WRITE 2 THE HEART
Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart"
November 4, 2003
Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com
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We have all had them, the little black bugs in the kitchen that
makes life miserable. Lyn recently did battle with them. As she
tried to discover the source of the infestation, she began to see how
locating bugs in her kitchen was similar to locating bugs in her
spiritual life.
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Little Black Bugs
By Lyn Chaffart
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"Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
(Romans 7:25).
They were everywhere. In the cereal boxes, crawling over the
countertops, drowning in the sinks, buried in the sofas, falling from
the ceiling . . . It seemed like the more I squished, the more there
were, and I had had enough!
Of course I could have called an exterminator – but what kind of a
woman can’t stand up to a bunch of little black bugs? So I sent out
on own my personal quest to find where the pests were coming
from!
Previous experience led me to begin my search in the pantry.
Starting with the top shelf, I began clearing out the jars and cans,
searching for the item – the one that would literally be “crawling.”
But though I found lots of bugs, none of them seemed to be
particularly attached to any one thing. I methodically moved down
to the second shelf, then the third, still to no avail. I was beginning
to wonder if perhaps I was searching in the wrong spot when I hit
the shelf that contained the dog food. I poured out a bag of treats
on the chair, and sure enough, hundreds of little black bugs came
tumbling out with the “Snausages”: The source, at last!
But did I have them all? There was simply no way to know! I
closed the pantry door and ruthlessly continued my search in the
dry-goods cupboard!
Isn’t sin like those little black bugs? It starts off innocent enough,
but before long, it infests your entire life, causing you to cry out, as
the Apostle Paul did, “What a wretched man I am! Who will
rescue me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24)
But praise God, Paul’s words don’t stop here! “Thanks be to God –
through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:25) Salvation isn’t
based on our ability to “clear out” our “bugs,” my friends! Paul
tells us: “Therefore, there is now NO condemnation for those who
are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the
Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans
8:1,2)
Okay. So the “little black bugs” won’t stand in the way of my
salvation. So why worry about them at all??
Two reasons:
1 Those “bugs” stand in the way of my friendship with God
(Isaiah 59:2); and
2 The "black bugs" of sin minimize how much God can use
me (2 Timothy 2:21).
Looks like I’d best be rid of them, after all. But how? Do I search
every corner of my heart for the source? If so, where should I start?
And if I manage to find the pocket of sin, what can I do about it?
How do I go about getting rid of it? It’s an impossible task,
doomed for failure from the start!
Or is it?
Consider this text: “To God’s elect . . . who have been chosen
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the
sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and
sprinkling by His blood.” (1 Peter 1:2) The work of Sanctification
is the “Work of the Spirit”! We don’t have to find and destroy the
sin on our own! We have the power of the Spirit of God to help us!
Lord Jesus, Thank you for taking care of my “bug” problem!
Thank you for setting me free from the bondage of sin, and thank
you for providing me with all the power of Your Spirit to
completely free me from the “black bugs” in my life!
Lyn Chaffart
lyn @ Answers2Prayer.org
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Lyn is a home schooling mom who writes devotionals in her spare
time, as well as a part-time Speech Pathologist. She writes for and
serves as the director of mini-sermons for Answers2Prayer
Ministries (www.Answers2Prayer.org) and is Webmaster
forScriptural Nuggets. Please visit her website at
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/. Lyn has written
devotionals for Eternal Link, write2theheart, and the Sand Dollar.
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Military Prayer Reminder
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As you read over this list of names, please take that
moment to pray for these young people and their families:
Chris Speir
Tim Speir
Alan
Thaddeaus
Howard
Todd Holland
Graham
William
Julie Sagel
Jessie
Marshal Thompson
Jason
Eric Hernandez
Kristin Danielson
Ken Prieur
Ryan
Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our
troops at this time.
If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being
called to go overseas, send their names (first and last
or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder.
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