Issue 4: The Sin Issue by illumin8

"Where, O death, is your victory ? Where, O death, is your sting ? - 1 Corinthians 15

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1. Editor’s note

2. How it all began - Lucy Goodwin

3. Sin scales - Lucy Goodwin

4. Hayley’s comment - Hayley Brett

5. Testify - Ryan Viljoen

6. DoubleTake - Leanne Barnard

7. Sin Exposed - Leanne Barnard

8. Elev8 - Lucy Goodwin

9. Passion Conference - Tasha Breytenbach

10. Sin Cycle - Katy Breytenbach

11. Prayer

12. Giving your life to God - Lucy Goodwin

13. Upcoming Event - Spin2care

Writers: Lucy Goodwin, Katy Breytenbach, Leanne Barnard, Hayley Brett, Tasha Breytenbach, Ryan Viljoen Focaraccio, Designers: Leanne Barnard, Katy Breytenbach (cover), Wanja Rachelle Mostert, Angelika Rutter, Kerry Troup Illumin8 - Edition 4 - September 2008

www.illumin8.co.za

Dear Reader When the idea of doing an issue on sin first came up, the general response from the Illumin8 Team was a positive one. We felt that we had produced three issues of fairly light-hearted (and we hoped interesting) content and that perhaps it was time to tackle a topic that had a bit more meat to it. If we had known at the time what the implications of this decision were going to be… well, let's just say that Buy the Banana would have been the last edition of Illumin8 ever produced! In the last few weeks, the whole team has been tested in a way we had not anticipated. But then, I'm not sure why we didn't anticipate it more…you can't expect to speak truths about grace and salvation and not be challenged on them. But I am happy to report that through God's awesome strength, love and mercy, we have all emerged stronger in Him! To God be the glory! Amen! When you start to talk about sin, people immediately start to think that judgement will follow. But that is not the goal here. John 3:17 says, “God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” That is what the sin issue is about: an alternative way to live – as saved citizens of heaven, in grace and for the glory of God. With this aim in mind, we have tackled topics such as the origins of sin (page 2), how sin gets a hold in our lives (page 12) and how to stand against temptation (page 20). Double Take investigates how sin makes us feel. Whatever our lifestyles, however good or bad we think we are as people, sin is a reality for all of us. We live in a world ruled by the devil and he is relentless in his efforts to keep us living in sin, to lead us into new sins and to stop the message of hope that Jesus brings from penetrating his deception. This I know to be true because Satan has used our worst decisions and mistakes to try and make us feel so unworthy that we could not contemplate writing the content for this issue. When Jesus helped us to overcome that, he changed tactics and brought in other demons, such as nightmares, depression and, in the most drastic case, a break in at one team member’s flat while she was asleep inside. But as you can see, once again our Saviour came through for us and we sent those terrors back to hell where they belonged! Much of this breakthrough came as a result of the Passion Conference we all attended, and which is reviewed on page 17. I say it again – to God be the glory! If you are challenged by this issue, then know we will be standing with you in prayer. I can speak from very real personal experience when I say that when God confronts us about something, it is only because He really does know what is best for us. No matter how difficult or how unappealing following His promptings may be, He will always honour you for them!

start to talk When you tely le immedia p o e p , in s ow. about ent will foll m e g d ju t a k th hn 3:17 start to thin al here. Jo o g e th t o ot n the world n But that is to in n o S sent his orld save the w says, “God to t u b , d rl e wo issue is to judge th hat the sin w is t a h T .” through Him y to live – about: an

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May God's protection cover you, my His Spirit strengthen you and may His Son comfort you! Lucy

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The Fall.

By Lucy Goodwin

It is a fairly dramatic name, given to the events that took place in the Garden of Eden. But it is a fitting name for the story of Adam, Eve and the Tree of Knowledge that has affected us all. I read Genesis Chapters 2 and 4 the other day and as I did so, the long forgotten pictures from my Children's Bible came to mind. I remember the drawing of the tree, all fluffy and green with those red apples on it. I remember the picture of Adam and Eve hiding behind the bushes as God (dressed in white of course and with a flowing white beard) walked in the Garden. I remember the illustration of the flaming sword across the entrance to Eden once Adam and Eve had been told to leave the paradise God created for them. As with so many bible stories, I have never thought beyond the actual story to the deeper meaning of what happened. I am so familiar with the events (I seem to write this every month!) that I don't delve beyond the words on the page and think about what the implications of them are. On some level I know that I was born a sinner as a result of Eve's deception and choice to eat the forbidden fruit. I know that in order to overcome this I need to accept Jesus as my Saviour, repent of my sins and develop a personal relationship with both the Lord and the Holy Spirit. What I had not considered before was why…. My brother has just returned from a year of working as a volunteer at a Christian Organization called Ellel Ministries. During his time there he heard many teachings, and as Ellel focuses on healing people, he repeatedly heard the story of the fall and what it has meant for us as human beings. I was chatting to him the other day about this topic and he told me how the fall is explained to the visitors at Ellel centers… When God created the earth, He gave men and women dominion and power over it. Genesis 1:27 – 28 says: 'So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”' In addition to this, when

