Battling Besetting Sins Part 3

685- Today's Prime Time Devo comes from 2Sa 22:38 "I have pursued my enemies and destroyed them; Neither did I turn back again till they were destroyed. 39 And I have destroyed them and wounded them, So that they could not rise; They have fallen under my feet. We have been talking about getting victory over besetting sins. God gives us the power for victory but we must also cooperate with Him as David did. We must pursue them and not turn back until we get the victory. Keys to victory that we have discussed so far are confessing those specific sins, and repenting of them. Repentance is that 180 degree turnaround that turns “going with the flow of the world” into a desire to live in accordance with the Word of God! In repentance, you turn and meet the enemy head on! It is very helpful in this battle to not only read Scripture, but memorize it! Ps 119:11 says, “ Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!” And in Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. This verse adds still another dimension to the fight. Paul is not addressing an individual here, he is addressing a church. Let the word of Christ dwell in your congregation! Use that word then to teach and admonish one another! So it is important that you find a Bible believing church and that this church is one that gets involved in mutual teaching of the wisdom of God and a church that is open to mutual admonishment. I know this can be difficult because it opens up our often secret lives to others! But it is a major part of going on the offensive against our besetting sins. And don't forget the great promise connected to Jas 5:16, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” While 1 JN 1:9 reminds us that there is forgiveness from God when we confess our sins to Him, this verse in James reminds us that there is HEALING in confessing our sins to others!