The Sin That So Easily Besets Us

Dear Brother and Sisters in Christ, as I write today I am in serious need of prayer. I'm struggling today and I need your help. The phrase that keeps running through my brain is "..and the sin which doth so easily beset us." (Heb 12:1, KJV). Today that sin is anger. You see, it's very easy for me to get angry. When I accepted Jesus as my personal Savior, He saved me from (among many other things) a volatile temper, and replaced it with love for others. My problem is that everything goes very smoothly when I'm getting along with people (which is about 95% of the time), but when someone gets "in my face," I can quickly change to fight mode. Let's just say "Bill in fight mode" is not a very good example of Christian love, and I don't want my living testimony to reflect negatively on my Savior.

The hardest part about this is that the person who got in my face is another Christian. So here I am thinking about all the ways I can embarrass a torment this woman, and small voice is telling me to love her. I'm saying to myself, "Love her?!?! How can I love her Lord? You heard what she said. I may have deserved some of her comments, but she doesn't know what I'm going through. She doesn't understand. Why didn't she just offer to help, rather than belittle me for not getting something done?" Then Jesus reminds me:

Romans 5:8 (KJV)
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He reminds me that he suffered for me. He could easily complain about how he was treated…"What do you think the soldiers and the crowd said to me? I did absolutely nothing wrong. I didn't deserve any of it. Don't you remember they beat me and hung me on cross to die? I gave them nothing but love, and they mocked and hated me for it."

What can I say to that? The answer is obvious (but no less difficult to accomplish), I must love this mean-spirited bitter person as Christ loved me. I can't do it on my own. I need the Holy Spirit to indwell in and live through me. I need support from the Body of Christ. I need Jesus.
What is the sin that so easily besets you? Is lying an easy way for you to avoid problems? Maybe you can't stop gossiping about people? Maybe you can't look away when an object of desire is in your area? You do have help available to you.

His name is Jesus.

Blessings to you all,
Bill