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God first created us, it was to be in direct communion with Him. We know from Genesis 3 that the Lord walked in the Garden of Eden and spent time with Adam and Eve there. Nothing came between God and the humans He had created. All that changed however, when Eve chose to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. We know that by eating this fruit, the eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and they gained knowledge of what is good and evil. 1 We are told that the serpent was made to be the most despised of creatures, that women's pain during child birth would increase, and that men would have to labor in the fields to grow food. All of these things are explained in a very straightforward manner in Genesis 3:14-17; however there were much greater and further reaching consequences as well, largely of a spiritual nature. When Eve allowed herself to be deceived and convinced that God was forbidding the fruit as a form of punishment rather than protection, she chose to give Satan authority over her life as opposed to God. In essence, Adam and Eve took the power that God had given them over the earth and gave it over to the Devil, making him the ruler of this world, and giving him the authority that had originally been bestowed on us. As a result of this, to this day Satan is called the prince of this world, and all people who are born into it are under his power and influence. That direct relationship that human beings once experienced with God has been destroyed, replaced instead with a massive wall that comes in the form of sin.

He died guilty of every act of hatred, jealousy, lust, greed and selfishness that any of us will every commit.

This all seems very hopeless for us and it would be if God was not sovereign and all powerful. Seeing that His plan for His children had gone awry, He developed another way for us to get back to that relationship with Him. I am talking of course, of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to breach the gap we created. He came to build a bridge so that we could walk, from where we stand now as sinners, across the divide Satan made and emerge as the children of God we were created to be. He came to bring a solution to the implications of Eden. The fact that Jesus was fully God, but also fully man is not one that my pea sized human brain has managed to grasp. I either think of him as God, or as man, but when I try to think of him as both at the same time, some connection is lost and the thought process fizzles out. He walked this earth with the same temptations and sins that you and I experience today, but he did not give into them. And that is where the God bit comes in. He had a direct relationship with his Father, and this strengthened him and allowed him to live as a perfect person. The path that God created to bring us back to Him was not an easy one. We need to remember, when we think about what happened at the Cross, that God loves Jesus more than you love the person who is closest to you. Take a 1. Genesis 3:7

Illumin8 - Edition 4 - September 2008

moment to think about who that person is, allow that love to fill you, and THEN imagine what is would be like to have to watch that person beaten, tortured and killed, all the while knowing that he or she did nothing wrong. My mind doesn't even want to go there, and yet God had to endure that when His Son, his perfect Son, was crucified. It is a transaction that we will never be able to fully grasp, but at the cross Jesus became our sin. He went to Golgotha an innocent man, became our sin and died GUILTY. He died guilty of every act of hatred, jealousy, lust, greed and selfishness that any of us will every commit. We don't deserve God's love. We turned our backs on Him in the Garden of Eden and nothing we can do will ever get us back to Him. But God loves us, and so He offers us grace, He offers us forgiveness, He offers us His love. While grace is freely available to all, it is not easy to take. It requires us to choose Jesus over Satan. It requires us to give up our old lives and to change our hearts. It is not an easy process. When our hearts start to turn to God, Satan is aware that he is losing a soul and he will fight for it. You will struggle to break free from sin, your spirit will war, but if you lean on God's strength, you will overcome it. The sacrifice Jesus made has allowed us to once again come under God's authority as opposed to Satan's. This does not happen overnight; it is a process that takes a life time to complete (the bridge I mentioned earlier is a long one!). But as long as you chose to give God the power over your life, He will slowly and methodically bring every aspect of that life under his protection. When we are living in sin we are blinded by it and cannot see the freedom that will come if we repent. But it is so worth it! Anyone who has truly repented, and as a result has felt God's love and grace, will tell you that. It is not something that can be explained, it is something that can only be experienced. To finish off, I want to leave you with a thought that I have come to know as truth: if God is not in control of your life, it means that something else it and as much as you would like to try and convince yourself otherwise, that something is not you. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;freedomâ&#x20AC;? that this world (aka Satan) offers as an alternative to Christianity is not really freedom at all. Only Jesus can provide you with a life of purpose, a life that glorifies God. I urge you, out of love that has come from my own experiences of Jesus, to take it!

