Encounter Weekend

I just returned from a week-end get-away with the ladies at my church.  I'm exhausted, but it is a 'good' exhausted.  The "Encounter Week-end" was an awesome time of experiencing God's forgiveness and learning how to re-claim the freedom (in Christ) that is rightfully MINE!  We learned about the price of sin and the POWER of the cross! 
We have a choice, and too many times, we CHOOSE sin!  Romans 5:15-16 says: "So since God's grace has  set us free from the law, does this mean we can go on sinning?  Of course not!  Don't you realize that whatever you CHOOSE to obey becomes your master?  You can CHOOSE sin, which leads to death, or you can CHOOSE to obey God and receive his approval." (emphasis mine).

We need to evaluate what we are letting into our lives - the tv we watch, the people we hang out with, even the computer sites we visit!  What we are doing is so subtle, but we need to recognize that we CANNOT continue to "flirt" with sin and live the GODLY life that we desire to live.  God wants to replace my sinful habits and depression, anxiety, etc with His joy and peace.  But we continually CHOOSE to 'dabble' with sin.

Sin will take me down a road I didn't want to go down - I will end up staying longer than I wanted to stay - and I will pay a cost that is much higher than I wanted to pay.  SIN ALWAYS LEADS TO DEATH!

"To depart from righteousness is to choose a life of crushing burdens, failure, and disappointments, a life caught in the toils of endless problems that are never resolved.  Here is the source of that unending soap opera, that sometimes horror show known as normal life.  The 'cost of discipleship', though it may take all we have, is small when compared to the lot of those who don't accept Christ's invitation to be part of His company in the way of life." (from The Spirit of Disciplines by Dallas Willard).

We must constantly turn our minds towards God.  We must feed our spirit with godliness and stay away from whatever feeds our flesh.  Ephesians 5:3 says "But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people." (emphasis mine).

I met some great new friends and it was truly a life changing experience.  I'm so excited about the things that God is doing in my life!