Even though we live in a world where temptation seems to accost us at every glance, still we must hold to the Truth that we have been made over comers by the death and Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour.
We must not behave as if the war had been lost and we are at the mercy of the evil one, though Satan will tempt us on each step of our journey. In order to be over comers we must look with Confidence at our Lord, and unlike Peter we must not take our eyes away from our Lord and to place all Trust in God's Goodness.
And unlike Peter we must not rely on our own strength but to acknowledge that all the good we possess comes from a Loving God and not from within our own power. So in order to defeat the enemy which stalks us at every turn, we must keep a strong prayer life, and to be and remain obedient to what the Scriptures teach us and also the Traditions of our Church. We must also avail ourselves of the Sacraments most especially the Sacrament of Penance where what has been broken through sin, God can restore, for we all fall short of the Glory of God!
This is why Scripture warns us to beware of receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord in an unworthy manner, lest we eat and drink condemnation upon our souls. Scripture also warns us to examine our souls before receiving our Lord, and so the Church emphasises the importance of Confession and the gaining of Absolution before receiving the Eucharist!
These are very strong words, and to ignore them would be to imperil our own souls, in that to all sinners who met Jesus, upon healing them, his words were 'go and sin NO more'. Therefore to those who falsely believe that they may do as they wish and 'use' the Sacraments to cover their evil intent best re-think this faulty thinking lest it cost them their soul!
This is why Jesus many times teaches us to pray as He did, in order to gain the strength we need to resist the promptings and urgings of the evil one. To ignore prayer or think that we are strong in our own right is to give Satan the foothold he needs to corrupt willing souls away from the Love of God and into a love of evil!
Soon the souls who portray outward 'Christian lives' while leading inner lives of sin and corruption will soon find their consciences deadened to that still small voice of the indwelling Spirit. For the person who thinks they can 'get away' with sinful behaviour may fool their fellow man but they do not fool God!
It is this arrogance of thinking that Satan will inflame, so as to hinder any attempts made by God to once again return His beloved child from this destructive course of action. But God will not infringe upon our free will, for those who choose to do evil will suffer the consequences, if they do not repent of their sins with all sincerity!
There is no right to sin, but there is a right to eternal life, and the only thing that can stop us from spending our eternal life with our Lord is ourselves! For God has provided us with everything we need to live a Holy and unblemished life, and at times when we fail Him we have the Sacrament of Penance to once again restore us back to God, as His beloved children.
So how we live our lives on this earth, and the choices we make, will define where we will spend our eternity.
Peace of Christ to you ALL
Copyright © 2005 Marie Smith. All rights reserved.
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