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Jan 02, 2014 Rating smoking by: Brad Hey Shirley, Thanks for asking your short but pertinent question. I was reading during my daily Bible time this morning and this passage struck me: Titus 2:14 - "Jesus gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to to doing good deeds." You can see that Christ gave his life so that you can defeat any sin. Why? To cleanse you from the sins and filth of the world. He wants to show the world, through your changed life, that God gives the power to CHANGE. So, the first question should be, Shirley, "Can I do this? Can I stop smoking?" The answer is "YES" by God's Holy Spirit power. It can be done. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me." Remember that verse? Philippians 4:13 (and don't forget Philippians 1:6). The next question should be, "Should I stop smoking to honor God?" The obvious answer is "YES" because smoking is a really useless, expensive, addictive, and harmful bad habit. It's really a terrible choice for one's health and overall life. Now, "Did God love me at first because of how awesome I am?" No, he chose to love you because of his grace, i.e. undeserved love. So, you didn't earn his love to begin with, and neither will you keep his love because you earn it. Galatians 3:5 says, "I ask again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ." This all assumes that you're a born again believer who has repented of your sins and believed in Jesus as the one and only Son of the Living God (John 3:1-8). Paul, again, states, "How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort? Have you experienced so much for nothing? Surely this was not in vain, was it?" Bottom line, Shirley, you are to try, try, try, and try to defeat the sins in your life, for this reason: Because you want to shine Jesus' Grace to the rest of the world, so that they follow you to his Throne of Mercy, Grace, and Love. Your defeated sins are a sacrifice of love to your Creator, Savior, and Master Jesus. You didn't earn his grace and your efforts won't keep it. God pours his love down on you like a warm rain shower. Just let his grace flow and soak you until your drenched in his love. Does God love you less if you're smoking? No. Will he be able to use you more in his Kingdom if you quit smoking? Possibly. Probably. But, he won't love you less if you don't. He won't kick you out of heaven if you don't. But, he will really be proud of the work that he is doing in your life if you do stop the cigs. I'll be praying for you, Sister. Take care, experience peace, and rest in Christ's grace. That's the ONLY way any of humans are accepted by the Lord. Brad

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