Category Archives: Sin

November 25 – Walk In The Spirit

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Galatians 4-6

If we walk by the Spirit, it has to be evident. The Holy Spirit living in me just can’t look like everyone else. He is God, after all.

When we put our faith in Jesus, God sends His Spirit to take up residence. The evidence of that will translate into love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Paul tells us we are free from the chains of sin and free to live godly lives. But he also warns not to let our freedom in Christ turn into an opportunity for the flesh.

“…walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.”

This tells me temptations will continue to come, even after I’ve given my heart to the Lord. But through the Holy Spirit in me, I have the power to resist.

I want the Holy Spirit living in me to be evident to everyone I come in contact with. Not because I want them to think what a nice person I am. But because I want them to recognize the amazing God living in me, and want Him in their lives, too.

November 24 – Not Good Enough

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Galatians 1-3

Paul tells us God gave us the Law because people chose disobedience over obedience, and God wanted to be very clear what that looked like. The Law was not given as a means of salvation. It was never intended to be a list of rules to follow in order to earn God’s acceptance.

Paul says the Law is our tutor, teaching us that we are sinners in need of a Savior. All of us are sinners in need of a Savior. We are saved by faith in Jesus. Period.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law…” (3:13)

“… for if by righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly…” (3:21)

Friend, you will never be good enough to save yourself from hell. You’ll never be sincere enough to pay the price for your sins. You’ll never be kind enough, generous enough, thoughtful enough to erase even one of your sins.

Only Jesus can forgive your sins through His own precious blood. I pray that you have put your faith in the Savior. He’s more than good enough!

November 23 – Believe

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Acts 15-16

It sounds like it was really hard for the Jews to accept the new way of thinking about God. Old Testament Jews memorized a long list of rules and believed God’s acceptance of them depended on their obedience of those rule. And they were right to believe that.

So when Jesus came on the scene and told them He would fulfill the Law, and that access to God now came through Him instead of the Law, that was a hard pill to swallow. Maybe that’s why they wanted to add things like circumcision to salvation. It had been ingrained upon them that they had to DO something in order to be saved.

When Paul and Silas didn’t leave the jail, even when their chains fell off, the jailer realized they had something he wanted. He asked them what he needed to do to be saved.

They answered him, “Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your whole household.” (16:31) Salvation is in the name of Jesus.

Do you believe that? Oh, there are some things you will DO after you are saved. Like we saw yesterday, faith spills out in the things we do. But don’t think you can be good enough, or giving enough, or sincere enough to be saved.

There is no other name anywhere that can save. Do you believe Jesus is Lord, the Messiah who paid for your sin debt? Is your’s a belief that caused you to humble yourself at His feet, confess your sin, and accept His grace? I pray that is so.

November 13 – Mission Accomplished

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Luke 23; John 18-19

“It is finished.” (John 19:30) Jesus had completed the mission He had set His mind to before creation. If He was going to create man with the ability to choose, God was going to provide a way back to Him when those very choices tore us away.

Everything that occurred in the ancient world happened to point men and women to Jesus. The Law was given to show us what holiness would look like. The consequences spelled out there, and carried out in the lives of the Jewish people, show us how serious God is about unholiness. And it proves we are unable to claim holiness on our own. Fallen man – that’s you and me – have no place in God’s Holy Presence.

But Jesus.

We only get a glimpse of what it cost Jesus to fulfill the Law’s requirements on our behalf. The Man took on God’s hatred of my sin, of billions and billions of people who have walked this earth. He suffered everything that we had coming to us. He fulfilled the prophesies from hundreds of years before to reinforce that Jesus is The Great I AM.

At exactly the right moment, Jesus said “It is finished.” And then He died. Account paid. Sins forgiven. Mission accomplished.

I pray you have accepted what Jesus did on your behalf that day He hung on a cross. Your sins – YOUR’S – are forgiven. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you. “It is finished.”

November 12 – Humbled

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Matthew 27; Mark 15

Every time I read the account of Jesus’ last few hours on this planet, I am humbled. He endured it all for love of me. He quietly listened to the lies, was punched and kicked and spit on. He heard every insult, and felt the pain of those nails tearing through His flesh. He even experienced what happens when God the Father turns away.

