Crouching Sin

Wisdom day 4

 “Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”  Genesis 4:7

“The mind is the devil’s favorite avenue of attack.”- Billy Graham

 

  •  Call your prayer partner for your 10-minute prayer call. If you are having trouble connecting, keep trying!
  • It’s time to meet with your Jesus! He is the One who saves, who heals, and who has the power to help you to overcome anything! Nothing is too big for God! Ask God to speak to your heart as you read His everlasting Word, and give you wisdom and peace about anything that is troubling your soul.
  • Read Genesis 4:5-7  and Romans 12:1-2. Write Romans 12:2 in your journal.

Crouching Sin

Habitual sin. That dark, familiar foe that has tried to destroy the lives of countless Christians down through the ages. It is ruthless and rears its ugly head at every turn, often showing up at the worst times and seasons in our lives.

Where does it come from?

It all starts with a thought, a dark shadow from the Enemy casting its evil intent over our minds with the hope of destroying our lives.

In today’s Bible reading, we see the vivid picture of the true nature of sin:

“Sin is crouching at your door, and its desire is for you.

Do you see that? Sin’s desire is to have you! Satan wants to have your life, or at least preoccupy you with untrue thoughts that distract you from the rich, abundant life that Jesus offers.

 Jesus states the desires of the devil clearly in John 10:10: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.”

Steal, kill and destroy. All three are the desires of the Enemy. When we continue to think a thought that we KNOW we should not be thinking, we can begin to allow the devil to steal our joy, and it can begin to change our hearts.  It’s Satan’s way of crippling a Christian, and if he can get us to ponder a thought continually, it can sometimes change our life.

These thoughts don’t have to be lustful or murderous to cripple our lives. They could be as simple as harboring bitterness or unforgiveness against your husband, which causes you to pull away from him. Or you could have thoughts of anger directed at a particular child and can find yourself almost anticipating him or her to do something wrong.

What’s a Christian mom to do?

I believe the answer is found in Romans 12:1-2:

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

There are two great points here:

First, God says to offer our bodies as living sacrifices. Vocabularly.com defines sacrifice as “a loss or something you give up, usually for the sake of a better cause.”

Our mind is part of our body. God wants us to give our thought life to Him. He knows we are sometimes weak, and that it can be challenging to think true thoughts, so He wants us to “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Jesus wants to help you! We are not meant to live apart from Christ! He even says that apart from Him we can do nothing! “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5.  

When we give our thoughts to Jesus, and not be satisfied with our old patterns of sin, our lives begin to change, and we can live victoriously for God.

To put this into practical terms, it’s important that you identify your frequent thought patterns that are of the enemy, the ones that make you feel fearful, anxious, far from God, angry, bitter, etc.. This will help you as you go through your day to identify them and give them to Jesus.

We can then become the “The wise woman who builds her house” and not “the foolish one who tears hers down.” Proverbs 14:1.

Second, we need to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We need to read God’s Word and do what it says. God’s Word is what changes us.

Pray and ask God to give you encouraging verses that will help you renew your mind to truth, not lies. Record these verses on your phone, write them on your bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker, or put them on 3×5 cards and tape them on your cabinets, fridge, and car. Do whatever it takes to allow the Word of God to transform you from the inside out.

Be the wise woman who builds her house by avoiding habitual sin. The way to the victorious life is found by giving your thoughts to Jesus and knowing the power of the word of God!

It is the only way to render that crouching sin powerless and walk in victory in the power of God!

Questions to ponder: Write the answers to these questions in your journal

  • Are there areas of your life where you struggle with habitual sins or untrue thoughts?
  • If so, ask God for forgiveness and write a prayer in your journal asking God for help.
  • Pick a verse that encourages you in this area and write this in your journal.

Wisdom Faith-Filled Idea 

  • Sometimes, when we are having a tough week, all we need to do is get out of our house and be with a friend! When was the last time you met a friend for coffee or lunch? Call and plan a time to get together. Also, be sure to pray with each other. There is power in friendship and prayer!
[box type=”download”]

Join the Community! Answer today’s questions in the comment box so we can all get to know one another! We at the HCFM are praying for our online community to build relationships, even if they are across the country or the world! 🙂

-How do you stay encouraged? Do you call a friend to pray, go out to lunch, take a walk, etc.?

