Why Do I Struggle With Sin?

After you became a Christian, were you as surprised that struggling with sin was the basic problem of your Christian’s life? I was! I mean, aren’t we supposed to be free from sin?

The answer is a resounding YES!

Unfortunately, we are not free from the temptation and struggle with sin. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?

“Bummer!”

The problem is this. As long as we live on this earth, we will have an external struggle. Some call it a spiritual battle. In Eph 6: 12, Paul states what we’re up against. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the ruler, and against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

We also have an internal struggle. Our fleshly desires work to keep us from God. Consider Gal 5”17.

“The flesh sets it’s desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please." So the Spirit within us and the flesh are at constant war with one another making struggling with sin the basic problem of the Christian.

Before you and I were saved, we could sin and it wouldn’t bother us because the Spirit of God was not living in us convicting us of sin. Before you believed, you could be angry at someone and let them know about it too. However, now that the Spirit of God lives in you, you can’t get away with it. Even though the flesh wants to be angry, the spirit cries out love your neighbor as yourself. So what do you do? Seriously, how do you respond to the conviction of the Holy Spirit? Do you gratify your flesh and fight with that person? Or do you yield to Holy Spirit within? How you and I respond is key to our relationship with God.

Just because we are tempted to sin doesn’t mean we have sinned. Furthermore, it doesn’t mean we aren’t saved. Sin simply breaks our fellowship with God. That’s why your peace and joy seem to disappear and your prayer feel as if they bounce around the ceiling. It’s like this…

When a person sins, they often feel ‘unsaved.’ But we can’t lose what it took Christ to accomplish in the first place. What we do lose is our fellowship. Say you had a fight with your spouse. Imeddiately you feel the speparation that comes from not speaking to one another. Your peace is gone. What’s changed? Not your relationship. You’re still husband and wife. What’s changed is your fellowship is broken. It takes the guilty party to say they’re sorry and the other party to forgive before the fellowship can be restored. Then, peace and joy returns as well. The same is true in our relationship with God. when we sin, our relationship doesn’t change. We are still God’s child and He is still our heavenly Father. Our peace is gone because we need to repent. That means, we need to agree with God we have sinned and ask forgiveness. Once we do that, our fellowship is restored and our peace renewed.

When you become a Christian, you still had old habits and old ways of thinking to break. The Holy Spirit in our hearts breaks the rule of sin in our lives and gives us a new nature and new life by purifying our motives, renewing our minds to think like Christ and he gives us the desire to become like him. However, the choice is ours. We can obey the old nature, which is our flesh and exalt self, or we can obey our new nature, which is Christ in you, and allowing his life to flow through us. Whether we live in victory or not depends on us.

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care

It's All About Relationship

I can‘t say I was surprised by the number of personal emails I received yesterday concerning the topic of yesterday’s devotion, Great Faith. Like me, most people struggle with faith. I appreciate your honesty and trust in sharing with me. I have prayed for each one of you. Still, my heart longed to do more. It’s my desire that you experience faith to the fullest measure. I long for you to be truly free from doubt, fear, and striving to live a good and holy life. So this week I’ve decided to share with you what I’ve learned about faith.

Over the years, I’ve discovered that faith must be maintained or practiced in order to grow strong and stay strong. A strong faith in God and His ways requires many parts.

Let me pause here and clarify that “practicing faith” is different from “saving faith.” To be saved, one freely receives God’s gift of grace by placing their faith in Christ alone. Period.

That’s our first step of faith. It’s to place our trust completely in Christ as our Savior and Lord. Next, we must live it out. That sounds simple but this is where most get off the bus. Or maybe we fail to get on the bus. I’m not sure. Either way, faith requires relationship.

God reveals Himself to us a Person—somebody whom we can have a relationship with—someone whom we can talk to. God greatly desires fellowship with us. Several things get in the way of such fellowship such as: apathy, sin, and just plain ignorance. Some people don’t realize that they were made to have an ongoing love relationship with God.

People do believe that their sins can be forgiven by repenting and that God will accept them and provide heaven as their eternal home. They also believe they should try to live a godly life. But none of this involves relationship.

When you and concentrate on this truth—that God so loves us he gave the ultimate sacrifice, His Son, our faith will begin to grow. That’s not all. God will also pour His love into our hearts as we focus our faith on Him.

What does a relationship with God look like? It looks like any other relationship you have. To know and love someone you must get to know their ways, their dreams, their joys and their heartaches. Likewise, you and I come to know God through His word. We also get to know others by spending time with them. You and I can spend time with God through prayer and worship. I love to listen to praise music at home or in the car. It chases away the blues and lifts my spirit. Worship also changes my thinking from wrong thinking to right thinking; from believing lies to trusting in truth.

