Category Archives: Sin

Cover Them

2 Replies

Numbers 4

When the Israelites moved, the Levites needed to be very careful to protect the most holy things used in worship. They covered the Ark with the shielding curtain, the table of the Presence with a blue cloth. Then they put the utensils, bowls, etc. on top of the table and covered it all with a red cloth.

The lamp stand was wrapped in blue cloth as were the gold altar and articles. Even the ashes were protected by a purple cloth. Then everything was covered with top layers of sea cow hides.

The Israelites were told by God to first protect the most holy things, then they were ready to get on the road. Nothing, not a dent or scratch or smudge, was going to harm the most holy things as the Israelites followed God.

What does that have to do with anything? I’m not sure we are as carful to protect the holy things of God today. What about our hearts, our minds, God’s Word, the light He has called us to be to the world, the Gospel of Jesus? Do we cover those things in prayer and Scripture before we follow God into our day?

I’m afraid too often we start our days without giving a thought to the most holy things. I’m afraid we go into worship services with such a casual attitude the most holy things are exposed to the elements of the world. I’m afraid the most holy things are dented, scratched, and smudged by our neglect.

The Jews were intentional about covering the most holy things. I wonder if we shouldn’t learn from their example.

All Of Me

Leave a reply

Leviticus 11-14

I was wondering why God instructed that blood be placed on a person’s right ear, thumb, and big toe during a cleansing ceremony. So I Googled it. And what I learned challenges me.

First, the blood of the sacrifice on the ear lobe. It is believed to be a symbol of holy thoughts, which also entails guarding what kinds of things I listen to.

Second, the blood on the thumb represents holy actions. The choices I make every day, from what I put in my mouth to what and who I touch is holy to the Lord. Or should be.

And last, the big toe. It represents my walk with God, my obedience. Following God means not following the world.

Now, this is certainly not an exhaustive study on the subject. It’s a synopsis of the opinions I read on the internet, so I’m not sure how accurate it is. But I am challenged today to apply the blood of Jesus to my thoughts, my actions, and my walk today.

Lord, cleanse all of me. And may I live with the visible signs of your holiness in my thoughts, my actions and obedience to You.

Living What We Believe

Leave a reply

Leviticus 8-11

I recently saw the phrase, “Christian Atheist,” referring to believers who live like God doesn’t exist. I think it can refer to people who believe some, but not all Scripture is true. People who go to church, maybe even preach, who are holding onto sins they refuse to surrender to God. They are Christians who believe God makes exceptions to His rules, and live like they will avoid the consequences spelled out in Scripture.

Nadab and Abihu fit that category. There have been times I have fit that category.

Are you a believer? Is Jesus your Savior? Do you read your Bible, go to church, sing in the choir or teach Sunday School? Then the question is, are you living the truth of what you know? Or are there sins you have yet to surrender to the cross?

James tells us our faith without works is dead. (2:14-26). Faith without living lives that honor God with every choice is as useful as a corpse. Having faith in God yet living like He doesn’t exist is not faith at all. It’s what Christian Atheists are made of.

Dear Christian, if we want to live what we believe, we need to stop right now and confess our sins. All of them. We need to repent, which means turn from those sins, and with the help of the Holy Spirit never repeat them again. It means to surrender to the demands of God as spelled out in His Word, and receive the grace and mercy Jesus died to give us.

Then one step, one choice at a time, we must live to glorify God and not ourselves, to point our loved ones to Jesus as He is revealed in Scripture. We must love our neighbor enough to speak truth, love God enough to stand firm.

It means living like our Holy God really does exist, and to be as serious about sin as He is. It means living what we believe so that others will see Jesus in us and want what we have in Him.

Silence is a Sin

Leave a reply

Leviticus 5-7

If a person sins because he does not speak up when he hears a public charge to testify regarding something he has seen or learned about he will be held responsible. (5:1)

Why do we send missionaries? Because we are responsible to tell what we know. Why do we stand up for life, deny the current belief that gender can be changed, say no to drag queens in public schools, call truth Truth? Because if we don’t, we sin.

And sin is serious. All sin is serious.

