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Love Jesus More

Yesterday's quotation from Stephen Altrogge has been on my mind for the last 24 hours.  Here is the result.

I was born broken.  I was born a liar.  Lying was as natural to me as breathing.  No one had to teach me to lie.  It came naturally.  However, Jesus died for me and made me his child by grace through faith.  Now I love Jesus more than I love lying and daily I fight against the old temptations for Jesus' sake.

I was born broken.  I was born a thief.  Oh, I was raised in a good home, so I never robbed banks or stole candy from babies.  Yet, I stole time from my boss.  I stole praise that other people deserved.  I was a natural.  However, Jesus died for me and made me his child by grace through faith.  Now I love Jesus more than I love stealing and daily I fight against the old temptations for Jesus' sake.

I was born broken.  I was born wanting things that didn't belong to me.  From early childhood it was natural to cry that something was "Mine!"  I wanted not only to keep up with the Jones, but to have more than the Jones.  I was a good at coveting.   However, Jesus died for me and made me his child by grace through faith.  Now I love Jesus more than I love coveting and daily I fight against the old temptations for Jesus' sake.

Virtually no one in Evangelical circles would disagree with me on the previous three examples.  Unfortunately, a growing number would disagree if I substituted a sexual sin for lying, stealing or coveting. 

I was born broken.  I was a natural adulterer, fornicator, homosexual, transgender, pedophile.   However, Jesus died for me and made me his child by grace through faith.  Now I love Jesus more than I love, adultery, fornicating, homosexuality, transgenderism, and pedophilia and daily I fight against the old temptations for Jesus' sake.

Today too many try to say of these sexual sins - "God made me this way.  Its must be O.K. to act on these feelings because that's the way God made me."  That has more in common with Lady Gaga than it does with the Bible.  Did God make me a liar, a thief or a coveter?  No these were the sinful practices my sinful nature inclined me towards since birth.  In the same way sexual sins are the result of my sinful nature.  However, Jesus died for me and made me his child by grace through faith.  Now I love Jesus more than I love my sin and daily I fight against the old temptations for Jesus' sake.

What am I really saying when I claim my brokenness and argue that I can't change?  Am I not really saying, I love my sin more than I love Jesus?

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