When you and I fail to nurture our relationship with God, eventually it grows stale and our faith grows dim. Another way we grow in faith is through the testimony of others. I’d love for you to share how you spend time developing your relationship with God!

Be sure and check back tomorrow for another piece of the puzzle to growing in faith.

Micca Campbell—Helping Women Live Carefree in God’s Care

The Lord's Ball Game

Freddy and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team.The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs.

They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate named 'Love. 'Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because 'Love never fails.'

The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.

The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass: Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked because he never swings at what Satan throws.

The bases were now loaded. The Lord then turned to Freddy and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Freddy said, 'He sure doesn't look like much!'

Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen! But Satan was not worried; his center fielder let very few get by. He went up for the ball, but it went right through his glove, hit him on the head and sent him crashing on the ground; the roaring crowds went wild as the ballcontinued over the fence . . for a home run!

The Lord's team w o n!

The Lord then asked Freddy if he knew why Love, Faith and Godly Wisdom could get on base but couldn't win the game. Freddy answered that he didn't know why. The Lord explained, 'If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game, you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, Faith and Wisdom will get you on base but only My Grace can get you Home

'For by Grace are you saved, it is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.' Ephesians 2:8-9

Micca Campbell-Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care

What's New With You?

The Tennessee women’s prison has an unusual way of baptizing their women. They do it in a coffin. That’s right—a coffin. The coffin serves as a power visual that their old nature, their old way of life, is dead, buried and gone. Now, they are alive in Christ all things are new, including a new nature, and a new start in life. I like that idea. In fact, Billy Graham says, “We should meditate on the truth that we are dead to sin, and alive to righteousness until returning to the old way of living is unthinkable.

For me, the secret lies in Gal 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live but Christ lives in me, and this life I now live I live by faith.”

Jesus didn’t die on the cross so that you and I can keep living as we choose. We need to realize that the old ‘you’ is dead. The old way of living and thinking is gone. How freeing would it be if we got up every morning and repeated this truth until we believed it! It would change our lives—as intended.

So what’s the struggle?

Our struggle is staying dead.

Often, our dead flesh will raise its ugly head and try to influence our thoughts and actions. If we listen long enough to its demands, we suddenly find ourselves at the graveyard fervently digging up our old flesh so that it can perform its sinful deeds. At first, we are excited to see our beloved selves loose and walking about as we give into it’s every command. Then, just when the flesh has completely dominated us again, we start to smell something. The odor of dead, rotten, decaying flesh fills the air and we realize that it is us who “stink-th.” Not only do we stink, but also we feel guilty and ashamed for letting that dead woman loose.

It’s not until you and I are fully persuaded that our old self is dead and Christ has complete authority over us that sin will lose its power. I didn’t say we would never sin. I’m saying that if complete control is given to the Spirit of God living in us then we don’t have to sin.

Who will set me free from the body of this death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:25

Micca Campbell—Helping Women Live Carefree in God’s Care

Salvation: Faith Alone in Christ

I received an email yesterday from someone who thought I was saying in my devotion, What Does It Mean to Believe, that "faith plus works" equals Salvation. This is far from truth and far from the meaning of my devotion. It is difficult to get clarity when a devotion only consist of 600 words on average. I’m sure you can understand that.

The purpose of my devotion was to point out the difference between acknowledgement--which brings about no change in a persons life, and what the result is when someone truly believes.

I’ve been in ministry for 10 years and the gospel is my passion. I receive emails from both women and men who ask me why after saying the “Sinners Prayer” no change has occurred in their lives.

If you read my article carefully, you’ll see I’ve stated the problem.

To "believe" means much more than simply acknowledging Christ's death on a cross. Unfortunately, for many today that word has been reduced to just that - a mere mental acknowledgement. Like me, multitudes have said the sinner's prayer because they believe Jesus died on a cross. But without the call to confess sin and commit to a life of following Christ in obedience, no transformation takes place. That's the problem with knowledge alone. It requires no commitment and brings about no lasting change.

Again, to clarify... my devotion is more about the meaning of “belief” and the result it has on our lives. Many have a mental acknowledgement of what Christ did on the cross. This is not faith. James tells us that even the demons believe. They know who Christ is and tremble! Saving faith believes to the point of repentance and surrendering their entire life to Christ. (When you believe something you live by it.) I’m not talking about works. I’m talking about the result of true belief/Salvation can be SEEN by a changed life. Not a life who is striving to win God’s approval, but is so gripped by His love, mercy and grace they can’t help but show it in all they do and say.

