“Israel failed to destroy the nations in the land, as the Lord had commanded them. Instead, they mingled among the pagans and adopted their evil customs. They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall.” — Psalm 106:34-36 (NLT)
>> Sign up here for Sports Spectrum devotionals sent right to your email inbox <<
In 2 Corinthians, the apostle Paul informs us of a sure promise that all Christians have: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). If that is true, then why do we hang on to certain things that should not only be gone but be destroyed? I guess we could say we still have a “sin nature.” And that is true, but that is not an excuse to let that certain sin hang around. The Bible says, “The old has gone.”
Israel was given specific instructions from God to complete when they entered the Promised Land. “You must destroy all the nations the Lord your God hands over to you. Show them no mercy, and do not worship their gods, or they will trap you” (Deuteronomy 7:16, NLT). Israel let some of the pagan nations hang around by not destroying them as God had commanded. Eventually they did become trapped into worshiping their gods through intermingling with them. The psalmist writes, “They worshiped their idols, which led to their downfall” (Psalm 106:36, NLT).
There is a reference in the sports world when a team fails to put away their opponent — letting them hang around. If the defense doesn’t get serious and beef up their attack mode, their downfall is certain, as the psalmist says. A team cannot afford to sit back on its heels and let the opponent run all over them. If they had taken care of business in the beginning of the game, they wouldn’t be in danger of succumbing to defeat.
Likewise, Christians need to take care of business and not allow any of our besetting sins to hang around, but destroy them. We can be certain that if we fail to destroy what God commands us, we will become complacent, compromising and caught up with what we should not have left hanging around.
— Loring Schultz
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him <<
>> Purchase “The Increase 52 Week Devotional” to further grow your relationship with Christ <<
>> Dive more into God’s Word with Sports Spectrum through the YouVersion Bible App <<
If you would like to submit a devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com
