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0“Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
James 1:15
Tomorrow starts the season of Lent, those 45 days before Easter where many Christians take time to reflect on the power of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection and prepare themselves to experience new life.
It’s a season of introspection, a season of reflection, a season of preparation and repentance as we journey to the cross and resurrection of Christ.
And it all starts by facing the darkness within.
We all have it. That one sin, that one struggle, that one area of darkness that we just can’t seem to conquer. We pray about it, set up boundaries to avoid the temptation, go to counseling, prayer circles and even set up accountability to tame the darkness within, but still stumble.
We’re flawed.
Warped.
Broken.
And we know it.
It doesn’t take much to pinpoint our personal darkness. We know our sin. We know our flaws. We know the areas of brokenness and perversion and disobedience that reside within us. We wrestle with them, know when they rises up and could share them without much thought.
So we hide our faults.
Put on a happy face.
And pretend we have our act together.
All the while, we still struggle with the darkness.
Sin isn’t some outside force that comes on us without warning. It isn’t some trick that we happen to stumble into. The devil doesn’t come around waving temptations in our face that we don’t want.
We give into sin because we want to.
Those things we desire, those things we want, those things we lust after, long for and wish we had will lead us to sin if left unchecked.
And sin, left unchecked, will lead to death.
Death of our hearts.
Death of our minds.
Death of our reputation.
Death of our relationships and dreams and character.
Death of everything that we hold dear.
And so, my brothers and sisters, as we journey through Lent this year, may you see your sin for what it really is. May you find the courage to face the darkness that resides within. And may you, as you look inward and see your faults, find that Christ is in the midst of your brokenness, offering you true resurrection.
Download our FREE Lent Book to help you face the darkness within, and find true resurrection.
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