‘…the sin that so easily trips us up…’ Hebrews 12:1 NLT
Achilles, the Greek hero of the Trojan War, was invulnerable, with one exception: his heel. Shoot him there and he’d go down. Guess what? He died from an arrow to the heel! We all have our Achilles’ heel–the ‘sin that so easily trips us up’. Here, blindness, indifference or denial sets us up for failure. So how do we overcome our Achilles’ heel? Author John Piper offers us a solution in the form of an acronym: ANTHEM. A: avoid sights and situations that arouse unfitting desires. Prevent what fuels your appetite for sin. N: say no to every lustful thought within five seconds. In the first two seconds shout ‘No, get out of my head!’ In the next two, cry out, ‘Oh God, in the name of Jesus, help me. Save me now. I am yours.’ Say it out loud. The Puritan writer John Owen said, ‘Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.’ T: turn the mind forcefully towards Christ. Attack sin with the promises of Christ. H: hold the promise and pleasure of Christ firmly in mind. For how long? Until it pushes other images out. Hold it. Don’t let it go. Hold it until you win! E: enjoy a superior satisfaction, namely, pleasure in Christ. If you have little taste for Jesus, competing pleasures will triumph. M: move into useful activity, away from idleness and other vulnerable behaviours. Abound in the work of the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58) Replace deceitful lusts with a passion for good deeds. Today, using this simple acronym, you can move from vulnerability to victory by drawing on the power of God’s Spirit within you. (Galatians 5:25)
SoulFood: 2 Sam 20:1-22:30, John 4:1-12, Ps 100, Pr 23:22-28
