I read the commentary in the devotional book I was using and then began writing my familiar greeting in my journal (see the post "Experiencing ABBA Day by Day, 9/29/07) ... Good morning, my Abba. This is Your beloved child, Beverly ... as soon as I wrote "Your beloved child" the verses I'd just read from Matthew's gospel echoed in my spirit and I couldn't help but wonder - could God look upon me, also His beloved child, and say like he had of the One and Only, "with whom I am well-pleased"?
I began to ask God to show me what sins I might be "rationalizing" and tolerating in my life. With all my heart, I want my life to be pleasing to Him. I don't want to ignore or excuse sin. I want to see it like He does. I asked God, as I often do, to pour out a spirit of repentance on me. I told Him that my deepest desire is for my life to honor Him.
At His prompting I reached for one of my favorite resources, my Prayer Portions notebook, and turned to the "repentance" section. When I got to the page titled "Little Foxes of Sin" and saw the list of strongholds and beside each, the words "dishonoring God's ...." I knew God was going to use this tool to speak to me that day in a powerful way. He did!!
The following list is from Prayer Portions (© by Sylvia Gunter, The Father's Business, P. O. Box 380333, Birmingham, AL 35238, www.thefathersbusiness.com or E-mail FathersBiz@cs.com) and reprinted by permission:
"The sins listed below are categorized under major headings. These headings, in bold all-capital letters, represent strongholds which summarize each section of related sins. After you have repented of the sins, ask Jesus to bring the power of the cross into your life to redeem you from the stronghold that the sin habit has on your life. Jesus is the power for the liberty of a holy life. When the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."
ANGER (dishonoring God's love and forgiveness)
- Bitterness
- Resentment
- Unforgiveness
- Revenge
- Hurts
- Keeping accounts
- Impatience
PRIDE (dishonoring His grace)
- Cold heart/cold love
- Critical spirit
- Judging
- Envy
- Jealousy
- Murmuring and complaining
- No servant spirit
- Offending others
- Being Opinionated
- Stubbornness
SELF (dishonoring His Lordship)
- Selfishness, self-centeredness
- Self-pity
- Self-justification
- Defending my rights
- Striving with God
- Being a spiritually spoiled child
- Unkindness
- Unloving attitude or actions
- Insensitivity
- Impatience
NO FEAR OF GOD (dishonoring His holiness)
- Disobedience
- Compromise, tolerance of evil
- Idols in the heart: family, time, self, job, leisure, comfort, etc.
- Busyness
- Laziness, idleness, undisciplined life
- Loss of first-love for Jesus
- Little prayer
- Not knowing God through His word
- Not heeding discipline by God
- Not keeping God's day holy
- People-pleasing more than God
- No concern for the lost
- Misuse of the tongue
- Gossip
- Pet sins
- Procrastination
CONTROL (dishonoring His sovereignty)
- Expectations that are not God-given
- Demanding rights
- Independent spirit
- Manipulation
- Perfectionism
LUST (dishonoring His righteousness)
- Coveting a person sexually
- Sexual indulgence
- Love for things of this world
- Divided heart: eternal values vs. world's values
- Gluttony, addition to anything: food, television, pleasure, reading, sports, alcohol, drugs
LYING (dishonoring His truth)
- Falseness, pretense
- Deception
- Untruth
UNBELIEF (dishonoring His word)
- Fear: "What if ...?"
- Guilt
- Living by feelings
- No joy
- Depression
- Hopelessness
- Tension
- Anxiety
- Worry
Would you ever knowingly want to dishonor God's love and forgiveness? His grace? His lordship? His holiness? His sovereignty? His righteousness? His truth? His word? NO!! And neither would I. But when we tolerate a lifestyle of compromise with "little sins" that we call mistakes, shortcomings, character flaws or whatever rationalization we attach to them that's exactly what we do.
Song of Solomon 2:15 says "Catch the little foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyard." The "little foxes" of sin in our lives spoil God's planting in our lives. He desires that we "be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." I don't want unconfessed and unrepented sin to keep my life from honoring and glorifying Him. Do you?
I pray that you will spend some time with this wonderful list Sylvia Gunter compiled. I know God will use it to speak to you. May He overwhelm you with His great love and forgiveness ... with His grace ... with His Lordship ... with His holiness ... with His sovereignty ... with His righteousness ... with His truth ... and with His word. Oh what a great and awesome God He is!
[If you don't already own a copy of Prayer Portions, check out the website www.thefathersbusiness.com . It's an invaluable asset to any believer's personal library.]
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