Run To Not From

Illusion

2013-03-19T03:53:00.002-04:00

IT'S AN ILLUSION. DIMLY IN A MIRROR. YEAAAHHHH.

http://vimeo.com/62103528#

What is Holy

2013-03-11T16:11:00.002-04:00

I recently heard a sermon at GMC on this and it blew me up.

Our bodies are like the outer court. The inner court is like our mind, our will and our emotions. But the Holy of holies is our SOUL, where the Spirit of God himself has come and now dwells!

People were allowed to worship, serve, fellowship, and do all the "churchy activities" in the outer courts. Some of them were educated and privileged enough to have their thoughts, emotions, and lives dominated by Godly traditions in the inner courts. Then, there was only one man who could actually come before the presence of God. He had to wash himself like 50 times and offer spotless sacrifices on top of all the other things he had to do. All their experiences with God were mad limited, but that's the best they could get. WE DON'T HAVE THIS LIMITATION.

How often do we still remain in the outer courts, or even in the inner courts, while the Holy of holies remains unreached? IT'S AVAILABLE. THE CONSUMING FIRE IS THERE. IT BESEECHES US TO BECOME ONE WITH HIM, NOT OUR OWN. IT'S EVERYTHING IN LIFE THAT HAS MEANING. JOY, UNSPEAKABLE JOY. NO MORE SOUL-SEARCHING, BUT SOUL-FOUND.

It helps our self-image to know that the Holy of holies is in us. You. And me.

Now watch me (him) work.

--

"Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" 1 Corinthians 3:16

"And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:19-22

The Thickness of Logs

2012-03-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

As I look around me, I see imperfection more clearly than I have ever before.
Obviously no one will ever be perfect, but it's a curious feeling of noticing it.

There is an odd struggle of wanting more for others and still being able to love them for who they are now.
I wonder if Jesus struggled with this, and how he was able to cope with it.

I gots a lot of giant logs blurring my eyesight right now...
I need someone, a Lumberjack of sorts, to break em down for me so they become specks.

Hunger Sauce

2011-11-29T12:23:00.000-05:00

Recently, I was super hungry, so I ordered chinese food to my dorm. The whole process was so quick and painless that it actually bothered my consciousness for a split second, and got me thinking.
What would that even feel like, to forego sleep due to hunger?
To lay restless because your body lacked the energy to activate the proper sleep function?

In my world, we eat and don't eat for the oddest reasons sometimes.
It's hard to fully appreciate the meals that go into my stomach, even when I am engorging the food.

Food is one of the great human equalizers, reminding us how
What happened to my thankfulness? Where did my satisfaction go?

The ability to be satisfied is there. It's all a matter of perspective.

--

"Hunger is the best sauce." -Matthew Henry

Proverbs 27:7 says, “One who is full loathes honey, but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.”

"The rich forget their privileges, the comfortable forget their ease, but those who suffer savor even small graces. I need to take note of my afflictions while savoring God’s present graces and gospel promises." -Joe Thorn

Abortion... and the holocaust...?

2011-09-30T13:56:00.000-04:00

I can't say I've ever felt super strongly about abortion, but I've definitely never thought about the parallels between the two wildly different issues. I have to admit, the lines are looking pretty straight... this documentary is absolutely crazy.

School Joy

2011-08-26T10:37:00.000-04:00

School started this past week and I always enjoy the first week da most. Don't know why, but things just seem to go by WAY slower this week compared to the rest? I mean I've gone to all my classes but I'm sitting here in my dorm with Andrew complaining about the lack of movies to watch. We've gone out to eat like 10 times already. Seeing dem familiar faces again just creates instant gooddd times I guess :).

This week is also about bracing for when our pleasant circumstances start to fade away... we all know the all-too-familiar feeling that's on its way... so we should use the jubilant spirit of these first few weeks to propel ourselves deep into the difficult semester ahead. I have high hopes for the continued love, support, and encouragement amongst the bros.

With academics, my course load is probably the hardest I've had at tech so far. In the past, I was always trying to take some kind of shortcut strategy... delaying harder classes, taking minimal hours, and trying to get those ever-so-fleeting easy professors. Sometimes, there comes a point where there's only treacherous mountain ahead. No more shortcuts, hard teachers, hard classes, just damn. Hahaha but whatever, I'm not trying to avoid it anymore. Whatever happens, I want to try my best and be satisfied at that.

