It may be a good idea here to revisit our monograph titled "A Scriptural Look at Sin." In that monograph I stated that it is impossible for us to live a life which is completely without sin. As John said, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and truth is not in us." (1 John 1:8) Am I teaching contradictory doctrine here? Or worse yet, is Bible? Absolutely not! We are called to righteousness and holiness. We are expected to live a life indicative of that righteousness. Were we capable of a sinless life we would be expected to live such. However, admonitions above are given so that we can take control over sin and not have sin control us. In other words, as I said in other monograph, we must have victory over sin.

"Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward goal for prize of upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13,14) We should do as Paul says. Forget things of past. This includes those sins of past which we may look back on and remember "fun" we had at that time. Let's forget those. It also includes those failures that we have had as Christians trying to overcome sin. I'm sure that each one of us can look back at failures; times when we let sin have upper hand. WE need to forget those times as well. We should have learned from them, but let us not dwell in failures.

Let us rather look to future with boldness, knowing that with strength of Christ and Word of God on our side we can "press toward goal for prize."

Are we going to sin in future? In all likelihood, yes. But John tells us this, "My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with Father, Jesus Christ righteous. And He Himself is propitiation for our sins, and not ours only but also for whole world." (1 John 2:1,2) If we are striving to overcome sin, and still sin, then Jesus will be our Advocate for us to Father. Jesus substituted Himself for our sins.

On other hand, if we do not strive to overcome sin but sin willfully, then there is no further sacrifice for those sins. "For if we sin willfully after we have received knowledge of truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins." (Hebrews 10:26)

Are we expected to live a life of sinlessness? No! Are we expected to live a life which is constantly fighting against sin in our lives, a life which is striving to overcome sin, a life which is pressing toward goal? The answer is YES!

Finally, what should our attitude toward sin be? Is it just an irritation which we have to put up with? No, I think it is much more than that. We should have a deep hatred for sin of all sorts.

We are called to be like Christ. Well, He hated sin, and so should we. We should hate sin because our Lord and Savior does. But we should also hate sin because we can see what it does to ourselves, our loved ones and others as well. It destroys families and wrecks marriages. It causes people to become addicted to drugs and alcohol and thus destroy their lives. It causes distrust among people, even fellow Christians. It has caused America to change from a righteous nation to one wallowing in mire of drug abuse, homosexuality, abortion on demand and a crime wave beyond compare. I do not really understand how Christians in this nation can stand idly by and watch what is happening and not take a stand against sin, both in our own lives and nation as well.

We should hate sin because we desire to do will of God. Sin is in direct opposition to will of God. Often times it is sin that keeps us from doing will of God. Let us not give in to temptations of sin, but rather strive earnestly to do will of Father.

Be Strong Maltbie D. Babcock August 3, 1858 - May 18, 1901)

Be strong! We are not here to play, to dream, to drift; We have hard work to do, and loads to lift; Shun not struggle - face it; 'tis God's gift.

Be strong! Say not, "The days are evil. Who's to blame?" And fold hands and acquiesce - oh shame! Stand up, speak out, and bravely in God's name.

Be strong! It matters not how deep entrenched wrong, How hard battle goes, day how long; Faint not - fight on! To-morrow comes song.

All Scriptures quoted are from New King James Version unless otherwise noted.

Stephen Kingery is an author, preacher, teacher and founder of The Home Bible Study Institute.

Visit our site at http://www.james1-22.org

Should you have a spiritual director? The Holy Spirit is at work in every life. There are many good people who live virtuous lives without aid of a spiritual director. The idea of talking to someone about their relationship with God may not appeal to them. (3) There is nothing wrong with that. If this describes you, then spiritual direction is probably not right for you at this moment in time. If, however, you have reached a point in which you are struggling to find God in your life, or you are trying to discern God?s will for your life, or you would simply appreciate opportunity to speak with a willing listener about your spiritual journey, then spiritual direction may very well be answer.

How do you find a spiritual director? There are many centers for spiritual direction. If there is one that focuses on your faith tradition in your geographical area then that is a good place to start. Otherwise, asking a member of clergy for a recommendation may offer some leads. As with any other therapeutic relationship, there may be some trial and error involved. Every director-directee relationship is different. Personalities may not gel. An initial interview should be used to determine what you hope to obtain through spiritual direction and whether relationship would be beneficial.

In my own experience, I have benefited greatly from spiritual direction. I lead a busy life and I appreciate opportunity to have that one hour a month set aside for reflection. I look forward to it immensely. Meeting with my director has helped me to see God's action in my life more clearly and to be more open to workings of Spirit. I would recommend it to anyone who seeks to explore his or her relationship with God.

1 Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968) quoted in "Writings on Spiritual Direction by Great Christian Masters," Ed. Jerome M. Newfelder & Mary C. Coelho. Minneapolis: The Seabury Press, 1982, 15.

2 Margaret Guenther, "Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction," Boston: Cowley Publications, 1992, 87.

3 Madeline Birmingham & William Connolly, "Witnessing to Fire: Spiritual Direction and Development of Directors," Kansas City: Sheed & Ward, 1994, 65.

Patrice Fagnant-MacArthur is editor of "The Spiritual Woman Newsletter", (http://www.spiritualwoman.net) and author of "Letters to Mary from a Young Mother"(iUniverse 2004). She has a Master of Arts in Applied Theology from Elms College.