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If you do well, will you not be accepted?And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door;its desire is for you but you must master it. (Gen. 4:7 NRSV) God speaks those words to Cain, son of Adam & Eve. Cain is angry. Both Cain and his brother, Abel brought sacrifices to God. The LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain is angry. God knows it. For Cain, sin takes the form of anger and jealousy. For some of us it takes the same form. For others of us it takes different forms: greed with money, greed for attention, greed with our food or leisure time. It disguises itself as gossip or slander, holding a grudge from the past. It deceives us into lying, slothfulness, or any other number of perversions and temptations. God knows this. He gives Cain a warning (sin is lurking at the door). And God gives instruction (you must master it). God gives us warnings too. Through his Spirit speaking to our minds and our hearts, sometimes reinforced through circumstances around us. God gives us instructions to. Sometimes through Scripture. Sometimes through people. Sometimes as we sit and read. What is it that you must master in your life? How will you master it? Are you planning to go it alone? You don't have to. Shouldn't even try to. We talked this past Sunday at our church service about God's gift to us of the Church; flesh and blood people whose lives and stories are resources for us on our journey. And of course, God has given us the gift of Himself. ...(W)e are more than conquerors through him who loved us! (Romans 8:37) May you find the resolve to battle the things that seek to master you. May you seek the resources to do battle with them and become more than a conqueror through the One who loves you. Grace & peace