Thoughts for another day

July 10, 2012.

Today's verse: Gen. 4:7. If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. (NIV- copyright ackd.)

(Pls. read the above before you read further. Thanks)

On the subject of holiness, the state in which every Christian must be, which God wants him to be in, the above Scripture stores a message of vital significance to us who're grappling with demonic forces of evil, day in and day out, to be holy for we know God says, 'Be holy as I AM holy.' 

A key message God gives us in His dialog with Cain is, 'If you do what is right, won't you be accepted?'  Looking at it carefully, we realize that the matter of significance is doing what is right!  Every man on earth inherently has the knowledge of whether doing a certain thing, is right or wrong.  The work of doing it, whether right or wrong, is something he does and is solely in his hands to do.  He can at any time determine whether he should do it or refrain from it.  And I can vouch for this for every time I go to do a right or wrong, this gentle voice within either encourages or cautions me and then according to what I feel I should do, based on my own pre-conceived notions or the tendons of my character, I go and do the thing.

On the other hand, God tells Cain, 'If you do not do what is right, sin crouches at your door and seeks to overwhelm you.'  However, what is very comforting and nice is, God also says, 'You must master it!!!'  This means that God knows we can master it, for He would never ask us to master anything we couldn't.  Besides, when God asks us to be holy as He is holy, it also means that He will empower us to be like He is or like Christ.  This is the hope we have in Him who remained holy and obedient unto death that He will also make us like Him, even as those most dear to His Father.  So no matter how entrenched in sin I am, I live with the hope that I will become holy for He who calls me is Himself holy and faithful and He will ensure that 'my will craves to be in His will.'