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Standing in front of a vending machine, I was looking for a snack to jump-start my body, as it was a long day at work.  I understand it is not good to my body but I feel that I need something to pump up quickly. I told myself, “It is just a snack bar, nothing biggie.”  A few days later, I ended up doing the same thing again.  Later on, there always a voice, “See, there are so many good stuffs here” in my head, when I walk pass the vending machine. Every time, I have to tell myself, “Don’t look at it, don’t look at it”.

A snack bar may not be a biggie but it is not nutritious to my body either. As it is not a “normal meal” and it couldn’t provide full nutrition but high sugar. I find that sometimes it is very difficult to resist my flesh desires even I know it is not good for myself. There is an old saying, “It is easy to say than done 說比做更容易 ”. This is exactly the situation that we all have experienced. Apostle Paul, in the book of Romans chapter 7, enlightened us that our sinful nature is the most difficult one to overcome. This reminds me of a story that I read before. The story goes something like this,

A brother talked to another brother who is a church leader. He said, “In all our meetings, you have to watch out one person carefully. You have to watch him like a hawk — discipline him and restrain him constantly without leaving room to him.”

“Who is that?” The church leader said it curiously.

“He is your “old self””, the brother responded.

I think you probably would agree with me that it is difficult to restrain and discipline our “old self”.  That is the reason Apostle Paul indicated to us that the only path to live a triumphant life for our Lord is to “put our old self to death” (Colossians 3:5). This will be a life long journey for us, I believe.

A snack bar may not be a problem but it could be a sign of give in. We are all very familiar with that we may not be able to prevent birds from flying over our head but we can prevent them from building a nest on our head. If we let slipping and drifting occur to our faith journey, sooner or later, we would see a big backslide. Andrew Murray, a missionary to South Africa and a Christian pastor, once said, “Many Christians backslide…They are unable to stand against the temptations of the world, or of their old nature. They strive to do their best to fight against sin, and to serve God, but they have no strength. They have never really grasped the secret: The Lord Jesus will every day from heaven continue His work in me. But on one condition—the soul must give Him time each day to impart His love and his grace. Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power.”

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, we have to watch out and encourage one another and speak truth in love. Most importantly, make an appointment with our Lord daily in order to be nurtured by His words. Then, His Spirit will guard us and guide us.