Struggling With Habitual Sin?

What happens when WE stumble and fall as Christians? Do we give up? Do we continue to fall? Do we beat ourselves up for it? Do we continue to roll in the mud of sin and/or self-pity hoping that we will somehow get cleaner? Or do we just continue to fight in futility hoping we will overcome what we have never overcome? Here are some key tips to remember when you are struggling with a particularly difficult (and possibly repetitive) sin: 1. No one is beyond restoration. For those who put their faith in Christ, "there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Why is it that some Christians don't live this way, but continue to beat themselves up for they've done? Because they don't believe they are priceless and precious. But they are - in God's eyes. Just like priceless works of art are never thrown away, but constantly restored by experts, so we are also far more valuable than any piece of art. God will never cease to restore us. Jesus came to redeem and restore us and make us new everyday. He is in the business of restoration. 2. Restoration begins with our recognition of our weakness. Many of us do the same thing over and over and expect a different result. Yet we are all pre-disposed to some weakness, some temptation that Satan will use against us. Until we admit it, and ask for help, we will fail over and over again. We need help - God's help and the help of other godly people. God's power is made perfect in our weakness. His restoration is activated in our admission of brokenness and in our admission of helplessness to overcome the habitual sin. We cannot overcome by fighting with greater and greater effort. We only overcome by surrendering it to God. Like a piece of grippy rubber in our hand turns us into a lid-popping beast, when we admit our weakness and ask God for help and surrender the battle to Him, we become a weakness-overcoming beast. 3. Don't let God's restoration project be in vain. Imagine how a craftsman would feel if he came into a house that he had totally renewed only a year earlier and the family had absolutely trashed it! That's how God feels if we don't take care of the amazing work He has done in our life. To honor Him, we need to attend carefully to the amazing restoration He has already made in our life, beginning with His restoration of our life on the day of our salvation. Don't abuse the gift of grace that God has given you. You should desire to live righteously for Him! Restoration is a process that begins on the day of your salvation and continues everyday of your life. Don't let a single day go by that you either abuse, or don't take advantage of the grace-filled restoration He offers you! Curtis Songer is a career, life, & leadership coach specializing in permanent, life changing transformation. For more information, email him at curtis.songer@truthatlife.com or visit his website at http://www.truthatlife.com/