caught in a trap

I got a speeding ticket the other day.
 Yes me, the one people pass all the time because I won't drive faster than the posted speed limit, unless I am driving on a freeway in some parts of California where it would be life threatening to drive the posted speed...but in general...I don't. 
I was on a road I don't travel often, and I missed the sign that told me the speed went from 55 to 45. 
I was only a few feet into the new speed zone when the Highway Patrolman turned his car around and turned his lights on. I pulled over, unsure of what I had done, and half expecting him to go flying by me. 
He didn't. 

As he wrote the ticket I thought of how I might get out of it and get that mark off my clean driving record. Then I realized even though I didn't know I was breaking the law, I was still guilty of speeding. It is my responsibility to know the rules and to pay attention to the posted limits.
It's the same way with us as Christians. It is our responsibility to know God's word - to hide it in our heart - but we also have to pay attention so that we don't miss the trap Satan sets for us to fall into sin before we realize it.

How can a young man keep his way pure ? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; Do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, That I may not sin against You. Blessed are You, O LORD ; Teach me Your statutes.  Psalm 119:9-12

Hopefully, if I go to court, they will be merciful and reduce my penalty to a non-moving violation. They will get their money, and I can have the black mark taken off my record. 
That's where We need God's grace - when we fall into sin, but we need to bring those things to the advocate. Just like I will probably have my lawyer take my ticket before the court, we need Jesus to take our appeal to the Father. 
He is our advocate. 
But that does not mean we should go on sinning willfully. Our entire relationship with the Lord is based in His love for us and our love for Him. That love, requires our fidelity, not putting anyone or anything before our relationship with Him.
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As a Christian speaker, writer, certified personality trainer and founder of Fresh Cup Ministries, Pamela Sonnenmoser reaches out with a message of hope. She not only uses sound Biblical doctrine in her speaking and writing, but challenges Christians in today's church to allow the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives to live a victorious life high above the circumstances of today's world. Pamela makes her home with her husband, John, on their farm in Northwest Missouri. Growing up near Los Angeles she never imagined that God would lead her to a rural life. She has learned to embrace the culture of the country while continuing her family's legacy of ministry in abuse shelters, summer camps, retreats and churches across the country.