Forward or Backwards

 Have you ever tried to walk backwards or watched your grandkids trying to do it?  They end up going sideways while turning their heads trying to see where they are going.  It’s not an easy task.  It lends itself to a feeling of instability, awkwardness and insecurity.  The destination becomes harder and takes longer.
This life lesson had me wondering how much of our spiritual lives are spent looking back, walking sideways, feeling unstable, insecure, moving backwards, not forward.

What causes this backward momentum?  I believe it is sin and guilt.  Sin and guilt are like the comfortable recliner we love to sit in.  They come in, sit down, put up their feet and get comfortable!
Dealing with our sin and guilt each day is as important as brushing our teeth, drinking plenty of water, eating properly and exercising.
How do we define what sin is?  Sin is wrongdoing.  James 4:17 tells us, “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  
If we are born again, we do not willfully, intentionally and deliberately sin.  1 Cor. 10:31-33 states, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.  Give no offense, either to the Jews, or to the Greeks or to the church of God.  Just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.  Imitate me just as I also imitate Christ.”  
Wow!  That is a tall order!  Paul puts it this way: “Do not do anything that you cannot do to the glory of God.”  
Asking three questions helps me to determine how I should live and what I should do:

1. Can I do this for God?
2. Will it please Him?
3. Will it bring glory to Him?

By asking these three questions, spiritual checkups can take place daily!  Someone once told me you could determine where you are spiritually by how quickly you deal with your sin.  When we choose not to deal with the sin in our lives, we start to walk backwards, sideways, become unstable and insecure.
Sinning is a choice we make every day!  By the way, for those of you who have been Christians for a long time, like me, do not assume you are exempt in this area of sinning.  Sin is not always an action, such as stealing or murder, but can involve bad attitudes, language, unforgiveness, and even prejudice!  We are ALL guilty!
Everyone of us has a desire to sin, which has to be surrendered to God.  Paul writes, “For I know that in me (that is, my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Rom. 7:18).  
What then shall we do? Dr. Stanley puts it this way: “God has not left us out there stranded and in a barren place.  He has provided a Savior.”  
Paul says, “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20).
Through faith we have access to God’s power, which enables us to overcome sinful impulses and ungodly strongholds.  This allows us to move forward, not backwards.  God is continuously working to set us free from the impact of sin and bondage.  Our responsibility is to say “no” to sin and “yes” to God, as we trust him to provide the all-encompassing liberty that our souls crave.
Liberty is never found in sin.  Sin produces bondage, despair, and insecurity.  It keeps us going  backward, not forward.  Sin separates us from God.  It is like the “pixie glass” in our lives right now.  We can see the other person on the other side, but our communication is limited and distorted.  God wants to remove the “pixie glass” (sin) in our lives so that we might see Him clearly and hear His voice speaking truth into our lives, setting us free.
“Bless and praise the Lord who has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.  For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.  As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear Him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.  As for man, his days are like grass; as a flower of the field, so he flourishes.  For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.  But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him”(verses from Psalm 103).
God never intended for us to be going backwards but perpetually forward with our whole being focused on Him, “the Author and Finisher of our Faith.”
Come Walk with Me
Come walk with me just one more mile
Before you call it quits
Forget about the broken dreams
Now broken into bits.
Put one more foot out, forward
Another, right in step
Just keep your eyes locked to the front
We are not finished yet.
Keep your mind on the road ahead
Not what you left behind
If you can just keep on moving
Wherever this road winds.
You might find a few surprises
They might even make you smile
You might even see life clearer
While walking for awhile.
You might even find some pieces
You missed along the way
Or some new ones that are better
To us another day.
So another mile together
No need to go alone
Just continue with your journey
Your quest is not yet done.
 
(Adriaan -from Aiken Drum. Used by permission from SkyWriting. Net)