08/04/08

Hey everybody,

Hebrews 12:1 says. . . “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. . . “

I was walking across the yard this morning when I stepped in a fresh pile of dog poop (I know this is gross but stay with me). Now I am not talking about just a little pile I mean a brand new just been put there by a coon hound still steaming pile of poop! But the good thing was I had on cowboy boots and it wiped right off. Then I, for some strange reason, started thinking about when I was a kid and the old tennis shoes we wore. And the tread on these tennis shoes was so aggressive and deep that when I stepped in dog poop it would take a brush and soap and water to get it out. And if you were not careful it would get on everything that was around! Ok so where am I going with this?

Sin is like dog poop! It lies around put there by satan, and when we step into it, before we ever realize it, we have a mess going on in our lives! It stinks, it is undesirable, but it is a fact of life! You will sin, I will sin, we all will sin. The only sinless man that ever lived was Jesus! So I want to give us some things to think about this week pertaining to sin. . .

1.      Watch your step! When the kids are out in the yard playing I am always telling them to watch where they put there feet because if they are not careful they will step in poop. This same principle applies to our lives. We have to watch our step. If we tend to have a “sin of choice” then we must watch where we are. Avoid calling her or him, stay off the internet take it out of the house if necessary, do not go in a store that sell cigarettes or beer. Be drastic! Jesus said if it causes you to sin CUT IT OFF! Watch where you are going and you will not step in poop – I mean sin.

2.      Clean up quick! If you do step in a pile though, clean up quick. Confess that sin and repent or move away from it and you will avoid much heart ache. You see if we allow sin to stay in our lives it starts to get all over everything including the ones that we love. We pass our sins on to our kids if we are not cleaning up quick. You are going to fail, you are going to slip up, but God is not mad when you do, He knew you were going to! Take of your shoes, clean off that poop, put them back on an KEEP GOING!

3.      Wear shoes with slick bottoms. The more a pair of shoes gets worn the more the tread is not longer there. It gets slicker until the groves are worn out. So when you do step in poop it is easier to clean up. As a matter of fact you can just find a tall stand of damp grass and usually do the job, but only with a well worn pair of shoes. The more you walk along with Christ the more you will wear out your tread and sin will not stick as easily. But it is work, and wearing out a pair of shoes takes time. Time well spent if you are willing to spend it!

I know this one was kind of gross, and I hope no one was offended, but sin is gross. It brings us down, it alters our live with God and keeps us from achieving all that He has for us. Watch your step, clean up quick, and wear out your spiritual shoes.

I love you guys, have a great week!

Pastor Jason Lyle 
The Open Range Church of Henry County 
Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.