Tag Archives: God hates sin

Rejecting God Is Serious Business

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Joshua 9-11

Once again we read that it was God’s intention to harden the hearts of Israel’s enemy. I know some people read this and interpret it as an indication that God’s sovereignty means His total control over everything that happens, every choice that humans make. God wanted Israel to have the land, so He must have manipulated the people already living there in order to make that happen. But, are we to believe God caused them to reject Him? Does God make certain people sin in order to accomplish His will?

if that is your position, I wonder if you really know God at all.

Every one of those kings and nations had heard about God and how He fought for Israel, how He revealed Himself through miracles. They all knew there was something different about Israel’s God. Yet they rejected Him in favor of their powerless, pretend gods. They chose to fight against God instead of surrendering to Him.

Do you know why I know they all had the opportunity for surrender? Gibeon surrendered. They’d heard the same stories about Israel’s God and chose to surrender, become slaves, instead of fighting against Him. Their choice saved their lives. The choice of every other king ended their’s.

Like what we see in Egypt’s Pharaoh, every rejection of God causes a heart to harden against Him. Yes, that hardening comes from God, but God wants us to know the hardening is His punishment for rejecting HIm. God does not harden hearts so that He can punish them. I will die on that hill. Why?

When I look at God as He reveals Himself in all of Scripture, I see a God who is patient, long-suffering, slow to anger, abiding in love, gracious and merciful (His description of Himself). I see God who promises to forgive anyone who confesses and repents of sin. And I see a God who warns us that He is holy, He hates and punishes unrepented sin, and He will not let the guilty go unpunished. I see God who is not willing that anyone die without Him, and that His will is that everyone come to Him to be saved.

Whether you side with Calvin or not, we all should be able to agree that God takes rejection of Himself very seriously. The only hope we have of getting out of this life alive, is through the blood of Jesus, surrendering to the Way, the Truth, and the Life, because that is the only way to God.

My prayer is that all of us will do a heart-check. When faced with the Truth of Almighty God, are we eager to surrender, or is there a hint of rejection of Him? Take inventory, my friend. Because rejecting God is serious business.

Jan 2 – The Lesson Of The Flood

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Genesis 4-7

It’s hard to read about the flood. It’s hard to imagine millions of people, including babies, drowning. It’s frightening to realize how intense is God’s anger toward sin. He even said He was sorry he’d ever created man, and he was grieved in His heart.

Some people will shake their fists at God and rant over the unfairness of a world-wide flood. Some will shake their heads and deny it ever happened. Both are wrong. And both miss the point.

If we look for signs that the earth was drenched in water, we might find it interesting. It might even confirm that the Bible is true. But even that misses the point, which is: GOD HATES SIN!

He HATES my sin. He HATES your sin. He HATES the lie I told, the “adult” entertainment you watch, my anger, your coarse language. He HATES it.

And unless we have faith in Him like Noah had, we will die in our sin, like all those people died in that awful flood.

God has provided an escape plan, however. In Noah’s day it was the ark. Today it is Jesus. But read Genesis, dear one. There was… and is… only one means of salvation. Just one.

For myself, I never want God to be sorry He created me. I never want to grieve His heart by the choices I make to sin. I want to resist sin, accept His provision of salvation, and live every day I have on this earth as one who clings to the God of my salvation.

I want the same for you.

Dear Savior, it’s a new year and many of us consider it a new beginning. I pray that as we make our way through 2016 we will do so holding on to You, pleasing You, loving You, and riding the waves in the safety of Your salvation. May we not forget how much You hate sin. And may we allow You to help us resist the temptation to sin every time. You are faithful. May we be, too.