“I will always obey your law, for ever and ever. I will walk about in freedom, for I have sought out your precepts.”- Psalm 119:44-45
Near the end of Chapter 12 of Soul Keeping, John Ortberg states that the only way to achieve freedom for your soul is through surrender. We must wholeheartedly embrace God’s overall design for the world and our specific place in that design. That’s why there is a strong connection between God’s law and soul-freedom in the Bible.
Pastor Ortberg emphasizes that sin is the real threat to our soul. The late American sociologist Philip Reiff suggested we have adopted a secularized view of life that ignores the soul’s needs: “Religious man was born to be saved, psychological man is born to be pleased.”
John Next considers three different levels where the soul gets trapped, using a target with a three concentric circles, moving from the outer edge to the bull’s eye. The first outer circle is discussed today.
1. Sinful acts. This refers to specific behaviors. The Barna group did a national, online survey about the top temptations people face when it comes to sin. Responses were anonymous. The top five responses were: worry, procrastination, overeating, Facebook/Twitter, and laziness.
Pastor Ortberg observes that even with a guarantee of anonymity, we can’t bring ourselves to tell the truth about our sins. Unless we recognize our most destructive temptations, they will continue to enslave our souls.
Today’s question: Honestly think about your top five list of temptations.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Soul- survival”
