James 1 -- Killing Sin

"Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when fully grown, gives birth to death" v15.

Wow, James sure lays it out clearly. Those impure desires which show up in our lives if allowed to grow and develop will give birth to sin on our lives. Sin starts with impure desires. We have a chance to cut sin down before it takes root. Many people do not live mindful of their desires, or even measuring whether their desires are pure or not. This comes from the fact that an increasing number of people live totally out of their desires. If we test our desires, and find ways to stop the impure, or unholy desires, then we stop sin before it can be born.

What happens when one gets through? When desire gives birth to sin then what. The way James lays this out, even that is not terminal. Once sin blossoms into life, we can still keep it from resulting in our death. This is where Jesus comes into play. We can put sin to death through Jesus before it has a chance to invade our lives and lead to our destruction. Once again this does not have to be terminal. Sin which is not dealt with will grow, and rule our lives. This will ultimately lead to death. It does not have to. Kill sin while it is still young and has not grown to control our lives.

Take some time today to look at your life. Where are you having desires that are not godly and pure? Where have you allowed sin to grow? It is not too late. As long as you have breath, and the Lord waits for the return there is time to embrace life. The scary part is we do not know how much time we have. The hour and day of the return and final judgment are not know. We cannot do anything about that. What we can do is be sure we are ready at any given moment. How are we ready, we put sin to death, before it has a chance to grow and kill us.