It’s easy to say, “Those sinners out there are gonna pay,” until I look in the mirror and see a believer with her mouth closed.

Big Deal

Leave a reply

Exodus 24

Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and 70 elders of Israel went to a dinner party hosted by God. (24:9-11) They saw God, which would normally be a death sentence. But God was merciful. They enjoyed dinner with the God of Creation, and lived to tell about it.

Now I would think that having that experience wouldn’t be soon forgotten. I would think it would change a person, cement belief in and result in obedience to this gracious God. Many skeptics say they would believe in God if they could see Him. These guys we read about today not only saw God up close and personal, they spent time with Him up there on that mountain.

I’ve read their story before and, sadly, this encounter with God did not prevent them from later denying Him. I’m sitting here shaking my head and wondering how that could be.

I see it as a warning.

An encounter with God, a mountain-top experience doesn’t necessarily indicate a relationship with Him. We try so hard to manufacture an experience in our worship services. We aim at a mountain-top experience. But is that the same as encouraging and nurturing a relationship with God?

It is not.

All those guys got out of that encounter with God there on the mountain was a good meal. Their bellies were full. Big deal.

We can sit through a rocking worship service, emotions soaring, tear flowing, hands clapping. Our hearts are full. Big deal.

What I see here in Exodus is that you can encounter God and leave as empty and broken as when you came. The missing elements in this story are repentance, submission, commitment, and the first step toward a relationship with the God whose presence they had just enjoyed.

Oh, that our churches would understand the difference. Because it is a big deal.

Listen

Leave a reply

Exodus 4-7

The thing that stood out to me today is that the Israelites did not listen to what God was telling them through Moses because of their circumstances and emotions (6:9). They were discouraged because they were being treated unfairly.

Understandable because Pharaoh really wasn’t being fair. They really were being mistreated and most likely couldn’t see a way out.

But instead of going to God, trusting God, they cut Him off. Instead of being open to hearing His voice, they stopped listening.

Boy, can I relate. I haven’t gone through a fraction of what these Israelites did in Egypt. Yet when faced with my own hardships I’ve been known to give God the cold shoulder. My prayers are fewer. My expressions of love more guarded. My time in His Word is met with silence.

And when I stop listening, I fall deeper and deeper into self-pity and even despair. It’s at those times I’m discouraged, and can’t see a way out.

God, help me – help all of us – to keep the lines of communication open between us and You. I don’t even want to think about all we miss when we allow our circumstances to drown out Your voice. Help us to trust You, and submit ourselves and our circumstances into Your capable hands. Speaking for myself, I don’t want to miss anything You want to say to me.

Know Your Enemy

2 Replies

Genesis 36; 1 Chronicles 1:35-2:2

Reading these chapters can be tedious. Names hard to pronounce. People long gone with seemingly no relevance today. But if all Scripture is inspired by God, these chapters must be here for a reason. What does God reveal about Himself? What does He want us to learn?

First of all, I see a God who knows us by name. He knows the details of our lives like the guy who discovered hot springs, or the guy who had a sister.

Second, by listing these historical names we are reminded that Scripture is not a fairy tale. These are real people who lived real lives one real day at a time. They had hopes and dreams, and good days and bad. Some had happy homes and some had heartache. Some were rulers and some worked in the fields. The Bible is about people and their relationship with God. The Bible is true.

But here’s what struck me today. I can understand why God documented the genealogy of Israel. It was one way of proving the fulfillment of His promise to Abraham that the Savior would be his offspring. But why give equal time to Edom, the enemy of God’s children? Why should we care which evil person fathered which evil person?

Could it be God’s way of telling us we need to identify our own enemies? Someone has said, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.” Is that the message here?

I doubt it because God inspired Paul to tell us to run from temptation. But you’ve got to know that what tempts you is from the enemy. You’ve got to be able to recognize the enemy so you know what it is you are to be fleeing.

Thank you, God, for this reminder today. I don’t want to blow off any of my enemies. I want to look them in the eye and say, “Get behind me, Satan. Get behind me jealousy, anger, impure thoughts, selfishness. I see you. I recognize you. And I reject you in the Name of my Savior, Jesus Christ.”