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â&#x20AC;&#x153; There is

nothing you can do that will make God

love

you any lessâ&#x20AC;? - Rob Bell

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I would like to start this article with a little exercise. Look at the sins on the right and mentally rank them from best to worst. How did that go? Does anyone have anything other than murder at the bottom of their list? Did anyone look at some of those items and think they didn't really go anywhere on the list? Did anyone think, “Okay, so I smoke, but I don't rape people, so smoking can go above rape. In fact, I'm not even sure smoking is a sin.” The point I am trying to make is that even if you wondered about a few items on that list, you could rank at least some of them. In your mind, some things are worse than others. That's human nature. We all think like that. But here is my question, does Jesus? The bible tells us that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Not “the wages of murder is death, but the wages of lying is a few years hard labor in Hell and then you're good for parole”. It says the wages of SIN is death, as in all sin! But there is a second word in this verse that needs examining: death. There are no degrees of death. You can't be less dead than another dead person. Dead affects us all equally. And incidentally, wages are what you receive in return for work you have done. So taking this breakdown that we've just discussed and putting it all back together: the payment we receive from any and all sin is equal and terrible punishment. Does this means that, despite the fact that we try to tell ourselves some sins are worse than others, all sins are in fact considered equal in Jesus' eyes? The bible is not divided into different sections that speak to people who have committed specific sins. Romans is not directed exclusively to those who have murdered, Genesis is not for those who have been slaves to drugs, Hebrews is not only for those who

have taken part in sexual immorality; the entire bible is written for all people, because we are all just as sinful as each other. Satan is called the ruler of this world and his entire purpose is to keep us cut off from God. To this end he will use anything to keep us from repentance. Keeping that in mind I pose another question; is the idea that there are levels of sin not just another deception to keep us sinning? I have to confess that I rebel against the concept that all sins are considered equal. I don't like to think that I am in need of God's grace just as much as those who have committed murder or rape. But that is pride talking, and pride is nothing more than another sin. Pride results in me thinking that I am better than other people. Pride is what makes me think I know better than Jesus; what makes me ignore his commands because, really, I think that only I know what is best for me. Pride divides people into categories. It causes us to rank others, and it allows us to justify our judgment of them. The truth, whether we like to admit it or not, is that if we are capable of one sin, we are capable of all sins. If we can lie, we can cheat, we can steal, we can blackmail, we can murder. Yes it is true that not all of us murder, but we are all capable of it. In fact Jesus goes further and tells us that if we sin in thought, it is as bad as sinning in deed (Matthew 5:22, 28). If we wish someone dead, that is just as bad as physically killing them. I don't know about you, but if my thoughts are now evidence of sin, then the level of sin in my life has just jumped up a notch or two!

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d...

Continue

Again I feel myself rising up to my defense and saying, “But hang on just a minute here. I am NOT a bad person.” To get past this, try not to think of sin in terms of different deeds. Instead, think of sin as the act of turning away from God. Think of sin as choosing something (anything) over Jesus to take the central place in your focus and life. When you think of sin in these terms it is not so hard to see how all sin is equal in the eyes of God. I heard a teaching the other day in which David Pawson was talking about how we are all born sinners. We are all born equally in need of God's grace. To illustrate it, he referred to his children. You do no have to teach children to be cruel, only to be kind. You do not have to teach children to say no, only to say yes. You do not have to teach children to lie, only to tell the truth. You do not have to teach children to be rude, only to be polite. And suddenly it hit me like a ton of bricks the commandments Jesus gave us are not there to teach us what not to do; they are there to show us just how bad we are. Now before you close the window and give up on me as nothing but a sadistic person trying to run you into the ground, read on… There is a solution to this blackness that lives in us all and it is called the Cross. At the cross Jesus became our sin. He went to the Golgotha an innocent man, became our sin and died GUILTY. We don't deserve God's love. We turned our backs on Him in the Garden of Eden and nothing we can do will ever get us back to Him. After all, we all have the potential to sin. We can try to control our actions but the potential will always be there. But living in separation from God was not what He intended and so He sent a solution in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. The problem here is that we have all heard the story of the Cross so many times that we no longer see the WOW factor of it. We have become complacent because it has become familiar. When Jesus was crucified for our sins He breached the gap between God and ourselves that we created at the Fall. The cross is what gets us out from under Satan's power and influence and back to where we were created to be: under God's authority and protection, living to glorify Him instead of the Prince of Darkness.

