Camp Meeting Devotion - Day Fifty-Three

 Genesis 4:6-7 (NASB)

⁶  Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen?
⁷  "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

The singing group Queen released a popular song in my childhood titled, Another One Bites the Dust.  That sums up what we often see and hear about with Christians. They fall into sin. Some worse than others. One by one people are deceived, blinded to their own sinful desires, throw caution to the wind, quit resisting and plunge headfirst into the sewage of sin. They hurt themselves and others in the process. 

It seems hardly a week goes by that we are not confronted with sin in our lives or those around us. Sin spreads faster than a virus. Sin runs rampant in the streets, alleys, backwoods, Hollywood, the White House as well as your house and mine. Sin is everywhere. Crouching at the door ready to pounce. 

God warned Cain that sin was crouching at the door. I get the picture of a dangerous animal crouched down in hiding like a lion looking for his prey. Sin crouches ready to pounce on us. Any of us. If you are reading this, you have the potential to be caught in sin. We all do. Some of the most respected people in the church are involved in all sorts of secret sins nobody knows about but God. They hide it well. Others get caught. Prominent pastors and preachers are not immune. Nor worship pastors. Nor people in the choir, teachers, lawyers, politicians, students, and physicians. Nobody is immune. 

Satan uses the lure of sin to trap people. His desire, passionate longing, and lust is to bring the people of God down. He is doing a pretty good job. Many have fallen. People who started out strong in the faith. Somewhere along the way sin did more than crouch at the door. Sin pounced. Like a lion pouncing on a helpless antelope who cannot defend itself, so is a person when sin pounces who is not ready to resist. 

Temptations abound everywhere. Alcohol. Drugs. Illicit sex. Pornography. Adultery. Embezzling. Lying, deceiving, cheating, gossiping, slandering, compromising and the list could go on. Just because we are tempted does not mean we have to give in. Jesus was tempted in [Matthew 4:1-11]. He fought back quoting scripture. We are told in [I Cor 10:13] that God makes a way of escape when people are tempted to sin. We do not have to give in. 

God told Cain that he needed to master sin. Meaning he needed to exercise authority over it, gain control over it, and rule over it. The truth is many like sin. It is the path of least resistance. Sin often leads to temporary pleasure in some sense. How many hate sin like God hates it? How many ruthlessly uproot any root of sin that tries to lodge itself in our thoughts and actions. 

Read Hebrews 12:4.

Hebrews 12:4 (NASB)
⁴  You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin;

We have not resisted to the point of shedding of blood as we oppose and fight against sin. It is a life and death fight. It is a matter of choices we make. Every single day, multiple times a day. Satan never takes days off. Neither can we in our fight to master sin. To resist and say no when sin pounces unexpectedly should be on the forefront of our minds daily.  Or we can choose to give in and let sin master us. That path leads to destruction. 

Unfortunately, Cain did not heed God's waring and murdered his brother out of jealousy. Sadly, some today do not heed God's warning either. They drift too close to sin and fall easy prey. Then comes the shame, sorrow, and judgmental stares of condemnation from those watching. The consequences of sinful choices can be devastating and humiliating. May we all heed God's exhortation to Cain. Sin is crouching at the door and we must master it. 

• Do you know some Christian who has recently fallen into sin? Was it you?
• Consider the ways Satan sets people up to be snared by sin. 
• Do you have any blind spots where you are drifting dangerously close to sin?
• In what ways will you master sin in your own life? What tools will you use?