Avoid that sin

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16

In a recent article published by Runner's World, titled "7 Deadly Sins of Running Your First Marathon", the writer gave tips on how to abstain from falling into the trap of the 'running devil' and committing the unthinkable acts every runner should avoid-eating too much (gluttony), buying too much swag at the expo (greed), not training well (sloth), forgetting to lube your intimate parts (lust), going out too fast (pride), skipping the ice bath (wrath) and sipping Haterade when friends have a better race than you (envy). All joking aside, they made a great point when they said, "The running devil works in mysterious ways. And as if 26.2 miles isn’t hard enough, he’s thrown in some sneaky obstacles to throw you off your game."

The same can be said of life you know. And as if following Christ in a sinful world wasn't hard enough, the devil will most certainly throw in some sneaky obstacles to get us to sin or throw us off our game. But the Bible tells us that you and I can avoid these pitfalls and temptations by doing one thing... walking by the Spirit. But what does that mean exactly? It means choosing to meet with God daily through prayer, worship and Bible study to condition our hearts and minds to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's promptings. You see, it's only when we know God intimately that he can richly dwell in us and we can discern his will and, thereby, not "gratify the desires of the flesh." 

So just as we train for a race by running consistently, let us train in the Word by reading consistently. This is most definitely the only way to avoid those seven deadly sins on and off the racecourse. 

Heavenly Father, thank you for your Word that is our best defense in avoiding those sneaky obstacles we are sure to encounter every day. Help us to realize the absolute importance of meeting with you daily that we might allow the Holy Spirit to guide us so we would not be tempted to give in to the desires of the flesh. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

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Spirit of the Living God - Meredith Andrews

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzhsuM8bWDc