Not SINLESS, but should SIN LESS!

This past weekend myself, my Pastor and another friend of ours went snake hunting. ( I know, some of you are thinking, you might be a redneck if....), Well anyway, we revisited a den from last year and what do you know? GOLD! There at that den were several rattlesnakes nestled beside each other, absorbing the sun. After scheming a plan, which was basically you go left, I'll go right and at the word go, we will each grab a snake with our tongs. So, here we go. 1,2,3, we each quickly grabbed the snake we were to get with our tongs and quickly put them in our bucket. After the hunt we then took them to a homemade pit and placed them inside of it to which we observed and studied their behavior. (Yes, observed and studied means amusing ourselves). At one point my Pastor and I each took turns holding one of the snakes. As I picked the snake up safely behind her head, I took my snake hook and opened it's mouth where immediately the snake wrapped her fangs around it and released a  couple of drops of venom. Upon seeing this, I realized that had that been me the snake bit,  just one small drop of it's venom would have had the power to poison my entire body, and at the very least, make  me extremely ill and would have sent me to the nearest doctor. You know, SIN is just like that. Sin is venom to the entire soul and body. A sin is a sin no matter how big or small you may think that it is. Like venom, sin corrupts the soul. It hurts our bodies and can cause those around us to stumble. It also hurts our relationship with God. God's Word says in Romans 6:12 -13, " Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.  Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness".  If that snake would have bitten me, my course of hope would have been to get to a doctor immediately. Likewise, the course of hope and our spiritual doctor for sin is Jesus Christ. HE and HE alone is the cure for our spiritual survival. 1 John 1:9 tells us that, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins, and cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness". There is a saying, "Christians are not sinless, but should sin less!" Folks, empower yourselves with God's Word. Protect yourself against the venom of sin by hiding HIS Word in your heart.