setting your boundaries.

we live in a world of many temptations, things that appeal to us, things that are fun for but a moment. It is easy to walk the line between what is right and what is wrong. it is easy to lose sight of our end goals and to be mixed up in temptation. Satan doesn't come at us in obvious attacks, he slowly lures us in. He finds our weaknesses and does anything he can to get us to cave.

I have a very wise brother. at one point in my life i was very frustrated. I felt like no matter what i did or didn't do Satan was there waiting anxiously to knock me down. I was crying to my brother about it one day and he said "crash how do you feel when you play a sport like basketball and you have some one guarding you the whole time trying to knock you down" uh FRUSTRATED DUH! and he said "I feel good, because then I know I am a key player, that person is intimidated by me making the basket, he is doing all he can to stop you from making the hoops. Your are key player"

YOU ARE A KEY PLAYER. Gods laws are not to be pushed, they are not soft advisories or strong suggestions. In the world we live there are laws, if you break those laws, you pay the consequence. Whether it be a fine, or doing some time.

 Gods commandments (mormon.org)

When we don't follow Gods laws there are serious consequences to be paid. Not literally of course but spiritually. We must build up our walls, and strengthen our weaknesses through christ. It is a time that we can't afford to play with the fire of sin, a time to no longer walk the line of justification.

 There is a story from the book of mormon that I love. The lamanites are people who don't believe in Christs church and they persecute any who follow the true doctrine and teachings there in. here we have an amazing story of a time that the lamanites were coming up to battle against the nephites:

 7 Now it came to pass that while Amalickiah had thus been obtaining power by fraud and deceit, Moroni, on the other hand, had been preparing the minds of the people to be faithful unto the Lord their God.

 8 Yea, he had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land.

 9 And in their weakest fortifications he did place the greater number of men; and thus he did fortify and strengthen the land which was possessed by the Nephites.

 10 And thus he was preparing to support their liberty, their lands, their wives, and their children, and their peace, and that they might live unto the Lord their God, and that they might maintain that which was called by their enemies the cause of Christians.

 11 And Moroni was a strong and a mighty man; he was a man of a perfect understanding; yea, a man that did not delight in bloodshed; a man whose soul did joy in the liberty and the freedom of his country, and his brethren from bondage and slavery;

 12 Yea, a man whose heart did swell with thanksgiving to his God, for the many privileges and blessings which he bestowed upon his people; a man who did labor exceedingly for the welfare and safety of his people.

 13 Yea, and he was a man who was firm in the faith of Christ, and he had sworn with an oath to defend his people, his rights, and his country, and his religion, even to the loss of his blood.

Alma 48 

Moroni is a true follower of Christ, a man who follows God. He prepares himself and his people to go to battle against their enemy. He strengthens them in Christ and where the walls are the weakest he places his best men to defend and fight for their families. 

We have to set up walls, where we are the weakest we must back ourselves up with the strongest spiritual support.  Jesus Christ is on our team as long as we will allow him to be with us. He promises to be our friend if we keep the laws he has provided. What greater friend than that!?

We are human and we make mistakes on a daily basis, all day. every day. When you fall down GET BACK UP. Repent and return to Christ. become one with God again and bury your weapons of sin deep. Never give room to return to an old sin. 

 9 And behold, I also thank my God, that by opening this correspondence we have been convinced of our sins, and of the many murders which we have committed.

 10 And I also thank my God, yea, my great God, that he hath granted unto us that we might repent of these things, and also that he hath forgiven us of those our many sins and murders which we have committed, and taken away the guilt from our hearts, through the merits of his Son.

 11 And now behold, my brethren, since it has been all that we could do (as we were the most lost of all mankind) to repent of all our sins and the many murders which we have committed, and to get God to take them away from our hearts, for it was all we could do to repent sufficiently before God that he would take away our stain—

 12 Now, my best beloved brethren, since God hath taken away our stains, and our swords have become bright, then let us stain our swords no more with the blood of our brethren.

 13 Behold, I say unto you, Nay, let us retain our swords that they be not stained with the blood of our brethren; for perhaps, if we should stain our swords again they can no more be washed bright through the blood of the Son of our great God, which shall be shed for the atonement of our sins.

 14 And the great God has had mercy on us, and made these things known unto us that we might not perish; yea, and he has made these things known unto us beforehand, because he loveth our souls as well as he loveth our children; therefore, in his mercy he doth visit us by his angels, that the plan of salvation might be made known unto us as well as unto future generations.

 15 Oh, how merciful is our God! And now behold, since it has been as much as we could do to get our stains taken away from us, and our swords are made bright, let us hide them away that they may be kept bright, as a testimony to our God at the last day, or at the day that we shall be brought to stand before him to be judged, that we have not stained our swords in the blood of our brethren since he imparted his word unto us and has made us clean thereby.

 16 And now, my brethren, if our brethren seek to destroy us, behold, we will hide away our swords, yea, even we will bury them deep in the earth, that they may be kept bright, as a testimony that we have never used them, at the last day; and if our brethren destroy us, behold, we shall go to our God and shall be saved.

 Alma 24

Be as these people in the book of mormon who have gone from being a murderous people fighting simply just to be wicked and find that mighty change in your heart to turn away from the things of the world and reach out to Christ. Once you have repented move forward, take the lesson you learned and move forward with your life. Don't look back and wish for a do over, don't look back in regret or with the wish to be in that time still, let go and be forgiven, pray for the forgiveness and seek to truly repent, then let go and forgive yourself. letting go of the things which once held you bound. Move forward with hope and faith in Jesus Christ. 

 26 And thus they become new creatures; and unless they do this, they can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.

mosiah 27 

Become a new creature through Christ and let go of who you were so you can become who God needs you to be :) He loves you, He wants you home. Take his son by the hand and be cleansed through the atonement.