The cross is the physical manifestation of God's grace and love for us. It is the only chance any of us have to get back to God. It breaks the bondage that sin has on our lives and since we are all equally guilty of sin, we all need grace in equal measure. For those of you who are sitting at the bottom end of the worlds' “sin scale” I pray you will move beyond your guilt to accept that grace. Guilt makes us believe we are not good enough to receive grace, and therefore prevents us from accepting it. When we allow guilt to rule our lives, Satan has already won. God loves us, no matter what we have done. If you believe that Christ died for your sins and therefore you have forgiveness of them that grace it yours already. As for those of you who sit at the upper end of the world's “sin scale” I pray that you will be able to appreciate just what a glorious gift God has given you through Jesus on the Cross. Pride is makes us think that we haven't done anything to bad in the past, so while it is great that we have grace, we don't really need it. God will destroy the proud and so we need to seek humility instead. When we humble ourselves and recognize our need for grace, we see Jesus more clearly. With that comes a freedom we cannot imagine and which pride makes us think we do not need. We live in a world that ranks sins. No court in the world will serve the same sentence for lying and murder. We have to have a system like this and it has a place because different crimes affect us differently. Our anger, fear and grief vary in direct proportion to the relative magnitude of the sins committed against us. But this rule does not apply to God. Any sin, no matter how great or small by our standards, keeps us cut off from our Creator and that is what breaks His heart. If we can come to understand this, to think beyond our earthly definitions, boundaries and rules, we will come to a much deeper appreciation for what happened on the Cross. With this knowledge comes freedom and a greater desire to live for the glory of the One who gives us life.

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Ola! I have been wondering for a while now what to say to you about 'sin' and why it's so hard to write about something that I'm probably more guilty of than most. As you know, I'm on holiday at the moment and let's face it, when you're on holiday and out of routine sin seems to be all around and pretty tempting...and also very cleverly disguised as 'just letting your hair down' and 'living for the moment'. It's much easier to see the big nights that you party away and can't remember the next morning as once-off spontaneity and not 'sinning' but take away the euphemisms, excuses and justifications and that 'S' word is what you're left with. When I was younger I used to pray at night for Jesus to 'forgive my sin' and could then sleep easily knowing that my slate was clean...only to repeat the very same actions the next day. The same goes for bargaining with God that I'll get back into my 'quiet time' routine after my holiday - not realising that it's actually now that I need that time the most. I've found that the best way to strengthen my defences against sin is to make spending time with God my first and foremost priority. And as good as it makes me feel, I can't lie to myself (and worse, God!) that an hour in church on a Sunday, will cut it - and neither will my quick 'forgive me today and I'll change tomorrow' prayers. The devil is constantly placing sin in our paths, so we need a daily walk with God... the strongest form of defence there is! The best thing about this walk is that it has no rules or formulae; we can be with Him in so many ways - by meditating, reading, praying, listening to music, laughing with, crying to, singing or talking to Him. Time with God, in any and all forms assists us in winning the war against sin! So folks, my parting advice to you is this: at times of temptation, turn to God first instead of trying to lean on your own will power which will invariably let you down. Live life, have fun, but make sure that you are doing it for God's glory. Oh, and if you've been vitamin D deficient for a year like I have... wear sunscreen :-) Love, H

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By Ryan Viljoen

Hi, my name is Ryan Viljoen and I'm currently studying my fifth year of Veterinary Science at Onderstepoort. I've been attending St Wilfrid's Church in Hatfield since my first year in 2004 and I love it there, it truly feels like God's house for me and His presence is in that place. To sum up my relationship with Godâ&#x20AC;Ś He's my everything! I can't function without Him in my life, though I frequently fall into the trap of trying to. Let's just say I'm more than grateful that our God is a persistent Saviour, relentless in His pursuit of us. But God wasn't always my number one priority. I grew up in a Christian home, where my parents sent me to Sunday school when I was little. I must say I've always loved God but I never really had much of a relationship with Him growing up through primary school. It was in grade seven that I had my first real encounter with the Saving God we serve. My parents at the time were going through a real rough time in their marriage, so much so that they even separated for a time. I remember clearly praying on many nights during that time, with tears running down my face, for God to heal their relationship and restore our family. It took almost 2 years but God in His goodness came through. My parents began missing one another and started seeing each other again until my Dad eventually moved back in with us. To this day they are still happily

