sIn my Sunday School glass with the 5th grade girls today, we were talking about the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert. He had to have been physically exhausted after fasting for 40 days, and yet when tempted multiple times by Satan, he was equipped with Scripture to rebuke the devil. What a perfect, literally, example for us!
God has been convicting me that it is not enough to just get frustrated my by continual sins, ask for forgiveness, and think that I am done with it. Sanctification is a continual process. Jerry Bridges offers a great way to ward off complacency:
-Apply the Gospel
-Depend on the Holy Spirit
-Recongize your responsibility
-Identify specific respectable sins
-Memorize and apply appropriate Sciptures
-Cultivate the practive of prayer
-Involve one or a few other believers with you
I have been most convicted lately about relinquishing my control over my sanctification. I need to let go - I need to completely trust in Christ's power to give me victory over my sin nature. No worldy self-help book will accomplish that.