The time I spent this summer working and being exposed to semi-real life helped prepared me for this school year. My classes actually seem fun and interesting so far. Oh gosh, what is becoming of me...

I'm happy to be back on campus though! Cheers to the classmates and friends who I will be sharing this year with!
Posted via LiveJournal app for iPad.

A Reminder From CP3

2011-08-02T16:45:00.000-04:00

Love is the impetus for forgiveness. Inspiring.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=6436820

Tee Party

2011-05-17T12:29:00.000-04:00

Today, I went to the driving range with a buddy of mine that I haven't seen in ages. He's a younger cat, but in high-school, we hung out all the time... and everyday during summer of my jr year. He's just one of those guys that you can hit off anytime with from wherever you left off. You guys laugh at the same stuff, share interests, and just be straight up ridiculous with. That's so rare to find in life, you gotta cherish those people, no matter what the other differences are.

Out of the 30-something balls I swung at, I ended up hitting probably 5 of them past 50 yards... and STILL got blisters. Screw golf. Still, I've missed these kinds of times and I hope there's more to come in the future. It's been a lawn time buddy. Too lawn. Bahaha.

Trenton

2011-05-13T18:53:00.000-04:00

Trenton... what can I say about this guy? A lot it turns out. So one Sunday afternoon at the Brittain dining hall on campus, I met a dude while watching the nba playoffs on the big screen. We struck up a conversation about the game and then got to know each other in the process.

Trenton came down from Chicago with his brother not too long ago, because he said there were supposed to be "better opportunities and real good weather." Funny, because we now both know that the weather in Atlanta is like HOT FIRE THAT SWEATS. What a terrible combo. As we talked about Chicago I got to tell him how much I liked it there when I visited last summer. He mentioned that he was from the south-side, near the area I stayed at in Chinatown once, so we connected on that. Chicago is one of those cities where it feels very homey... and everyone there wants to be there. It seemed like he missed it quite a bit.

As for opportunities, when I got around to asking him, he told me about his dream to become a mechanic. He wanted to go to Atlanta Technical College (hopefully, he said) and one day own his own shop... and he wanted to do it because that was his vision of how he could help others. He said he loved the idea that he could build long-lasting relationships with his customers, one day at a time, fixing their cars and helping them out. All of this, is what he is be working towards now.

That blew me away.

To be frank, this guy was too young... and too good to be working in a dining hall, doing the stuff he was doing, and working the hours he was working. Everyone he meets probably asks him how old he is because he looks like a kid. That's the reason why I ended up striking it up with him in the first place too.

I couldn't imagine being in a position like his, from a position like mine. I always thought there were people who had their dreams and were chasing after them hard, but I honestly didn't know many people personally who did. That might come as a shocker, but it really isn't, considering that too much comfort leads to complacency, cockiness, and whatever other negative c word out there applies. His dream was specific and his heart was set on it. Although I've never wanted to be a mechanic, I wanted to be like Trenton in that moment, having his heart, his desire to serve people one day... driving the things he was doing now. Who knows if he is a believer, but I want to live my life the way he does, for higher purposes rather than earthly ones...

As the game on the screen started to get a bit more exciting our conversation paused for a bit. We both shook our heads in amazement after another Memphis Grizzlies' basket was fueling an improbable underdog comeback. After a while, Trenton said he had to get back to work. While we exchanged our it-was-nice-to-meet-yous... I couldn't help but feeling like I had just met a legend in the making.

I looked towards the screen and Memphis was now on top. Trenton was like the Memphis team, grinding it out against the bigger dogs of this world, and I was rootin for him. There's a reason we always cheer for the underdogs to get to the top. They're the ones who make the most with what they have... when they have any success, they always remember where they came from first and try to identify and give back. May I be someone who always remembers where I come from, making the most of what I've been given.

"As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand." Ecclesiastes 5:15

Let's go grizzlies!!

Prodigal

2011-04-30T13:10:00.000-04:00

Some times... for some reason you feel as if you cannot escape God's GRACE... not his wrath, judgement, or anger, but his GRACE.
That's how I feel right now as if the sky is starting to close down on me and wants to crush my deepest inners.

Most of the time, I want to run from it... it seems like the easier, more pleasant way.

But honestly, how can I?

Better yet, why would I?