married and I believe God is weaving Himself deeper and deeper into their relationship. I believe that this was the start, for me, of a growing relationship with God. Through high school I have to confess though that I was what you would call a submarine Christian; I only really emerged to express and grow my relationship with God on Sundays when I attended youth group, which I loved. But through the week at school I was underwater, with only my periscope showing. Oh, everyone at school knew I was a Christian because that was the mask I wore during the week, though now looking back I can see that that's just what it was: a mask. I was living a double life you see, everyone at church and school thought I was this wonderful guy, I never drank or smoked or swore, yet the part of my life that no one knew about, and I made sure to keep hidden, was my slow decline into sexual immorality. It began with pornography, which eventually turned into a full blown life-destroying addiction, and also crept into my relationships with girls. These relationships all went too far physically and I eventually became consumed with it. By the end of high school and even my first year of varsity I had reached my lowest

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man that was addicted to pornography and masturbation on an almost daily basis and dishonouring women in the way I was, to going completely cold turkey in one night!! That for me was nothing short of a mighty miracle. It was amazing how in one night God took away all the power that that addiction had over my life and gave me new strength and desire to pursue a purer relationship with Him. point where I no longer even entered into relationships with these girls, but merely had one night stands and flings. Oh, I knew that all of this was wrong, I can never claim ignorance of my sin, because each time it happened I could almost feel my soul tear, yet its power over me was so strong that my repentance would only last a few days before the addiction took over again and I sought to fulfill it. It was at the end of my first year that God stepped in and saved me. I got to a point where I simply couldn't carry on living the double life, not knowing if the people in my life that loved me so much, would still do so if they knew everything about me. So I decided to find out, I chose one of my closest and oldest friends and began unpacking all my sin, and I mean everything! It took me the whole night because I was so scared she would no longer want to be my friend when she discovered the truth. Yet God used her mightily in my life that night. She was surprised indeed, but as only a true friend could, she took it all in, prayed over me and offered to hold me accountable to change and she made me swear to tell her if ever I fell again. This is where God worked His miracle: from a

That was in 2004, it's been nearly a full four years since that night and though I have had some falls along the way, God has continued to work in various ways and through different people to call me deeper into purity. I stand before you now, a changed man, with a burning desire to live pure for God and to honour my wife, whoever she may be one day, through how I act now. I am still a sinner and prone to temptation all too often, but I am redeemed by Christ and that's the message of my life: that with God all things are possible. It is entirely possible to live free from sexual immorality, I know it is, don't compromise on it. God bless Ryan

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By Leanne Barnard

The Meaning… Empty Bunny Syndrome is the feeling that sin leaves you with: its sweet and satisfying at first but leaves you empty and unsatisfied afterwards.

EBS

Take one

Take two

Remember when you were a kid and you used to get those beautifully wrapped chocolate bunnies at Easter? They always looked so amazing and you couldn't wait to just bite into one. Didn't you always leave disappointed though as the original sweetness dissolved and you discovered it was just empty?

Sin has a way of giving you the same effect. According to a devotion in Words to Live by for Teens, “Sin doesn't result from a desire for bad things. It results from trying to get good things – God given things – in ways that goes against God's plan for giving them to you.“ An example could be robbing a bank. This is obviously a sin but not because God doesn't want you to have money, but because he wants you to have money as a by-product of work.

So the chocolate bunny in itself is a God given sweetness but the emptiness and lack of wholesome satisfaction is a result of trying to take a shortcut to the things God intends for you to receive in another way or at another time.

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There is a right way and a wrong way to get all the good things God offers in this life. Sin, however, is choosing to shortcut God's ways and jump straight into the thing you want here and now, whatever they may be (e.g. happiness, intimacy, wealth) but without the richness, abundance and variety God's way offers...

empty bunny syndrome

is the feeling that sin leaves you with: its sweet and satisfying at first but leaves you empty and unsatisfied afterwards.

By Leanne Barnard

It starts in Eden: You've probably heard the story 1000 times, and if not, then you've heard it at least twice in this issue of Illumin8! You may believe it to be a myth; you may believe it to be true; but the truth of the matter is that the story of Eden is actually being played out each and every day in your life! Just think about it... In human terms, the act of taking the fruit seems small in comparison to murder but as we saw in the Scales of Sin the mere fact that they made a conscious choice

So every time you choose something over God and His word then the Eden story is taking place once again. to turn away from God is what sin is all about.

