To Close for Comfort

I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not, but I always write out my blog in a diary of sorts before I post it online. TODAY IS NOT THE CASE! Oh I wrote this morning, but not this.
I have been struggling with something and I was trying to write on it in my diary and I truly can't decide if God was telling me not to or the devil was hoping I wouldn't. So I stopped mid-sentence, closed the entry and gave up, not in a defeated way, but so I could pray about it and have God guide me. That is when I felt Him say, don't write it down first, let my words go straight onto your blog. This is where you find yourself now, reading what God is about to say. I have no clue how it is going to turn out, but it is on my heart and God is working it through....
I have a really hard time with people Knowing what is right and Doing what is wrong. Sin right? We all do this. But sometimes some of us do it unknowingly and other times we know exactly what we are doing. Take for instance Pilate, until right now, as I write, I have always struggled with feeling bad for him. I have always felt like he got a bad rap. Jesus had been brought by the Jews to Pilate to get him to okay His crucification. "Why?' Pilate demanded. 'What crime has he committed?" Mark 15:14a. He tried to save Jesus, Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. Pilate tried to get them to release Jesus and keep Barabbas, but they wouldn't. So out of fear of the Jews Pilate conceded. I have always thought the Jews are the ones to be angry with not Pilate, BUT now I see Pilate knew what was right and instead did what was wrong!
For those of us who are Christians and we choose to slander someone, be adulterous, lie about someone, choose favorites, hate, gossip, get drunk, do drugs, beat a child, hurt a widow, look down upon the poor, or degrade our brother.....we know better. WE KNOW BETTER! Read the entire book of James in 20 minutes, you will know better. Read Proverbs in 1 month, you will know better. Why do we do what we know is wrong, why do we continue to sin after we know Jesus saved us and already forgave us of our sins? Because we use the Wisdom that we Know on earthly pursuits instead of using the Wisdom that we Know on Heavenly pursuits.
"So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him." Mark 15:15. Pilate had Wisdom (earthly wisdom), he knew Jesus was innocent, but because he only had earthly wisdom it was motivated by the Devil. "For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the Devil...But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure."James 3:15,17a. And anything that we do that is against God's word is out of jealousy and selfishness because we are saying that our ways are more important than God's ways.
Solomon put it all together at the end of his life...after gaining Wisdom from God in his youth then following away from the wisdom in his old age, he realized he was missing something. He had begun doing everything that he knew was wrong. He had 1000 wives, he worshipped all of their different gods, and he set up other altars and idols for other gods. He went against everything he gained from God in his youth because of selfish ambition and so do we. At the end of his life Solomon came to his senses and said, "Here is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is the duty of every person. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14.
After all that ranting I want to remind you of some more truths: God loves you! He wants you to love your neighbor as yourself! He wants you to love your enemies! He doesn't want you to cause others to stumble! And he wants to give you a joy that surpasses all. "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in his love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you." John 15:9-12
It's kind of funny how God brought me back to John 15. Just 2 weeks ago I was told to sit here and abide in God's Word and now I am asking you all to do the same. This may all seem....To Close for Comfort. But who said we were to be comfortable?!
Are you doing something that you know you shouldn't do? Ask God to forgive you of your sins and repent. When you do, you will get this new feeling in your heart...don't worry, that's just the Holy Spirit jumping for joy!