God, I'm here. I will stay here, waiting. Help me to receive. Don't leave me or forsake me. Be with me and comfort me. For you God, are not a God of confusion, but of peace. 1 Corinthians 14:33.

Jargs... yarg

2011-04-09T22:24:00.000-04:00

Religious jargon gets people lost in translation.
I hope that a bad translator will never end up becoming a diplomat between warring countries because then we'd have a lot of dumber wars than we have now.

That being said, words like "Grace," "gospel," "Jesus," can be such flimsy words without understanding the substance behind them. This is why I think the Bible records so much detail about things like ceremonies, rituals, rules and regulations... they're so long and tedious. These are the old requirements to approach God. This is why we need to understand our separation before we can value our fellowship.

This is why we need to be single for a while so we can value our marriage.
This is why we need to understand people before we judge them.

This is why understanding context is so important in all of life.

Context first... conclusions second. Or else, dumb conclusions.

Quote of the day:

2011-04-07T22:38:00.000-04:00

This is cool. A dude who is an artistic baller and loves Jesus.

''If I have time to do everything else, I have time to read the Bible,''
-Ziarekenya Smith, young & aspiring designer, of God Inspired Designs.
Remember the name.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ziaregraphicartist/

Journey Basketball League

2011-04-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

It was really great having fellowship with brothers and some sisters through something as simple as basketball. I realized that having a good attitude can make a world of difference. Let me explain:

Yesterday night, I was having a lot of complaints. I didn't like the team that was chosen for me, the distance, the costs, the amount of time it would take. I almost wanted to tell David that I didn't want to be a captain anymore and be a quitter...

However, late into the night... I stumbled onto a Youtube video of some Xavier basketball players. Don't ask me how. They were freaking hilarious though. Basically, they are "walk-ons" or guys who aren't scholarship players. They self-proclaimed themselves as the "three-headed monster". LOL. I couldn't help but crack a smile, and I was definitely taken aback by their upbeat, joyful attitudes. They were simply thankful to be part of the team, thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of a community. Anyways, after this video, I was reminded to be thankful myself for the same things and ditch the negatory attitude as soon as possible. Pretty inspiring if I'd say so.

The Stream of Continuous Living

2011-03-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

Just as we physically feel dirty everyday and thus require ourselves to shower, we must also similarly be washed and renewed in the blood of Christ daily. His blood became our water. His death became our life.

Sometimes I try not to shower for as long as I can, as nasty as that sounds. You might be able to relate... (maybe) hahaha. It's not that I don't want to, but the motivations for me to shower usually have to push me hard enough out of my usual tendencies towards laziness and contentment with being dirty. I might only shower when it is absolutely necessary- like when I think that others might begin to take notice, or when I finally can't stand walking around in my own sweat anymore after exercise. Can anyone relate? The majority of guys I know are like this... I can't speak for the girls, but I definitely know my fair share who are.

The problem is, I often approach my walk with Christ this way too. The things that bring me back to Christ have similarly been for the eyes of others or when the overbearing guilt of my own sins eventually becomes too much. I might go about, doing whatever I want, giving into my passions and flesh throughout the day. When I come home, I'll distract myself for hours upon hours, knowing in the back of my mind that my soul actually thirsts to spend time with the Living God instead... However, I continue in the things that I feel like I have to do first, and essentially put my life with God last.

Is this wrong? Does Jesus Christ close His arms to me when I keep living my life this way? NO. NEVER. In fact, his arms are open wide.

See? It's renewal that I'm lacking. It's the reliance and dependence that I'm missing. It's the opportunity to put every day in the "good" column, simply because I am living my life for Christ again (for that day), that is absent. Although I am still able to arbitrarily walk with God throughout the day, and worship Him in the things I do, it becomes wearisome after a while without renewal! It then becomes burdensome, if not outright impossible! The dirt in my heart begins to build up and my motivations for coming to Christ slowly become different. Perhaps, one day a portion of my messed up character might show out to someone, causing my fear of man to kick in again, or I might become so bogged down with guilt because of my various sins, that I'll finally begin to cry out for help.

I believe that the Christ is the only one who can bring new motivations into my heart. I have to remember that it isn't the act of touching His robe (synonymous to daily renewal) that changes me, heals me, or forgives me, but it's because of Jesus Christ himself. What do I mean by that? The act of daily renewal has power because the renewal is through Christ.