Having been on this planet now for 25 years, I would say I have had my fair share of experience with sin. Even though we are all born into sin and learn how to sin from an early age, for some reason the battle has been at its most extreme over the last 5 of years. It probably has something to do with the continuous search for identity in an environment that places practically every possible sin well within your reach â&#x20AC;&#x201C; I'm referring to varsity and early working adulthood. During this time, and especially as I have moved closer to God I have felt Him reveal more to me Illumin8 - Edition 4 - September 2008

about the nature of sin. These lessons were conducted both the easy and the difficult way (the latter being when I insist on going my way even after multiple warnings and end up bumping my head very hard)! What I have seen is the devastating pattern sin follows to shackle us down, drive a wedge between us and God and rob us of the freedom Christ gives. So we will look into the various ways the devil tempts us to sin, so as to guard ourselves from getting tangled in its web, as well as establish an escape plan if you're already in too deep. Before this though, we need to understand that the devil can't make you do anything against your will (because of the gift of free will) but he will do all that's possible to tempt us to sin and turning away from God. As the father of lies he plants many seeds that can easily turn into fields of Khaki bos and blackjacks! 1.To begin with, sin usually enters as something very small. It can come in the form of a passing thought or a suggestion, such as â&#x20AC;&#x153;oh, just this onceâ&#x20AC;?. It draws on something that you desire and often goes unnoticed as it is seems insignificant.

12 Designed by: Leanne Barnard

2. Next, it puts “me first”. It makes you question God's words, promises and laws. Just as in Eden when the serpent suggested to Eve that God was withholding information and pleasure from them, so sin makes you believe the same. It makes you believe that you know better and that “it's all about you and your gratification”. The problem with this lie is that it not only puts you above God in your eyes, but it also hides the fact that all sin has a ripple effect. Eve may have thought “it's all about me” but her actions affected the entire human race. In much the same way, every time you choose your way over God's there are implications not only for you but possibly your friends, your family and even your future children. 3.It parades as good and innocent. Sin tempts us by saying “But it's innocent. What harm could it possibly do?” It is a wolf in sheep's clothing. A proverbial Trojan horse if you will. Now, you need to understand something about this point: in order for sin to get in it cannot parade as evil or no one would buy into it. What's also important to remember is that the larger your spiritual eyes (the closer you are to God) the more convincing the disguise needs to be. In Romans, Paul speaks about the law God gave Moses and how it was meant to be for good; to give His people a moral compass of sorts. He speaks about how sin managed to get into this and pervert its original intention. In Romans 7:8-12 (Message) it says “Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of "forbidden fruit" out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me...The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong.” For this reason we can see much evil being under the guise of something good.

the point of justification sin has probably already embedded its ways and desire deep in your heart. This is the point where you realise it has a hold on you. The only problem is that often the fulfilment of this desire completely outweighs your desire to flee from it. It is an endless cycle of choices that fulfil your need and then leave you feeling empty and ashamed. The more you resist, the more you seem to fail. Here the devil often changes his tactic to evoke guilt. Your thoughts change from “What harm can it do?” to thoughts such as “How could you do something so horrible. You're such a horrible person. You're not worthy of being God's child”. So many of us stop going to church, stop reading our Bibles because of our feelings of unworthiness and guilt. You feel like you've just messed up too many times.

6.Temptation comes your way when you least expect it or when you are at your most vulnerable. In these circumstances, no matter

4. A big warning sign that something you are doing is wrong is when you justify your actions. This justification normally stems from a conviction you feel but choose to ignore. I used to convince myself that I was perhaps an exception to God's way. That He sees every person and situation differently so that it was ok for me to push the boundaries physically with my boyfriend. In this way I was slowly blinded from the truth and became calloused to the sin that was actually poisoning me. After a while, I no longer heard the internal voice, I no longer felt the guilt so strongly; instead I deliberately ignored these calls until they were no more but a whisper - but somehow, no matter how much you convince yourself otherwise - that whisper is still always there. 5. It's like a drug; it calls for you to do more and more and resists change. Once you reach

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how strong your will to get away, your flesh always seems to fail. 7. Sin loves the dark. In John 3:19 it says: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” As you lose the internal battles over and over again, shame finds its way into your life. You keep all your deeds in darkness for fear of judgement. You feel as though you are the only one who is struggling with it. Like a fungus, sin can only grow in the dark and the fear of bringing it into the light, keeps it in its place, alive and kicking.

