I love Jesus but I Keep Dabbling in Sin

So, here you are. You saw the title and wanted to click it but you thought, "I don't need it. I'm not struggling, I'm perfectly fine." After scrolling through, you feel a tug on you heart telling you "Stop fooling yourself, you know you need it" If you answered to that tugging feeling and found yourself here, though it took some inner courage, I applaud you for taking the first step on your way back to spiritual freedom.

I'm not here to condemn you or make you crawl back into your hole of despair. I'm simply here to tell you the truth in love and lead you to Jesus. Hearing the truth will set you free (John 8:32), and that's what I intend to do with this post.

Many of you may have read my testimony, (if you haven't, you can read here). Long story short, I was a girl who claimed the "Christian" title but her heart was far from God. I heard of Him and what He did for me, but my life didn't show it. I indulged myself into lust and pornography until God showed me that there was more to life than living in sin. Few years later, I found myself battling with it again. I said, "I defeated this long time ago. Why am I going in circles around this again?" The Lord showed me time and time again that my performance was great, but it was my heart was still far from Him.

What I'm going to tell you will probably be hurtful but it's needed: You don't love Jesus, you love the thought of Him. When you love someone, you know what pleases them and what upsets them. You value them above yourself, respect them, and wouldn't want to hurt or disappoint them even if it means laying down what you want. It's not enough to say that we love Jesus; our lives have to show it too. If we keep saying we love God but our actions don't prove so (public and private), then our words are meaningless.

We all fall short of the glory of God and there is grace (Romans 3:23-24). There will be times where we fall into temptation, but there has to be a time where we stop putting the blame on temptation, and be responsible for our actions. Once is a mistake, twice is a pattern, after three times, it becomes a habit. Paul also mentions in Romans that it's not us who do the things we know we shouldn't be doing, but it's the sin lurking within us and because of that, there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (Romans 7:19-8:1). But that doesn't give us an excuse to continue doing the things that we know don't please God.

Our ability and strength to flee temptation comes from our foundation rather than preparation.

Our motive for remaining pure should be to please and glorify God, not self-glorification. Our foundation is Jesus Christ and what He did for us on the cross. If we know the things we do don't please and glorify Him, How could we ever think that they could please us? Our love and appreciation for Christ and what He did on the cross enables us to only flee from temptation. When we flee from temptation, we choose Christ over the pleasures of our own flesh.

We can armor up in the word of God and prepare ourselves for when the opportunity of temptation comes, but if we don't ground ourselves in the truth and foundation of Jesus, we will constantly find ourselves slipping and going in cycle of guilt and regret.

"Whom the Son is set free is free indeed" ~ John 8:36

It's possible to put on the new self but still cling onto or wear dirty old clothes. Ephesians 4:22-24 says that we are to renew our minds and put on the new self that is modeled after Christ. Our souls are saved but our minds are not. It's vital that we renew our minds and leave our old ways of thinking and living behind to live the way Christ called us to. What we do outside of the body reflects what we meditate on. Meditate on the scriptures and retrain your mind that you are free. When you are tempted to go back, remind yourself who you belong to and who you serve which is Christ, not your flesh. Galatians 5:26 says, "Those who belong to Jesus have already crucified the sinful nature and their passions and desires to the cross."

Stop resurrecting your flesh!

You can't be a new creation in Christ and entertain old habits and demons of your past life. By entertaining them, you leave cracks for old habits to come in and resurrect your flesh. As a child of God, you are not obligated to do what your sinful nature wants you to do. Sin is no longer your slave master; you no longer live by its power, you now live by the power of the Holy Spirit. The only way to conquer the flesh is by abiding and walking in step with the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). This looks like allowing the Holy Spirit that lives inside of you to lead you in your everyday life. Remember that what you give your attention to will eventually lead you. If you want to know the condition of your heart, look at what you find entertaining. "For where your treasure is, there your heart is also" (Matthew 6:21).

You can't be a new creation in Christ and entertain old habits and demons of your past life.

Don't be afraid to admit your love of sin to God.

If you want to truly be delivered and set free from bondage, you have to be real with God and yourself. He already knows your innermost secrets, why not be real with Him? Sometimes what holds us back is the fact that we have to appear perfect before Jesus, but that is false. It's because of Jesus Christ that we can approach Him boldly without fear of judgment, "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." (Hebrews 4:16).

He's willing to purify and cleanse us if we draw near to Him and confess our sins, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9). He won't turn away from you for He loves a broken and contrite heart (psalms 51:17). He loves the ugly and broken parts of us because it's those parts He tends to use for His glory. Be willing to be broken and honest before Jesus. Let Him wrap His loving arms around you and you will feel safe. He wants to make you whole and give you a fresh start.

Just as King David did, he realized he had sinned against God alone and sought the Lord for forgiveness and to create a pure heart (Psalms 51:10). Whatever you're dabbling back and forth with in your life is nothing God doesn't know about. His love is able to break chains and cycles. So therefore daughter of Christ, God is not ashamed with you. He's a "come as you are" God and still loves you despite your mess. Don't hesitate, turn back to Him. He's waiting to make it all right with you.

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Dear Father,

I thank You for opening our eyes to the truth that will set us free. Thank You for what You've done on the cross. You Jesus have set us free, justified us as Your daughters and made us pure and whole in Your sight. We come before You asking for forgiveness for our sins. Forgive us for putting the pleasures of our flesh over You. May You please remove the things taking up space in our hearts where You belong. Father, would You examine our hearts, find any wicked way within us and lead us back in the way everlasting. We ask that You create a new heart within us, willing to please You. Lord, teach us you how to love You again. We admit our love for the sins we've committed, whatever they may be, though we know that they do not please You. I ask that You please remove this love for our sins and give us a hatred for them. I ask that You place within us an appetite for You rather than fleshy cravings. Help us to die to them and renew our minds daily in Your truth. Restore to us the joy of our salvation, and may it be the foundation aiding us to flee from temptation and to remain firm when temptation comes. Help us to walk with Your Holy Spirit so we may not gratify the desires of the flesh. Thank You for giving us Your Holy Spirit to speak to us and may we be led by Your spirit as we live to please You in our every day lives. In Your name Jesus we pray, amen.