A Degree at a Time

Today's Reading:  Psalm 132 & Matthew 18

 

Scripture:

"What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?"  Matthew 18:12

 

Observation:

A good shepherd knows that he does not normally lose a flock in one big hit.  There are times that something catastrophic occurs and the entire flock is lost, but that is not the norm.  Normally, the entire flock is lost one sheep at a time. 

 

The same is true regarding sin in my life.  Satan rarely tempts me to turn 180 degrees away from God.  He turns me a degree at a time.  One simple choice.  One area of my life I tolerate. 

 

Application:

I must never rest on my laurels.  It is very tempting to turn a blind eye to some of the "smaller" sins in my life and only look for the catastrophic ones. There are two areas of my life that I see from this text where Satan steals me away one small choice at a time.

 

The first is my ego.  In Matthew 18:3, Jesus uses the illustration of a child as a picture of faith.  A child is simple, helpless, and trusting.  They are totally dependent upon there parent or guardian for survival.  They have done nothing to earn support.  I often want to approach God from what I know, what I have done, and on my own terms.

 

The second is unforgiveness.  This is a tough one.  I saw a bumper sticker one time that simply stated "mean people suck".  There is a lot of truth in that statement.  People can do some really mean things.  Words hurt.  Betrayal scars.  Anger cuts.  Insults wound.  Over the course of a day my tabs against people can grow quite large.  It is hard to just write it off and move on.  Satan never fails to show up and throw salt in the wounds.  In each instance I must choose to let it all go.  I must also remember that I have created tabs of my own. 

 

Prayer:

My ego and unforgiveness are two of the major battlefields in my life.  Satan attacks me here more than any other places.  99% of the failure in my life is can be traced back to these places.  I ask this morning that You teach me to be completely sold out in these areas.  Help me to always be willing to forget about the 99 things I get right in these areas and to chase down the 1 thing that is out of alignment.  At the same time I ask that You constantly remind me my standing with You is not based on my performance.  Your grace is all I need.