Someone once told me “When temptation calls on the phone don't argue with it and have a big fat convo. Don't even pick up the phone!”

The last point brings us to the first step of our escape plan of sin's death grip – Bringing everything into the light! What we see is that un-confessed sin not only manifests emotionally but has a way of affecting a person even physically as well. In Psalm 32:3-5: (Message) it says: “When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, 'I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.' And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.” To escape sins power is to realise that you can't do it alone!! You need God to help you – your will, will never be enough. So first, confess it to God. Jesus says “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12b). So by asking Jesus into your situation first and into your heart he will be the light that all the darkness will cower before. In the light you can see sin for the ugliness it is. Only once The Light is at work in your situation can you move forward, for He promises abundant life and has power over death and darkness. This is the whole point of the cross – that we need no longer live under the yoke of sin but through his blood receive freedom. It's the ultimate gift and we receive it freely if we truly repent! It cannot stop here though. So many times I have asked God forgiveness for the same thing over and over and over again and yet I would still do it. I call it my “Dr Jekyll Mr Hyde tendencies” and Paul talks about it in Romans 7:14. I suppose that even if you ask for God's forgiveness the whole situation can still be hidden... You therefore need to speak to others. Now, this may be the scariest thing you've ever done. I mean, by speaking to others you will make yourself vulnerable to judgement, consequences and possible rejection. But you need to find a friend that you trust and speak to them. Only once everything (and I stress everything) is in the light can you Illumin8 - Edition 3 - August 2008

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be set back on the track to freedom. A friend can also keep you on track by holding you accountable for your actions, they could refer you to someone who would be better suited to help you and they could also continue to support you in your battle with this sin. What telling others often does is it makes you realise that you are in fact, not alone. When I discussed a hectic vice of mine with a friend I discovered, to my surprise that she deals with exactly the same issue. She gave me tips and shared her struggle with me – we also agreed to hold each other accountable. Things are so much easier to deal with in a team.

We are the redeemed We are the ones who are free And we belong to Jesus We are now alive And in this world we will shine And we belong to Jesus

Next, you need to forgive yourself. So often though we may accept the forgiveness from God but refuse to forgive ourselves. You need to realise that we ALL fall short of the glory of God. Think about it this way: If the creator of the universe, the One more holy and perfect than anything is willing to forgive you...who are you to think that you cannot forgive yourself? Remember that God works for the good of all who love Him and He will be able to transform your most shameful moment or action into something that could build and even help others not go the same way.

~ We Shine ~ Lyrics by Fee

Another thing to realise is that you need to be ruthless with sin and turn from it!! Jesus tells us that if your eye causes you to sin, cut it out! I know it sounds harsh but you need to realise that you have a weakness in one area and that it will take you a while before you can face it and not stumble. Someone once told me “When temptation calls on the phone don't argue with it and have a big fat convo. Don't even pick up the phone!” If your sin has had a type of addictive nature then you need to ask God to not only free you but also to fill that gap with a godly value. Often if an addiction is just removed then another could take its place. Once you have recognised sin's pattern then you can learn to see it more clearly. Know your enemy and arm yourself with the Word. Whenever you are tempted to hide your deeds in darkness...counteract it with the fact that through

Christ you are a child of the light; a new creation who has been redeemed and is free to live a glorious abundant life.

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Monday -Family Tuesday - The Nations Wednesday -This month focus on conquering the sin that’s holding you back Thursday - A friend Friday - Local is lekker Saturday - People who don’t know God’s love

Attached!! Find a detailed calendar attached, print it out and keep it close as a reminder of what to pray for.

Sunday - Thank Him

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What do you see when you look at this page? Most people would say a black dot, not a white page. We SO often focus on the bad instead of the good.

If you want to invite Jesus into your life here is a prayer to help you do so: Dear Lord Jesus, I realize that I am a sinner and am in need of your forgiveness and God's grace. I believe that you died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins and start living for your glory. I invite you to come into my heart and to be a part of my life. I want to trust and follow you as Lord and Saviour. In Jesus name. Amen.

These were the steps that the first Christians followed and they will give you a solid grounding as you begin your walk with Jesus. Completing them does not mean that you will never sin again and that life will be a breeze. But it does mean that you will have freedom in Christ and will be able to defeat whatever comes your way through Him.