23 Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. 25 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? (Luke 9:23-25)

Fickle pickle

2011-03-16T03:35:00.000-04:00

Have you ever gotten yourself into a fickle pickle?

Yes, that moment when you don't know which bball shoe model to buy and you end up choosing the "wrong" one. So you end up returning it and then getting a different one. And then you happen to do it again because this time you chose the wrong size. It was too tight and you should've gone for the slightly looser fit. Poor choice! And then your dad is with you when you happen to make this exchange and he sees the extraordinarily-long receipt that shows the previous attempted exchanges as well. Yup, and then it's lesson time in front of everyone in the store!

Ever happen to you?

Well the heart is very fickle. Now you know.

Stop the Candy Shop

2011-03-08T11:34:00.000-05:00

An amazing, powerful film to raise awareness and stir action for child sex-trafficking in Atlanta and across the world. This makes me want to throw up... seriously. I have to believe there's some light at the end of this dark, dark tunnel.

Watch:

The Candy Shop from Whitestone Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Find out more:
http://stopthecandyshop.com/

Good Advice

2011-03-06T22:49:00.000-05:00

Don't you sometimes wish you could talk to the most knowledgeable person in the world about an issue you're having?

Well, I sought advice from the most well-respected person I knew for mine and got it. I knew the matter was such a delicate one that could cause all sorts of divisions and defenses... and good wisdom was too hard to find elsewhere... so I went to a guru.

Imagine not knowing someone too well... let's say... you shared the same basketball court with them. For this illustration, let's use Barack Obama. You guys happened to play basketball against each other randomly, you with your boys, and him with his secret agent squad. Then he allows you to be his friend on Facebook because you insta-added him so he wouldn't forget you. 6 months pass by... and you randomly chat him, not expecting him to respond. To your surprise, he responds, and not only responds, but decides that he wants to call you about some of the minor concerns you were having, even though it's 2am and he's at a UN conference getting ready for the next day tomorrow.

This is similar to the conversation I had with this guru person on Facebook... that then somehow got turned into an hour long phone conversation. The simple fact that this man called me really impressed me and blessed me.

Beyond the fact that he called me, I received so much encouragement and truth from him... it was one of the most overwhelming things. I was truly taken aback by the large amounts of one man's generosity, kindness, affection that he showed me. How was it possible that he would be willing to do this even though he was tired and didn't even know me well? I could not fathom...

My only conclusion was that all of those things I saw in him were fruits from his relationship with Jesus Christ. He had the Spirit... and I'm only thinking this because his relationship with Jesus... is very open. He's a pastor! Even still, he had no other real incentives, rather than to just genuinely help me.

I'm glad I got my question answered, but I think I got so much more out of it. This isn't the first time I've met someone who's made me feel this way, but I was reminded that Jesus transforms people into his likeness. I will become like him through my fellowship with him. I will become like this man too. It's one thing to hear about it, and another to experience it. We've been given a new Spirit inside of us! So... let hope... rise! A hope that does not put us to shame. A living hope.

Quote of the day:

2011-03-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

-How, you do anything is how you do everything-
Wow, what a powerful reminder for my life.

"Calm Down"

2011-03-03T19:21:00.000-05:00

Have I become a person who is continually saying sorry all the time? My actions have been warranting them these days...

I came from the dust

2011-03-01T23:26:00.000-05:00

Jungmin, my roommate is sleeping soundly beside me right now. As his teeth chatter, he looks oh-so-cute. We got into a little argument today over housing. Good to see him in such peace now.

We won our intramural basketball game to make it into the 2nd round of playoffs. It was so exciting and intense as we played against a team that got two technicals and scratched us up everywhere. Jiwon showed his man side to the other team and we had his back, but nothing happened, which was good lol. Next game should be a lot harder as we face the #1 team in the league tomorrow...

I'm learning a lot. There is truly no growth without hardship. God, thank you.

Sleeping

2011-02-08T22:51:00.000-05:00

I have been sleeping every night at 4am-ish. There's not a need in the world for this.
I thought about a lot of stuff today.
Am I satisfied with where I am going now?
Can I accept the sacrifice of basketball in my life?
Can't I ask and let God lead me where He wants me to go?

