“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:13 (KJV) In Joshua 24, the people of Israel had conquered the Promised Land and divided it up among the tribes.  Joshua challenged them to “choose you this day whom ye will serve…but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15, KJV)  The people chose to serve God, so Joshua directed them to get rid of their foreign gods and to yield to the Lord God.  Sadly, they did not keep their promise very long.  After Joshua died, we find that the Israelites repeatedly turn back to their idols, then God would send judgment, and then they would turn back to God.  How often do we fall into a similar cycle?  We may be doing well, serving and seeking God for a while, but then, temptation hits.  Do we yield to the temptation or continue on the straight path of serving God?  Unfortunately, we often give in to the sin.  God sends retribution for our sins, it may be immediate or it may come over time; and like the Israelites, we turn back to God after a time of rebellion, begging for His forgiveness and mercy.  Thankfully, we have Christ’s sacrifice on the cross to cleanse us of our unrighteousness.  But, as it says in Romans 6, we should not use God’s grace as an excuse to go on sinning.  If we choose to yield to God and plant ourselves firmly in Him, then we can yield good fruit. “For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:8 (KJV)

Posted by Elizabeth at 6:00 AM Labels: A to Z, Fruit, Seeking God, Temptation

Thank you for stopping by! Please feel free to leave a comment and I will visit you back :) My Cats: First Wednesday of each month Flashback Friday A to Z Challenge 2016 A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal A to Z 2015 Christmas Joy Blog Hop Question of the Month My name is Elizabeth Otten. I am a Christian and I enjoy writing about the things God is trying to teach me in life. I post about potential writing opportunities I'm working on; quotes and verses that encourage me; and pictures of my cats, memories, and places I've been. I have an eclectic assortment of hobbies and interests that I may also write about from time to time.
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