Here is the truth that we must always hold in our hearts and in our minds: sin is NOT our friend! We think that a "little"sin won't hurt us... we think that being a "little" outside the standard of God's perfect law is acceptable and that we don't need to be overly strict or overly concerned about holiness. Our pleasures offer us a liberty that they do not possess. They offer us a power to free that they cannot actually fulfill. Instead of the promised liberty, freedom and enjoyment, they deliver bondage, slavery and sorrow. Instead of life they distribute death; instead of hope, despair; instead of songs of delight, wails of misery. The truth is that nothing we do or attempt can ever be what we need until we are pressing after God. If we are His children, we have been saved FOR holiness. If God has made you His own precious possession, then He has done so to make you like Himself. To make you a display of the grace and mercy which has been given in the person of Jesus Christ. He has saved you for the perfect liberty that is only ours when we have been freed from sin itself. Not only the consequences of sin, but from its power. So why would a man who has been made free willingly make himself again a slave? Because of ignorance. Because of foolishness. Because of the simple fact that he does not know who he is, or WHOSE he is. Because he thinks that his enemy is really his friend, and believes that his destroyer is actually his benefactor. But the sadder truth is this; they fight in a war they do not acknowledge. They are casual bystanders in a conflict in which they are actually supposed to be contenders. And for this reason, because they will not keep watch for their souls, they are destroyed. Oh my beloved children, understand that you must fight for righteousness at every turn, for every decision, and with the last full measure of your strength. Understand that your enemy is seeking to devour you, but also understand that he must have your participation in that. He cannot consume those who remain close to the Master, he is powerless against our God. So rather than running away from your Father to dabble in sin, fly into His arms and find safety, life, hope and all that you will ever need in Him!!