“How can I pray for you?” I asked my friend.

She mentioned a few things. Then she hesitated. “I have so much trouble with sin,” she said. “I keep sinning. I feel suspicious of people, that they don’t like me. I’m so jealous—-I see other people doing well, and I feel full of jealousy. Just sin, all the time.”

 I could have laughed and said, “Welcome to the club of humanity.” But I didn’t.

 We prayed together for deliverance and victory. Then I asked, “Tell me, tell me how it all proceeds. When you sense the sin in you, what happens? What do you do?”

 She said, “Well, first I don’t want to admit it. At first I try to ignore it or make excuses for it, because I don’t want to acknowledge that it’s there.

 “And then . . .” she went on. “Then I finally admit it, and I say I’m sorry.”

 “And then what?” I asked.

 “What do you mean?”

 “What happens after that? After you say you’re sorry? Do you do anything else? Does God say or do anything?”

 “No. I just say I’m sorry, and that’s all.”

This is a hard place to be, especially for a Christian with a sensitive conscience, one who really wants to live a life well-pleasing to God. The problem is that there’s a veritable cesspool of sin that can keep bubbling up with its noxious fumes, invading the thoughts and even pervading the life.

 

 

 

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This article has now been incorporated into the book Untwisting Scriptures to Find Freedom and Joy in Jesus Christ: Book 4 Wolves, Hypocrisy, Sin Leveling, and Righteousness. You can find that book here.

 

 

 

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Go here to download your free Guide, How to Enjoy the Bible Again (when you’re ready) After Spiritual Abuse (without feeling guilty or getting triggered out of your mind). You’ll receive access to both print and audio versions of the Guide (audio read by me). I’m praying it will be helpful.

 

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