THE ULTIMATE COOKIE MONSTER

“Just one bite…just one little nibble…what will it hurt?  Just one. It won’t make you gain any weight.  Just one, or two. It’ll be fine. Come on. You know you want to take a bite. Look at me sitting here just waiting for you to enjoy my deliciousness,” and on went the taunting, teasing of that Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Chick-Fil-A cookie all nicely wrapped in a brown paper bag, moist and hot just calling my name and whispering its goodness to me over and over. I sat there looking at it and seriously, aside from my own homemade chocolate chip cookies, if I’m going to buy one, this is what I’m buying. It lay on the table still shut tight with its big, round, red seal on the back innocently enough – yet my mouth watered with great anticipation for every single 320 calories of it.

Already 9:00 in the evening the day had held such celebration for me and I felt in all innocence I could justify consuming that whole entire cookie at that time of night. I had already pretty much gone off my “diet” for the day so what did it matter? And I just wanted one, or, maybe two, bites. It would obviously be unhealthy to eat the whole thing in one sitting no matter when I ate it but what could just a couple of bites hurt?

Isn’t that just like Satan? Isn’t that the way sin works? We see something we want, or we hear about somewhere we want to go, or maybe, we sit and dream about something that on the outside looks like a fun thing that even in our hearts, we know it is wrong, we know the consequences of those actions, but still…just one little bite? What could it hurt? So we take a nibble and ohhhhhhhhhhhh how wonderful that tastes!!!! Oh. My. Word.!!  Okay, so just one more nibble. That’s all I’m going to take then I’ll put it away.  Nibble, chew, swallow….that was even better than the first bite!  I’ll just tear off one more piece then… and so it goes until we have eaten the whole entire cookie. And then we realized we had gone so much further than we meant to. We even dabbed at each little morsel and crumb and made sure it was all gone.  But then, what happens? Yep. The guilt sets in. We feel bloated and tired and soon wish we had not even taken that very first nibble.    

Psalm 1:1-2 “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” (NIV)

I once heard a pastor describe the verses this way. First we begin to walk toward the sin, then we stand there and begin to just look at it (kind of like being in a museum and staring at a painting analyzing it…), then finally we sit in its company and listen to it mock us until we give in –  UNLESS (vs 2) we delight in God’s Words and we flee that temptation. This verse pretty much says it all. We cannot even let that temptation begin to draw us toward its goodness, its beauty, its tantalizing-mouth-watering aroma because once we do, oh how hard it is not to give in and to sit down and eat of its delight. 

Dear Friends, here is the best news of this whole ordeal.  You don’t have to live with that guilt and shame from whatever cookie you ate. You don’t have to harbor bitterness and stay in the loneliness that comes from even giving into that very first nibble. You know what? You can go to Jesus, RIGHT NOW, right where you are and you can ask for Jesus to cleanse you and to forgive you of that sin. 1 John 1:9 promises us this, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV)  Jesus shed His precious blood on a cross for YOU so that you can be free from the burdens and cares that weigh you down so heavily.

Will you come to Him today, just as you are?  There’s no need to dress up or look your best. God just wants you to come. Will you give that cookie to Him? He’s waiting with open arms to welcome you and say, “I love you, you are forgiven and you are free”.   ~Much Love, Marcie

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If you’ve never accepted Christ as your Savior, I pray you would ask Him to reveal Himself to you this very day and you would make this the day you begin a life worth living.  If you have given your life to Christ, but you need His forgiveness for anything, would you come to Him today and be set free? I would love to hear from you if you have any questions about this and especially if you have prayed to receive Christ.

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