"I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me."
-Romans 15: 30

Struggle

"We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is for your perfection." (2nd Corinthians 13: 9) Want to hear something shocking? I am not perfect! There are many things in which I struggle. But do I struggle honestly? Do you? It is all to easy in this world to make excuses or to blame others for our weaknesses. But if we truly want to learn and grow then we need to look in the mirror and confront our own shortcomings and weaknesses. How many times have I accepted my sins by just saying, 'This is just the way that I am?' Yes, God loves you for who you are but He wants more. He desires a relationship with you. One in which you place all your hopes and trust in Him. One that will allow you to live your life for Him. I thank the Lord for the strength that I can find in Him. I will never be perfect but I can pray for 'God's perfection' in my life.

How hard do you resist sin? "In our struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: 'My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.' " (Hebrews 12: 4-6) I can assure you that I have not resisted sin in my life to the 'point of shedding blood.' I have felt God's discipline in my life and I don't always like it. :) But did you see what it says about 'accepting us as sons?' I think of how and why I discipline my children. It is not because I want to cause them pain or make them suffer. It is because I love them and know that the way they might be doing something is not the right way. My ultimate goal is to help them to live their lives in a positive and productive way. God feels the same way about us, His children. He knows that the sin (struggles) of our lives will do nothing but hurt us. He may do something that gets our attention (discipline) so that we can change how we are living and become more positive and productive for Him. His love for us is great! We will all struggle with sin in our lives but let's struggle honestly and try to live our lives for God! Amen! :)

I pray that all is well with you. Please let me know if you have any prayer concerns or blessings. Have a great week and remember to smile :), the Lord loves you!

In Christ,

Shan D. Hartsough

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
-Ephesians 6: 12

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