9/28/05
Encouragement for Today
“Barricaded By Truth”
Amy Kidd, Graduate of She Speaks Conference
Key Verse:
Psalm 51:6, “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” (NIV)
Devotion:
I am almost certain you have heard the story of the Titanic. I regret to inform you that I saw the movie in the theater not once, not twice, but three times. I am such a sucker for a romantic story and there is something about tragedy that strikes at the core of my being and reminds me I am not immortal.
According to the movie script, popular legend, and as described in the popular press of 1912, the ship was said to be "practically unsinkable.” The Titanic was 882 feet long, 92 feet in breadth andweighed 52,310 tons or 117,174,400 pounds! Unsinkable was not an unusual term back then; for decades, ships had watertight compartments to limit flooding in case of an accident, and the press used this phrase often.
The Titanic hit an iceberg and the impact created punctures in the six forward compartments of the ship. These small punctures along the sides of the ship were enough to cause vast amounts of water to begin flooding the compartments. Even though the Titanic had a full set of pumps, they were not large enough to handle the vast amount of water that was entering the holes in the hull.
What is most amazing to me about this tragedy is the limited size, in terms of damage, that caused the devastation and destruction of such a massive ship. I believe there is a great analogy in this story. There was no storm that night; in fact, it was an unusually calm sea, which is why it was hard to see icebergs without any water to break against their base.
This made me think, just because things are calm around you does not mean the enemy has not punctured the sides of your life with sin. Those small fractures in the side of the ship had slowly let in enough water to sink the ship. In the same way, when we allow what we view as “small sins” into our lives, we will inevitably go down as well.
Satan and his hosts of wickedness want us to think that certain sins in our lives are not as bad as others. He even disguises himself as an angel of light to deceive us (2 Corinthians 11:14). We can hold onto sin, not knowing the damage it is really doing in our lives.
The exciting news is that it doesn’t matter how much the storms of life rage around us, as long as we accept the work of the Cross of Christ for our sins and turn away from each of them, we will not go down! God destroyed sin's control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins (Romans 8:3).
Whether the waters we are in are raging or calm, it is possible to stay afloat by allowing the Holy Spirit to seal us and lead us into all truth (John 14:17). The Bible says the truth will set us free and will help strip the weights of sin that hinder our growth In Christ (John 8:32, Hebrews 12:1).
All the water in the world cannot sink a vessel, if it doesn’t get inside; just as all the trouble in the world cannot hurt us, as long as we don’t let it inside. God desires to barricade your heart, mind and soul with His truth.
But, you must let Him into every crevasse of your vessel so He can seal every inch. Will you let Him in? He is the greatest protection against this world when it beats against you. He stands at the door, like a gentleman, knocking. Will you let Him in?
My Prayer for Today:
Father, You have promised to lead me into the kind of truth that will set me free from the sin that tries to take me under. Please seal me with Your Holy Spirit of Truth so I will be able to stand against evil and sin that try to invade. I want to be a vessel of purity and righteousness unto You. I now claim my freedom in Christ. Barricade my heart with Your truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Application Steps:
Pray and ask God to reveal to you any sins you have considered to be “small sins.” Ask God to expose them for what they are and for Him to begin to help you make changes in your lifestyle to filter them out.
Reflection Points:
Are there any sins that still have control over you?
Why do you think we consider some sins greater than others?
How different would your attitude and behavior be if you stopped rating the sins in your life and called them as they are—sins?
Power Verses:
John 8:32, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (NIV)
John 14:17, “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you do, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.” (NIV)
Hebrews 12:1, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.” (NIV)
1 John 2:27, “But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you all things, and what he teaches is true--it is not a lie. So continue in what he has taught you, and continue to live in Christ.” (NIV)
Additional Resources:
Do You Know Him?
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/knowHim.htm
Coming Out of the Dark, by Mary Southerland
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/newresources_outDark.htm
Who Holds the Key to Your Heart?, by Lysa TerKeurst
http://proverbs31.gospelcom.net/newresources_whoHoldsKey.htm
Originally published Wednesday, 28 September 2005.
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