![\"sofa\"](\"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/sofa.jpg\")
<\/a>However, the sofa needed to be moved. So I connected with a young guy on staff and asked if he could bring a couple of friends over to move this sofa. He said it wouldn\u2019t be a problem.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On Saturday, three were expected, but one backed out. There were only two. But they assured me that it wouldn\u2019t be a problem and that they would indeed get it upstairs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I watched as they started up my winding staircase. I also watched as they lifted it directly over their heads to round the last two curves. Honestly. It was like bench pressing a couch! They did it with such ease that I stood there with my mouth gaping. It was pretty remarkable.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
They placed the sofa in its new location and I thanked them for their efforts. I also said, \u201cYou two are too young to know that you\u2019re not supposed to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I fed and paid this pair for their work. They were my heroes! And they are still talking to me.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I recall those times in my life when I was too young to know better. When I was certain I could get away with a sin or that sin wouldn\u2019t affect my life. I was too young to realize that there was no way to love both God and the world. Perhaps you\u2019ve experienced this as well.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
James warned his readers of this dangerous thought pattern. \u201cYou adulterous people, don\u2019t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.\u201d<\/em> (James 4:4 \u2013 NIV) There is no way we can dabble in sin and get away with it. When we live this way, we are God\u2019s enemy. We\u2019ve joined forces with God\u2019s greatest enemy, the evil one. I don\u2019t know about you, but I do not want to be in that camp.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I\u2019ve matured, both physically and spiritually, I\u2019ve come to recognize my sin for what it is. Separation from my heavenly Father.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oh, I still sin. I still allow my sinful nature to overpower my desire to be more like Jesus. I\u2019m old enough to know what I should do. I\u2019ve read and studied enough Scripture to know the things I ought to do. And when I don\u2019t, I sin (James 4:17).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I sin, God \u201cgives more grace.\u201d<\/em> (James 4:6 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Growing old (or older) does have its advantages. I\u2019m wiser today than I was at 16. I\u2019m smarter today than I was at 22. I\u2019m more generous now than I was at 30. I\u2019m more thankful now than I was at 35. And I was reminded of this verse this week. \u201cGray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life.\u201d<\/em> (Proverbs 16:31 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I am old enough to know that I can\u2019t attain righteousness on my own. I will foul it up every time. But God knew that and He had a plan. \u201cGod made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.\u201d<\/em> (2 Corinthians 5:21 \u2013 NIV)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How have you grown \u201colder\u201d in your spiritual life? Do you continue to seek wisdom from God\u2019s Word? Are you allowing Jesus\u2019 righteousness to cover you? Will you be a friend of the world or an enemy of God? I pray that you are old enough to know better!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grace and peace be yours in abundance,<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Donna<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Over the weekend, I asked a couple of guys to come over and move a sleeper sofa from the lower level of my home to the upper level. I knew it would be a challenge and one that I was dreading. If you\u2019ve ever moved one, you know why. They are heavy. They\u2019re bulky. They\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_s2mail":"yes","_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,16,15,11,17,14],"tags":[2525,169,2523,605,573,2528,2527,2524,2522,2526],"class_list":["post-3300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-believing-god","category-following-god","category-knowing-god","category-loving-god","category-obeying-god","category-seeking-god","tag-2-corinthians-521","tag-gods-grace","tag-james-417","tag-james-44","tag-james-46","tag-jesus-righteousness","tag-old","tag-proverbs-1631","tag-the-sofa-challenge","tag-too-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3300"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3302,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3300\/revisions\/3302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fullmeasureofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}