I would challenge you to read God’s Word, not for the enjoyment or for the ease of it. Read it and ask God to reveal Himself, His truth, His will for your life. It’s in there on every page.

Just Like Me

Leave a reply

Genesis 32-35

The Bible doesn’t portray God’s people as saints. In fact, God is very honest to paint a picture of flawed, deceitful, prideful sinners. From Adam to Israel we see rebellious, foolish, and violent people who squander their relationship with God.

Why didn’t God cover up their disobedience when He inspired men to write out His history with His people? Why didn’t He rationalize their sin, give excuses for their sin? Why didn’t He make it look like people with a relationship with Him do no wrong, and always have everything they need and want? You don’t try to sell a used car by pointing out the bald tires and faulty transmission.

God didn’t sugar-coat what happened because God’s people are no different today than they were then. We are no less accountable for our choices than they were. And God is as patient and willing to forgive today as He was in the pages we read in His Word.

God lays it all out there so we can relate, we can recognize our own bent to sin, and we can trust Him to do what He’s always done – forgive repentant sinners just like Jacob…

and just like me.

Restrained

Leave a reply

Genesis 18-20

God kept Abimelech from sinning. He’d planned to have sex with Sarah, Abraham’s wife because he thought Abraham and Sarah were brother and sister. Somehow God stepped in and thwarted Abimelech’s plan so that he would not commit adultery.

We don’t know what that looked like, but Scripture tells us God intervened on behalf of Abimelech (and Sarah).

I wonder how many times God has intervened on my behalf without me even being aware. How many temptations has he swatted out of my way, how many doors has he closed, and prayers He’s not answered so that I would not sin?

I was a child long before car seats and seatbelts were required in cars. We kids sat (or stood) on the front bench seat and our safety restraint was Mom’s right arm thrust between us and the windshield when she saw danger ahead. I have that picture in mind when I think about God’s protection of Abimelech; God’s right arm thrust between Abimelech and sin.

I thank God for intervening on my behalf, too. Not that I’m sinless because sometimes I barge right through the barriers God puts in place. But today I want my walk with God to be close enough that I will recognize when He’s got HIs arm out, and allow Him to restrain me. I thank Him for wanting to.

A Better Way

Leave a reply

Genesis 4

Some people might think God was unfair to reject Cain’s offering and accept Able’s when the sacrificial system wasn’t even a thing yet. But was it unfair? Or loving?

First, there was no punishment connected to Cain’s inferior sacrifice. It doesn’t say God was even mad at him. By rejecting the sacrifice, God was simply pointing out that there was a right way to approach God, and a wrong way.

Then, and here’s the precious part of the story we sometimes miss, God tries to teach Cain how to do it right. Like a dad putting his hand over his son’s hand holding a pencil, and making the letters that spell out his name, God is guiding Cain to do better. That’s love.

So many people today think the loving thing is to just let the child be. Let him figure things out for himself, come up with his own truth. And never, NEVER, hurt his feelings. That’s the direct opposite of God’s demonstration of love.

The important thing is NOT a child’s self-esteem or happiness. The most important thing is the difference between right and wrong. And there is a difference! It’s not loving to allow a child – or anyone – to choose that which is wrong.

Now, we see Cain is about as woke as the left is today. Instead of learning the right thing to do, instead of accepting correction and doing better, he got angry and cancelled his brother with a blow to the head. (and woke-folk think they are so enlightened. They are no more enlightened than the second generation of humanity. So much for evolving.)

Oh, Christian, let’s let God be our example. Discipline your children. Don’t giggle at disobedience, don’t shrug your shoulders and let them figure out right from wrong for themselves. Hurt their feelings when they are wrong. They’ll get over it- and be better for it. Don’t go along with your children who want to change their sex. Don’t participate in their sin. Guide them. Love them enough to tell them the truth. And keep telling them.

Teach your children to honor God, to live according to His Word, to be holy. Show them what that looks like in your own life. Because there is a right way to approach God. And a wrong way.

Which way do you want your kids to choose? Which way are you choosing for yourself?