You may have been in a situation where there was an alter call and, between the music, the lights and the words of the pastor, you stood up and said a prayer of salvation. You may have been fortunate to have spiritual guidance after this event and that moment truly is when you became a Christian. But on the other hand, you may be wondering why nothing has changed in your life and why the promises that pastor made haven't come true for you.

odw o G y

By L

According to David Pawson, a well known British pastor, there are some vital flaws in the way many people are born into the Kingdom of Heaven. He bases his teaching on the book of Acts and the steps that the disciples took with new believers in the days of the early church. There are four steps to what Pawson refers to as the natural Christian Birth and the understanding and completion of many of them are lacking in some of today's Christian societies. 1. Believe in Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Accepting Jesus into your heart is as simple as asking. All you need to do is acknowledge that you are in need of grace and forgiveness and that Jesus is the only way to receive this. This realisation often comes as a result of a teaching or sermon that one has heard, and it is here that a prayer of salvation has a role. In fact if you prayed the prayer on page 24 then you have already completed this step! However, asking Jesus to come and live in your heart is only step one, and sadly this is where many organisations leave new believers. 2. Repent of your sins. This is really the hard part and it does not happen over night. Pawson is very specific in saying that one cannot repent in

general. You need to repent of specific actions and sins. Once Jesus is in your heart, He will reveal to you the areas of your life that you need to change. It is extremely important to have people who you can look to for guidance and support at this point. Cutting sinful behaviour out of our lives is difficult and cannot be accomplished without the help of Jesus and the support of other Christians. 3.Be Baptised in Water. Baptism is an act that signifies your rebirth into the Kingdom of God. It shows the washing clean that takes place when you repent and are forgiven for your sins. It is important as it allows you to spiritually break from the sins you have repented of. Baptism cannot happen before you have repented and therefore may only happen once you have had Jesus living in your heart for a while. If you have repented of your sins and feel that you are ready to be baptised then contact local churches where you live. Many of them, particularly the more charismatic ones, will have weekly or monthly opportunities for baptism after the service. Remember that is not important who baptises you. Jesus never baptised anyone himself as this would have detracted from what the event was actually about, namely your rebirth into the Kingdom of God.

In the meantime… While you are working through the steps listed above, there are a few things you can do to feed the flame on your heart… 1. Read your Bible 2. Talk to Jesus in prayer everyday 3. Tell others about Christ 4. Find a church 5. Get involved in outreach 6. Ask questions! Speak to a pastor

4.Be filled with the Holy Spirit. Once you have been baptised, you will be left clean and empty. At this point it is important to be filled with the Holy Spirit as you are spiritually vulnerable once baptism has taken place. Being filled with the Spirit therefore happens immediately after baptism and you will know when it takes place. To quote David Pawson, “If you are unsure as to whether you have been filled with the Spirit, then you haven't been!” Being filled with the Spirit is always accompanied by a physical sign such as speaking in tongues. It is something that is largely associated with the more charismatic church movements and it can seem very scary and intimidating. Rest assured that it is not! It is a wonderful experience and one that God designed us all to have. These were the steps that the first Christians followed and they will give you a solid grounding as you begin your walk with Jesus. Completing them does not mean that you will never sin again and that life will be a breeze. But it does mean that you will have freedom in Christ and will be able to defeat whatever comes your way through Him. You will begin to live for the glory of God and find your true purpose in doing so. Having a solid foundation to your faith and making time to grow a genuine relationship with Jesus will equip you to overcome any trouble this life may throw at you! If you are not a Christian but would like to find out more about Jesus, then please contact us at Illumin8 and we would be more than happy to pray with you and refer you to people who can guide you more effectively than we can. It would be awesome to know if you have made a personal commitment to Jesus, so please email us at illumin8ezine@gmail.com. May God bless you abundantly! Much of this material has been taken from David Pawson's teachings on The Natural Christian Birth, which is available in South Africa through Truth to Tell Media (http://www.truthtotell.co.za)

MIN

3 people 2 hours 1 bike...GO!! Menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s or mixed teams

When & Where? Date: 20 September 2008

Gifts and Prizes

Time: 09:00 - 12:00

All proceeds to charity

Place: Queens Corner Shopping Center

Teams are required to organise at least 1 sponsor (to raise amount per kilometer).

Corner of Stead and Soutspansberg roads

More Info: Phone Cornelius: 082 578 4452 Email: spin2care@yahoo.com

All proceeds of spin2care go to PEN (Pretoria Evangelism and Nurture www.pen.org.za)

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Illumin8 - Edition 1 - June 2008