Conviction & Loving

2011-02-04T13:34:00.000-05:00

I have the privilege of reading into so many convicting things (mostly blogs) on a regular basis. People pouring their hearts out about God, their life, and others. It's quite the look into someone's life. It goes deeper and fuller than any regular out-of-the-blue conversation that you might have with most of the people in your life. It's almost what I desire in real life with people. I almost wish we could be so close together that we would not hold back from each other with the love that we've been given. However, I do understand why this isn't the wisest thing. We don't have that feeling of love in our hearts all the time, right? If we as human beings could only pour out love, or else nothing at all, we then might be stuck with many dry, sapped-out conversations and relationships. We have that little love inside of us. Sad, but true.

What can we do? Well, all we can do is increase in our love. That kind of love is only found in Christ Jesus. We can't really do it any other way. I'm sure you've tried just as much as I to do it ourselves. He is the name above all names and He is love. He died on the cross and "took it like a man" instead of walking away from it. Many questioned why He didn't call upon legions of angels to destroy haters or cry out to be saved if He was truly the Son of God. Listen, you and I, we're the ones that received the gift of relationship with God through Christ dying on the cross. We can love by just knowing and accepting the love that was first shown to us. That's it. Like I said earlier, you might read this- and see the words that I write, my conviction, my life poured out onto digital ink. I pray that you would receive conviction instead of burden. Burdens must leave so that convictions may enter. Eventually, I pray that you may cast your burdens upon Jesus Christ. Amen.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
-Romans 6:23

Do I have a true heart that wants to serve people?

2011-02-03T22:42:00.000-05:00

Nope

Romans 8

2011-02-03T22:11:00.000-05:00

This is related to the last post. I know you don't really want to read the rest of this, because it's long, but trust me. Just read a little bit of it.

Life in the Spirit

1So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. 4He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.

5Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.

9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to him at all.) 10And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God. 11The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

12Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

15So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” 16For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children. 17And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.

The Future Glory

18Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. 19For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. 20Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, 21the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. 22For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. 24We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. 25But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)

26And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And having called them, he gave them right standing with himself. And having given them right standing, he gave them his glory.

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

31What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? 33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. 34Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us.

35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Boys

2011-02-03T00:21:00.000-05:00

This is going to be thought dump, but I want to put something out there.

I think every guy that I have talked to wrestles with something called lust. I don't know the depth of the wrestling- we don't really talk about it. The silence sometimes leads me to doubt that there are many who struggle with it, even though I know others do.

It's the kind of thing that leads you to doubt your own salvation- it's a reality check. You say- I can't keep going on sinning all the time if I've been given new life. "What kind of new life is that?" we ask.

I think that many of us want to be men of God who don't seem to have this struggle. "Men of God" and "struggles" don't usually fit into the same sentence in our minds. Whomever we marry- we hope to be fully committed and faithful them, without exception. But when we're messing up even before that point, we can't help but to constantly think about how unprepared and how big of failures we are. To us, we're letting down God, our spouses, and ourselves, all at the same time, over and over.

When we ask for forgiveness, we only feel like it covers us temporarily, until we mess up again. Then we become dull to the whole cycle, as it repeats itself. It can lead us to the brink of the the abyss. Don't slip any further, it's the point of no return.

Admittedly, I have struggled through this.

--
HOWEVER,

"Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do" Romans 8:12

Concisely put, Christians are no longer bound by the flesh, but rather the new Spirit. However, they can still act like they still are. Non-Christians are simply bound by flesh and do not have the ability to disobey it.

You see, we're all the same... but some are also not. We can both go down a way that leads to death. However... as those who have been bought by Christ, we have a choice for a path that leads to life. Now and forever.
--

What?

The funny thing is, once you realize that you have been permanently covered (as opposed to temporarily covered), you can start to find yourself leading a life of freedom that ends up naturally wanting to choose the path to life. This road looks brighter and more appealing than it did before. The other road still exists and can be travelled on... but it's appeal has waned.. it's power squelched.

Listen, we were never meant to achieve perfection in it of ourselves. That will never happen. However, we were given a new way to receive it through Jesus. In this way, he asks us to walk in a close and intimate relationship with him, walking out into the good things he has planned for us.

We must remind ourselves of the things we have forgotten.

Our new lives are lived simply through reminders. Simply through faith in truths. This is only able to be received, not bought... but given, and never earned. It is something that can only be too-good-to-be-true, unless it is actually true.

Boys will be boys... but then some will become men, through faith.
I repeat, through faith.