Desperate Joy

One of the marvelous things about Christianity is that in Christ we can find full forgiveness for all our sins. Through him we can escape the weight of our guilt and shame. There is liberty, knowing that our sins are forgiven. Our past is erased by the blood of the Lamb, and we walk in newness of life. We live in a world that tries to convince us that we are not really sinners. That sin is just an illusion or a social construct, but the reality is that all of us feel the weight of our guilt. We cannot escape it. We might call them mistakes or errors of judgment. But ultimately, we know they are sin. The meaning behind the Bible word for sin carries with it this idea of missing the mark, like if we are shooting an arrow at a target and we miss. This is what it is to sin, we aim for something we know is good and right to do, but then we fall short. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."(Romans 3:23)   James says this, "Therefore to him that knoweth to...

  In Mark chapter 9 we find the story of the father of a demon-possessed son coming to Jesus's disciples for help. The disciples were unable to cast it out, so they brought the man and his son to Jesus. We pick up the story in verse 19, with Jesus rebuking the disciples: "19 He answereth [the father], and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I suffer you? Bring him unto me. 20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell to ground, and wallowed foaming. 21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child. 22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do anything, have compassion on us, and help us. 23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. 24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I bel...

  Romans chapter 6 in the New Testament has always been an important part of my recovery.  Early on, when I first began to realize that porn was a problem for me, a preacher mentioned that Romans 6 was a good chapter to study and memorize if we were struggling with habitual sin.  So that is what I did.  I memorized it and several other chapters from Romans.  It was helpful, but it took me many years to come to understand what it really means and how to apply it to my life. One of the most powerful ideas presented in Romans 6 is the fact that in Christ we are set free from the power of sin.   We may feel like we are in bondage to sin and addiction, but the reality is that Christ has broken those bonds.   Now we have a choice.   We get to choose who our master is now, either sin or the Savior. We have looked previously at this chapter and the truths about our identity in Christ, that we are dead to sin and alive to righteousness, and the importa...

  Addiction is a problem that has many dimensions. It is a sickness that manifests itself in every aspect of our beings, it impacts the body, the will, and the emotions. It is a spiritual poison that spreads through our entire person making us sick and threatening to kill us. Because it attacks on so many fronts we must fight on multiple fronts, and one of the most important, if not the most important is our mind. We have been looking at the different aspects of our identity in Christ and what this means for our addiction. In Christ we are dead to sin and alive to God. Sin and Satan have lost their power and cannot control us unless we allow them to. We have been resurrected with Christ and now have his power abiding in us and there is no sin or addiction that can overcome us. In Christ we have already overcome. We are already victorious in Christ. All the strength and power we need is found through our relationship with Christ. These are powerful truths, and understanding them i...