[/box]

 

 

Deb Weakly

13 Comments on “Crouching Sin”

  1. What a beautiful study! It is impossible to master our sin without the help of Christ. Thank you for speaking hope! The last couple days I have struggled with worry. Praying for freedom in Christ today!

    1. I will pray with you Tara. Worry is SO consuming and I wish I could say I didn’t struggle with it too. God is the One who helps us in this area and wants us to stay close instead of pulling away.

  2. Love this Bible study this morning! I desire to NOT let the Devil gain a foothold over me. Today I am praying for a strong and victorious mind, as my struggles have been lack of confidence and giving in to the stressful situations around me. Life is hard, but that is not an excuse to speak harshly to my family and lose my temper. I love you Jesus and please be near to me today. 🙂

    1. You are so right Rachel! Life is challenging and it can feel hard to keep our cool especially when our kids are little. I love it that you keep trying! That’s all we can do. Keep praying and keep leaning into the Holy Spirit to help us to change!

  3. Hi!
    Depending on how badly I’m discouraged, I’ll start by praying & finding time alone with God to fight it off. I love how He many times will bring revelation & change my mindset supernaturally. Sometimes though, when I’m really crushed and can’t get over it, I’ll reach out for help from a faith-filled friend. Her prayers really seem to lift & re-energize me. Thank God for friends!

    1. Me too Kristi! What would I do without my faith-filled friends!! The prayers of my friends have truly changed my life and the life of my family! What a blessing!

  4. I love how beautifully you wove those scriptures together. That is exactly what I needed to read today! Being a mom is exhausting and overwhelming at times. Yes, we need to take care of ourselves, but when we just have to trudge through the busyness, I like the idea of offering my body as a living sacrifice. It reminds me to do everything as if I’m doing it for the Lord, and it keeps me from becoming bitter when I feel like my own needs aren’t being met.

  5. This is powerful, Deb! Something that helps me overcome against lying thoughts/sin crouching at the door (I love how you explained that), is to listen to teachings or podcasts online that counter the lies. It’s amazing how fast my whole heart can be repentant and switched around when I do that. Worship music helps to put my focus back on the goodness of God and helps me to overcome as well. Thanks for this Devo, I know we all struggle with this as Moms!

    1. That’s a great point Mari Jo! Yes! Listening in faith to other people who live by faith activates our faith!! I LOVE how the body of Christ works together to strengthen one another’s faith! Bless you, my friend!

  6. Recently after going through a tough situation God spoke to me. I was having a hard time getting outside my own head/feelings/emotions and hurt that was caused. Prayer helped but I needed something that could help me get out of the negative thought funk I was in. The Lord told me to write down all the positives and things you love about this person whom hurt you. It was HARD. I was hurt, angry, and resentful. Why, Lord? But, I started. As I started I could feel those negative thoughts melting away. Slowly but surely. Did it heal me completely? No. Only Christ can do that, but it help me switch those thoughts, speak light into the darkness, and see the truth through the enemies lies. Now, whenever there is a tough situation, whether it be a person or just a difficult situation, making a list of positives helps me hold my thoughts captive and speak truth. Sometimes our feelings are just but that doesn’t mean we should allow them to take over because just feelings can destroy just a easily as unjust ones. Writing down positives gives me something logically and physically I can do to battle a spiritual enemy, which is sometimes hard to conquer.

    1. What a GREAT idea Brandi! Yes!! Counting our blessings, one by one! A thankful, grateful heart is the way to a powerful life in Christ! I will be praying for your precious heart today Brandi. God heals all of our hurts and makes something beautiful from the pain. Thank you for sharing your heart!

    2. Great ideas, Mari Jo! I agree with you completely. Sometimes I just need to be reminded out loud the things I know in my heart.

Leave a Reply to Deb Weakly Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Time limit is exhausted. Please reload the CAPTCHA.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.