is credited with saying, "The loudest sound in the world is the sound of a habit being broken." and while I agree with the spirit of that in part, I would venture to say that an even louder sound was Christ's heart breaking over the sinful ways of mankind. I would dare say the 40 lashes across His back sounded horrendously loud while ripping His flesh to pay for our healing. I would even go so far as to proclaim that THE loudest sound in the world was recorded in John chapter 19, verse 30, when Jesus cried out, It is finished! Finished because He had paid the price for the forgiveness of our sins...

Let us remember this Truth - If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

Prayer:

Father, 

           We pray according to Your Word - Search us, O God, and know our hearts; test us and know our anxious thoughts. Point out ANYTHING in us that offends You. Forgive us, Father, and lead us along the path of everlasting life. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

Habitual

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 NKJV

Good habits - bad habits. How many things a day do we do out of habit? The so-called experts will tell you it only takes 21 days to form a habit... "Do this for 21 days and you will (fill in the blank)." I can't say that I've found that to be true.

What IS true, though, is that the things we do out of habit, we do without really thinking about them. We do them by rote, mechanically, and usually while multi-tasking. We're not fully engaged to the exclusion of everything else.

Today, as I was reading, I found myself thinking about other things or other people. I was supposed to be focused on the Lord. And the question rose in my spirit, How much of what I do is habitual and how much is intentional?  Oh, I got up with the intention of spending a full hour undivided before the Lord, but I slipped easily into the morning habitual rituals.

In Mark 12:30 (NKJV), Jesus says, And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’This is the first commandment.

SHALL love...with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your mind, ALL your strength. You can't do that out of habit. It has to be intentional.

Prayer:

Father,

          Forgive us, O God, for habitual sinning. Cause every word, every deed, every thought to be 100% intentional. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen