The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Ow! (01/07/10)
I no longer wear sandals because the tiniest rock can get in and seems to imbed itself into my foot. It feels like the rock is much larger than it is, but since it is so tiny, it is hard to find. I used to spend more time shaking the little rocks out than walking and so I opted out of being a sandal wearer.

Sin is that way; it starts out like the tiniest of rocks and soon rolls into a massive stone blocking any progress in our walk with the Lord. It is the first step away from the Lord that goes unnoticed to the busy Christian. The little white lie told so as not to hurt a friend’s feelings or a sin of omission when you knew you should say or do something, but did not. These sins take us away from the Lord, and grieve the Holy Spirit; they are also the door leading to more sin in our lives.

I wish I could say this is merely an idea, but I speak from experience and with every step away, each sin gets easier and easier until before you know it, it closes in and paralyzes your walk with God. By the time you are in the full-bloom of sin, you have no idea how you got there.

I wish it were as easy to opt-out of sin as it is to opt-out of email notices or sandal wearing, but it isn’t. We have to fight temptation by being in the Word and not getting so busy with life that we don’t notice when even a small temptation comes. Satan is a roaring lion and comes as an angel of light, he knows how to catch us unaware and lead us down the wrong path.

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord; so that with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin,” (Romans 7:24-25). “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you,” (Romans 8:11).

We need to be vigilant in our walk with the Lord and take time to examine our hearts daily. The directions on a pain medication tell us to take one or two tablets as needed; those directions could well apply to examining our hearts in order to stay free from the pain of sin.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be right now. CLICK HERE

JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 811 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Amanda Brogan
01/14/10
Great analogy between sneeky rocks in the sandals and sin in our life! Part of it reminded me of James 1:14-15 "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death."

Great message to weed the sin out of our life with the power of God's Word, before that sin overtakes us.
Joan Campbell
01/15/10
A very clear, well-written devotion. The image of the stone in the sandal is clever, one I will remember!
Jan Ackerson
01/18/10
Excellent devotional--well-written and with an object lesson that everyone can relate to.

I've started a class in the FaithWriters forums for Beginner and Intermediate writers. I'd love to see you there--look for "Jan's Writing Basics".

This is outstanding writing--I'm so glad I read it this morning.