16But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
GALATIANS 5:16-24

Praise Jesus for the gift of His Holy Spirit!

getting violent with my sin

15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

ROMANS 7: 15-20

Just wondering if any of you relate to this as I do? As I read these words that Paul wrote I can completely understand where he is coming from. Lately I have just been so overwhelmed with my sin. Its like I go back and forth... some days my sin doesn't seem like a big deal and I'm rather lax in caring about it... other days it hits me like a ton of bricks of just how sinfully wretched and depraved that I am and it makes me sick! I want God to keep giving me those moments of feeling disgusted over my sin... I want to know how ugly it is and to hate it. I want to be so sickened by it that I get violent with it (as Matt Chandler puts it) and put to death those ugly deeds.

5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

COLOSSIANS 3: 5-11

And then... then I want to remember that I have been imputed with Christ righteousness because of the work He did on the cross. Then I want to worship Him and thank Him for that beautiful, bloody, slaughter that He endured for the joy set before Him.

brings a smile to my face

My husband is so sweet. I told him that I didn't want him to spend any money on me for our anniversary this year... so he got up early on our anniversary and picked these flowers- somewhere. He won't tell me where, but I don' t mind... he just brings a smile to my face. Love him so much :-)

Time does indeed go by quickly...

Three years ago today...