It takes about ten minutes to read about it. But Jesus lived it one minute after another, one long hour after another. Jesus suffered excruciating pain, and died a humiliating death – because He loves me that much.

I believe that as He breathed His last, His mind went ahead to 2016, and He saw my face. And your’s. That’s why He did what He did. He died so we could be forgiven.

Charles Wesley wrote a hymn the speaks to me every time I hear it. In it he asks a question: Can it really be that Jesus Himself shed His blood for me, the one who cause His pain in the first place?

The angels can’t even understand the depth of love that put the Immortal God on the cross to die. Jesus left heaven, took on mortality, and emptied Himself of everything except His love for me. And it’s by His grace that forgiveness found me.

It was like I was imprisoned by sin, chained to desires and actions that caused me pain. But I met Jesus, and those chains fell off, my heart was free. I’m alive in Him. I’m clothed in His righteousness. I got up off my knees a free woman, and followed Jesus.

Now I don’t fear judgment. Jesus, His righteousness is mine. I can boldly approach the God of the Universe, washed clean by Jesus’ blood. And I can claim the Son of God as my own!

Amazing love! How can it be, that You… my God… should die for me?

I am humbled. I am grateful. I love my Savior!

November 10 – Love Is Not All We Need

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Luke 22; John 13

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love one for another. John 13:34-45

What does it mean to love one another? Many seem to believe love is the same thing as acceptance, or tolerance. Some think love means giving people hugs, then giving them space to live life anyway they want. I grew up in the 60’s when the word “love” was proclaimed from drug induced songwriters and poets, and touted as “free.” Is that the love Jesus was speaking about here?

Jesus tells us to love others the same way He loved the disciples, loves us. Let’s look at how Jesus loved:

He healed diseases, forgave sin, pointed out hypocrisy, cast out demons, confronted sinners, overturned money tables, and finally and most importantly, suffered and went to the cross to die. There was no acceptance of sin in the way Jesus loved. There was no looking the other way.

Jesus’ love was not the hippie version of love, or even the Hallmark-feel-good version. Jesus loved tough. Jesus’ love was in-your-face. Jesus’ love went beyond this life into eternity.

Personally, I think we need Jesus’ love demonstrated more fully these days. I think the Church has adopted a definition of love that is meaningless in light of God’s Word. If we adopt the world’s view of love, they won’t recognize us as Jesus’ disciples. We’ll look just like them.

They won’t recognize the reality of Jesus’ love that does not want them to die in their sin. That love which sent Him to the cross so they can be forgiven and live with Him forever. We need more than love. We need to put that love into action just like He did.

We need to love one another hard enough to call sin sin, and introduce people to their Savior. Then we will be loving in the same way Jesus loves.

November 9 – Break Me

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Matthew 26; Mark 14

Peter wanted to do it right. He loved Jesus. He believed Jesus. He was a follower, a disciple of Jesus. And if you’d asked Peter, he’d have told you in no uncertain terms that nothing would ever change his devotion to Jesus.

But as determined as Peter was to stay true to the Lord, he failed miserably. Three times.

Sometimes I feel like Peter must have felt when he told Jesus he’d never betray Him. Especially after a Sunday morning sermon that challenges and blesses me, or time in God’s Word when He strengthens me or gives me that spiritual hug. I am as determined as Peter was to stay close to my Savior and never, ever betray Him.

But then I fail miserably like Peter, too.

When Peter realized what he’d done, he didn’t make excuses, or rationalize his behavior. He recognized his sin, and he wept. Bitterly. He was a broken man.

I want to be like Peter in that way, too. When faced with my sin – every sin no matter how small I may want to convince myself – I want to be broken before Jesus. I want to repent, to receive His forgiveness, to be able to fellowship with Him with nothing in between.

So, Lord, point out those sins in my life. Break me. Drive me to my knees so that I will repent and let You cleanse me. Thank You for wanting to.

November 8 – Bridesmaids Unprepared

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Matthew 25

How are you getting ready for Jesus’ return? Have you prepared your heart, used the gifts and abilities He gave you in service to Him, showed His love to others in tangible ways? Jesus is coming again. And whether we meet Him in the air at the sound of the trumpet, or experience death first, we will stand before Him on that day!

