Stop Touching the Hot Stove

Remember when you were a kid and your parents told you not to do something…like touch a hot stove.  Then you did it anyway.  Regardless of being told not to do it, you didn’t pay attention, and had to learn the lesson the hard way.  But I bet you never made that mistake again.I like to believe that this is how Adam and Eve felt.  I guarantee you they won’t eat food if a snake tells them to again!  If I were them I would have given up apples, or maybe even fruit, all together.  Just to be safe!But how many times in our lives have we continued to do things or fall into the same traps that we swore we would never do again?  How many times have you had too much to drink by going out to a bar with the wrong group of people? How many times have you had your heart broken by dating the same type people?In short, I believe that God allows us to learn from our mistakes, but He cannot stop us from making the same mistakes again.  We are human, thus we are born into a sin-filled world.  But God gives us the ability to turn away from that and towards Him.  It’s a personal decision and one that alters our life.  The “church word” for it is Redemption.REDEMPTIONChurch Definition - the action of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil.Non-Church Definition - the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt.I actually think the non-church definition works better for the church.  Jesus allowed us to REGAIN our freedom, which we were given at the beginning of time but gave away, for the PAYMENT of His death on the cross after living a perfect life. He CLEARED A DEBT that we had.Redemption is something that we have access to very simply. We simply have to ask for forgiveness from God, turn away from the sin in our lives, and allow Jesus to be a part of our life moving forward.  The church word people use for this normally is Repent which Webster defines as: to turn from sin and dedicate oneself to the amendment of one's lifeThe verse that most everyone knows even if you don’t go to church every week is John 3:16 and it gives a great picture of how God has given us this free gift of a new life in Him, we just have to ask for it.John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”So, lets recap.  If you have made a mistake in your life (like touching a hot stove), you don’t have to make the same mistake again.  And regardless of how bad the mistake is, God has you covered and will forgive you.  And remember, God created you and gave you the ability to make your own decisions, so you don’t have to make the same mistakes over and over again.  Find a way to remove yourself from those situations or circumstances that would put you in the same place of that problem.MAKE A CHANGE!DON’T KEEP GETTING BURNED BY THE HOT STOVE!