Striving to do good works to win God’s approval will never result in Salvation nor peace we all seek. Striving only robs of us our peace and joy. Good works drain our energy and produce a constant feeling of inner exhaustion, depression and discouragement—just as those who write me express. They feel as if God’s salvation isn’t for them because it’s not working. Imagine that! Perhaps they’ve never been taught (or didn’t get it) what to do after they believe—and that’s to practice a relationship with God through trust, love and obedience.

Salvation comes by faith alone. What is faith? What does it mean to believe? It means more than mental acknowledgement. I can acknowledge that George Washington was our first President, but he can’t save me.

It’s more than saying a prayer. True belief causes me to confess my sin and surrender my life to Christ the Lord. The result is transformation.

My brother is a great example. He was chemically addicted for 20 years. Experts say he should be dead. Many times we thought he was. He “tried” for years to give up his addition. He would even tell God, “I’m gonna do better. I promise.” It wasn’t until he went into LifeChallenge and committed to bible study for a year that he fell to his knees, confessed his sin, and surrendered his life. He is completely different! That’s what happens when we give God our mess. He makes it our message.

He started a construction company because it was the only thing he knew to do. With one broken down truck, he’d bid on jobs. When he did, he would brag on God by telling his story.

“I went from being unemployed to owning my own business. From being homeless to being a home owner, from being single to being married, from being bound by drugs, to freedom in Christ.”

Within a year and half, my brother had four brand new trucks and four crews. Don’t you love it when God shows off! Brag on Him like my brother does and you’ll discover that God is still parting red seas!

I'll be in IL this weekend speaking on "Contentment." Your prayers are greatly appreciated!
May God bless your weekend abundantly!

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care

Removing The Masks

Women have a need for friendships. And our friendships often run deeper than men’s relationships. Men like to “do things” with their friends. Women want to “know things” about each other. Sure, we like to do things together too, like shopping! But we want to talk about things while we do it! Girls are naturally drawn to each other and develop deep relationships. That’s why a girl’s first experience with heartache may have been over a lost “best friend” rather than a “boy friend.” Women value friendships and when they are lost, we grieve them.

Women don’t’ grieve just over the friendship itself, but also for the secrets shared, the trust given and the acceptance enjoyed. If betrayed, the pain runs deep. No one can cause you more harm than someone who you have trusted in deeply.

Think about your best friend in high school. No one knew you better. She knew who you had a crush on, which schoolmate you are afraid of, who you allowed to kiss you on the first date. Your best friend knew that you still kept your Barbie’s and that you listen to Barry Manilow records at home, though you deny it in public. Your best friend knew that you cried for a week when Donny Osmond got married. And that you tore up all of your posters and mailed them to him. She knew everything there was to know about you.

Most of us can also recall a situation when our trusted friend hurt us. Maybe she proved to have looser lips than we expected and spilled our secrets. The pain cut you like a knife. And if it happened more than once, you probably started to put up some walls even then. That is when it starts – the creation of the mask. The “you” that you are willing to let the world see.

May be this describes you. We’ve all been there—exchanging one mask for another depending on who we are with or where we are going. We are desperately trying to fit in.

There are two verses I’d like to share with you today:

Galatians 1:10, “Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”

I tell my daughter, “You were not created to fit in but to stand out through your own God-given uniqueness.” You were, too. Besides, God sees behind the masks…and He loves you anyway.

1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

Don’t let those negatives from long ago creep into your mind and heart over and over again until you subcome to their influence for your life. Instead, remove the masks and be who God says you truely are...

You are chosen. You have been given mercy. You are holy. And you are royalty—a Princess of the King!

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care

How God Got Me Out of a Pickle

What a weekend! Not only was it my birthday, but I had the privilege of speaking at the Baskets of Hope Benefit in IA. I can’t begin to tell you how blessed I was to meet and serve along side of Renee and her team. Renee is a tiny woman with a BIG heart! My faith was strengthened as each woman shared her story of triumph over cancer and other serious illnesses. The day was an awesome reminder that we serve a God who is faithful.

That remembrance started at the airport when Cheri and I missed our plane.

Panic flooded my entire being when I realized we had missed the plane. I jumped up and somehow cut my forehead. Blood gushed. I had no idea so much blood could pour from a minor cut to the head. Luckily, I had a tissue. Holding the Kleenex over the wound, I applied pressure until I reached the nearest restroom. Cheri headed to Customer service. I was to meet her there once my bleeding stopped.

In the bathroom, I soaked two paper towels with blood before the flow slowed enough for me to catch up with Cheri at Customer service. Once I arrived, Cheri informed me that we had two choices. One, we could try to board the next flight as a Stand-by. Or two, we could pay $150.00 for a guaranteed seat.

“What? One hundred and fifty dollars,” I questioned.

“Yep.” Replied the service rep. “Won’t your company pay for it?” she added.