My prayer is that, most importantly, God has your heart. I pray that you have asked Him to forgive your sin, to be your Savior. Then I pray that you have nurtured the gifts He’s given you, and used them to win lost souls for His kingdom.

Are you a faithful servant? Do you put His love in action by caring for all people, giving of your time and resources?

I hope you’re not like five of the bridesmaids we read about today who did just enough to be able to say they were part of the company. But that wasn’t enough. And they couldn’t depend on anyone else to get them ready to meet the Bridegroom.

And neither can we. Our relationship with God is personal. Our accountability to Him is dependent on our own actions.

I pray you will not put off getting right with God. When the Bridegroom comes, and He will, it will be too late to put oil in that lamp.

November 3 – You Are Not the Judge Of Me. And I Am Not The Judge Of You.

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Mark 11; John 12

The speed limit is clearly marked 70 MPH. If you pass me going 90, do I judge you if I say you’ve broken the law? Do I judge you when I call you a thief, if you break into my home and take my TV? If you have sex with your neighbor’s wife, am I judging you if I tell you you are guilty of adultery?

Jesus says, in John 12:47, “If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.” Does that mean we are not to identify sin in ourselves and others? After all, if Jesus Himself didn’t come to judge them, who do we think we are?

Jesus didn’t stop with verse 47. Verse 48 says, “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”

The reason Jesus didn’t come to judge the world was that He had already laid down the Law, and clearly said Law-breakers are guilty. Their own actions demand a guilty verdict.

As Christians, we should not refrain from identifying sin in ourselves and others. Jesus said He knew that God’s commandment is eternal life. The opposite of that is true, too. Breaking God’s commandment, rejecting Jesus, is eternal hell.

It’s that serious. We who know the truth need to be telling it. When Jesus said people will be judged “at the last day,” He was giving us fair warning. Shouldn’t we be doing the same for our friends and loved ones who are living their lives as though there was no Judge?

God, Your children have buckled under the pressure of Satan’s lies. Your children have all too often adopted the “Don’t judge” mantra as meaning we should step back and let people do what they want. Forgive us. Humble us. Give us courage to stand up for the Truth of Your Word, to recognize sin, to speak up. Otherwise, how will people even know they need a Savior?

October 31 – A Ticket To Heaven

Matthew 19, Mark 10

The rich young man wanted to be sure he was going to heaven. So he asked Jesus to tell him how. Jesus answered:

Don’t murder anyone. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal or lie. Don’t defraud anyone, and honor your parents.

Check. Check. And check.

“Got that covered,” the young man said. “Anything else?”

I love how Mark 10:21 puts it. Jesus felt a love for this guy. He didn’t condemn him or correct his view of himself, even though Jesus could see right into this young man’s heart and see his sin. Jesus threw out the ultimate test for him: sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow Me.

Some might look at Jesus’ response as being in support of a works-based salvation. Please don’t base your faith on one passage of Scripture.

The other day, as I read Luke 14 about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, it became plain to me that following Jesus costs everything. And, being that Jesus Himself said He is the only way to the Father, going to heaven involves going through Him, which means surrounding everything to Him.

I believe when Jesus gave the young man that checklist of requirements for gaining heaven, He wanted the young man to see that he had already forfeited his ticket. He may have not murdered anyone. But can anyone honestly say they have NEVER lied, or that they ALWAYS honor their parents? (Come on. I was a teenager once, and so were you). I believe Jesus wanted the young man to see his need of the Savior.

But he didn’t. Instead, he felt pretty self-righteous. Jesus said it’s hard for people like that, those who are rich in the things of this world, those who are self-sufficient, to enter heaven, because either they don’t see the need to ask forgiveness, or they hold out on God. They don’t surrender themselves completely to Him.

And that’s what He requires. Don’t mistake this passage for a honey-do list. There is no way to earn your salvation which will result in eternal life with the Father in heaven. You are a sinner. You need the Savior.

Jesus has already paid the price of admission for you. He went to the cross so that He could forgive you when you ask Him to. He is ready and eager to hand you the ticket to heaven that He bought for you. Because, as He said:

All things are possible with God.

Even saving the likes of you and me.