Sin is a peculiar thing. We instinctively know it brings death but somehow we like to play with it. I read this week how a lion keeper was mauled by one of his own lions. The very thing he, played with, petted and thought he had under control turned on him.
The story of Lot’s wife (Gen 19v26) is a message about sin. God allows them escape from Sodom, a city saturated in sin, and tells them not to look back. Yet Lot’s wife looks back. Perhaps to look longingly at the sin she was leaving or to cherish it in her heart.
When we walk with God our relationship with sin must not be one of fond memories or something that we long to taste from time to time. Instead I reckon something akin to hate is required. A deep seeded knowledge that sin will lead only to death. Of course eyes fixed on God leads to life. Is there an area of sin in your life that you are secretly entertaining instead of treating with contempt?
Recently I spoke about the power of prayerful confession of sin click here to listen. Confession draws a line in the sand, reminds us of the ugliness of sin and reaffirms our righteousness which is in Christ. It is also a sometimes forgotten secret to powerful prayer – listen to James 5v6 “Therefore confess our sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
The joy in this verse is that powerful prayer comes with a prayer of confession.
Carl Mutzelburg 