“No.” I said frankly. “They won’t. They are a non-profit organization that provides hope for children with cancer.”

“Oh.” Said the service rep. “What do the two of you do?”

“I’m a worship leader and she’s the key note speaker for a benefit that helps children with cancer.” Answered Cheri.

“Okay. You’ve got me,” replied the service rep as she typed out two tickets for the next flight to Iowa. “We do something similar for underprivileged kids here at the airport during Christmas. Santa comes, dinner is served, we go the whole nine yards.”

Cheri reached into her bag, pulled out one of her worship CD’s and handed to the clerk as a thank-you for helping us out.

Since God got us out of our pickle, we knew He had big plans for the weekend. Women were not only filled with hope, but a mom and daughter both gave their lives to Christ!

Because Christ so freely gives to me, I decided to give away four copies of my book for my birthday. The lucky winners are…

Kelly
Amy
Linda
Cindy in PA

Thank you for the birthday wishes. It was a grand day! You made it all the grander!

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in the Care of God

A Gift For You!

It's my birthday, but I'm giving away the presents.







My in laws did the coolest thing this year on their birthday's. They gave each family member a gift! It was not only a wonderful surpise but a great blessing!

I'd like to be a blessing, too. Enter your name and email address in the comment section and be one of four to win my new book "An Untroubled Heart."
I'll annouce the winners on Monday...

Understanding God

I’ve not been chatty this week because I’ve been battling a cold. I’ve had it all—the runny nose, the stuffy nose, the swore throat, tiredness, droopy swollen eyes that make my wrinkles stand out—you know what I mean. I’ve had the miseries!

The only good about lying around sick is while I try to drink plenty of fluids, I also take advantage of my down time to drink and God’s Word, too. I love it when I come across a passage or quote that helps me see God as He truly is…MAGNIFICENT!

I got that from David Jeremiah yesterday, and just had to share it will you. I hope as you read it lightens your load. For me, everything grows dim in the light of who God is!

Because God is infinite, we always underestimate Him. Logically speaking, it's an unavoidable inevitability. The Lord has no boundaries or barriers, no limits or restrictions. He is endless in direction and duration, in space and time. His unfathomable attributes are bottomless seas without shores. Our minds can't grasp the depths of His presence, majesty, power, glory, and grace. There's no ceiling to His love, wrath, wealth, and intelligence. Our minds are astonished with God, and we can no more fit Him into our thoughts than we could fit the ocean into a thimble.

There is no way for us to comprehend the fullness of His infinity. So it would seem logical to say: Because God is inestimable, we always underestimate Him.

Nothing is a surprise to God, for He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He sees the past, the present, and the future in one glance. Whatever our thoughts are about the return of Christ and our eternal home with Him, the reality will be even better. We'll say with the Queen of Sheba that the half was not told.

Good stuff—right?! Oh, how I underestimate my God and King. Today, however, I believe nothing is impossible with God!

What say you??

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care

My Heavenly Referee

Lately, I’ve had to make lots of decisions for myself, my family, and my ministry. The hard thing about making decisions is worrying if I made the right choice. If I could settle that, I’d be at peace. Finally, I found contentment one day when I came across this truth:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you” Palms 32:8, NIV

You and I may not know our future, but God does. Through the Holy Spirit, God directs our steps by the way of peace or lack of it. when peace rules, we can move ahead with confidence and contentment. If there is a lack of peace, I need to revisit my decision. Either way, we are not alone in the process. We have a heavenly helper.

Our heavenly helper works in our lives much like a referee does in a basketball game.
As long as the players stay within the boundaries of the court, they are free to move about. But when there is trouble on the court or the ball goes out of bounds, the referee blows his whistle. The sound of the whistle stops the game until the referee restores order and puts the ball back into play.

Likewise, we have a heavenly Referee—the Holy Spirit. When there is a lack of peace in our lives, that’s our signal He has blown the whistle and called for a time out to redirect our path.

Sometimes our ball has gets kicked out of bounds by unexpected adversity in our lives. Other times, we step out bounds on our own by giving way to temptation and sin. In each of these circumstances, the Holy Spirit will blow the whistle to gain our attention. If you and I are smart, we’ll wait on our heavenly Referee to restore our peace and put the ball back into play.

For peace to return, we need to wait and listen to the instructions of our Referee. You and I seek those instructions through prayer and meditation of God’s Word. It may also involve repentance before we can move forward. Either way I assure you that stepping out of bounds doesn’t mean God will call “game over.” As we respond and obey the Holy Spirit, He simply puts the ball back into place. Those who have learned to play under the guidance of their heavenly Referee will never stray long outside of the boundaries God has set for their life.

Micca Campbell--Helping Women Live Carefree in God's Care