Power over Evil
by
Gene Easley
Everyone loves the singing of the canary, but
few, if any, love the cawing of the crow.
And rightly so! We have
a God-given ability to judge between good and bad.
We should be able to recognize the beauty in the canary’s song as
opposed to the sounds of the crow. And
this ability to judge good and bad, right and wrong, plays a vital part in
our every-day decision making. If
we fail to exercise this gift of discernment, we will self destruct.
The drunkard sobers up and vows he will never pursue
that path again. Sometimes
because of the folly of the heart, he or she does not make that decision
after the first episode. After
the first experience the struggler still doesn’t understand alcohol’s
power to change what could have been a good life into a nightmare
existence…not just for himself or herself, but for all who are involved.
At some
point, the alcoholic says, “I will never do that again.”
He or she wakes up some morning with the zeal of a crusader against
the vice that has brought nothing but shame and sorrow and self
destruction.
The drinker vows to himself and maybe to family and
friends, “I will never touch that stuff again.”
Maybe for a while he feels triumphant with the realization of how
bad alcohol really is. Later,
when he drives by an old familiar place or in his mind the enemy of his
soul begins to bring back the old formidable craving telling him again how
good the temptation is, his vision of right and wrong blurs again.
The powers of temptation overcome him, and he finds himself
weakening as he vowed he never would.
He is officially an alcoholic, and he wonders if there are any
answers to salvage his life and his soul.
The ugliness of sin and the ugliness of the places it
will take us exceed description. Instead
of listening to the beauty of the canary’s song, we have mistakenly
chosen to fellowship with the crow. And
it seems impossible to reverse that decision.
But the song writer said, “There is a fountain filled
with blood, drawn from Emmanuel’s veins.
And sinners plunged beneath that flood loose all their guilty
stains.” The answer is not
found in a ten-step program, but in coming to Jesus.
He alone can break the power of sin.
Paul said, “For sin shall not have dominion over you” (Romans
6:14). This is a promise to
every one who has begun a new life in Christ.
Evil does have power, but the truth giving man hope is
that there is a power greater than the power of evil.
The apostle Paul said, “O wreched man that I am! Who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24).
Paul acknowledged the power of sin that brings a person into
captivity to the sinful nature. He
said the good things that he wanted to do he did not do.
And the bad things he did not want to do, he found himself doing
with little power to resist.
Then, Paul found the answer to his dilemma: the power
of Christ would give deliverance from the power of sin.
He said, “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans
7:25). Jesus is the Answer!
Look to Him! He can
break every chain with which we are bound.
Strong will power will fail, but Jesus will never fail!
The power of evil and the bondage it brings can be broken if we
will but trust in Him.
COPYRIGHT
REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS: This data file is the sole property of Gene
Easley. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It may be reproduced
only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without
charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain the copyright
notice (i.e., "Copyright (C) 2010 by Gene Easley"). This data
file may not be used without the permission of Gene Easley for resale or
the enhancement of any other product sold. This includes all of its
content with the exception of a few brief quotations. Please give the
following source credit: Copyright (C) 2010 by Gene Easley, Alamo, Texas.
|
