can I or will I?

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. - Philippians 4:13

I have caught myself asking, "Can I abide in Christ?"

This may seem like a good question but it is not. It is a sinful question. Is it a sinful question because it directly challenges the truth of the gospel. This question assumes that the sacrifice of Christ, while sufficient to cover the sins of others, might not be sufficient atonement for my own. This question places on me the burden of measuring my sins, which I have neither the perpective nor the wisdom to do. It is also unnecessary, because my sins have already been measured, weighed, and paid for. This question also has the wrong focus. In asking this the focus is on me, myself, and if I feel as though I am "doing well" spiritually. Which is another problem, as the practice of self-evaluation is useless, unless I am already abiding in Christ.

The real question is, "Am I abiding in Christ? And if not, why not?"

seeds of sin

The battle against sin is won or lost before I have even moved to act. Even if I do not "commit" the sin, if a temptation enters my mind and I do not immediately give it a swift kick out the door then I am in sin. I am in sin because I have allowed myself, even for a moment, to consider something other than obedience. I may have not committed adultery with the charistmatic stranger who came to the door, but I stood in the doorway chatting with him and maybe even invited him in for tea. May it never be so. I can't flirt with Satan and expect to get away with my heart and marriage intact.

Lord, is it right to pray that You answer the door when the devil comes calling?

fruits grow... so do weeds

Just as the fruits have to receive nourishment, blossom, and grow with time until the fruit is ready for harvest, so do the weeds grow. Weeds start out as seeds as well, and if I am lazy in weeding out my garden by the time the situation grows alarming enough to motivate me to do something about it the weeds will have choked the life out of many plants and will rip up the roots of others as I pull them out.

Weed often and look closely for seeds of them.

i will do it, later

When God asks us to do something and there is delay in fulfilling his request, even if the resolve to obey is there, the pressure of the spirit is upon us so intensely not because our God is an impatient God, but rather, that until that obedience is fulfilled, we are still subject to temptation. We are still tempted by that slippery voice which says everything and anything except "obey now." Jesus gives us the power to resist the Satan so that he will flee, Jesus does not say "delay until you aren't tempted anymore."

Why do I hesitate to call on Him?