Tag Archives: sin

June 10; Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

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Ecclesiastes 11-12; Psalms 73, 88; I Kings 11:41-43, 14:21; 2 Chronicles 9:29-31, 12:13-14

Solomon tried so hard to find meaning, contentment, and happiness. But he was looking in all the wrong places. Asaph almost lost his religion because he, too, was looking at the wrong things. He admitted he was jealous of evil people who prospered while he couldn’t catch a break.

“…in vain have I kept my heart pure…” (Psalm 73:13)

If we walk by sight, if we keep our focus on other people and circumstances, we will be as frustrated and depressed as Solomon, and as ready to give up as Asaph.

We who know the Lord, walk by faith in Him who is faithful. We keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We live to love Him, instead of living to have Him make our lives easy.

Solomon himself said that fearing God and obeying Him is everything.

And it is.

June 9; Good, Bad, and Trust

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Ecclesiastes 7-10

Bad things happen. Good things happen, too. We have successes, and we have failures. Some days the sun shines, and some days the sun hides behind clouds. Let’s face it. There are just some things that are out of our control.

Solomon says, “When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.” (Ecc 7:14)

We who have placed our faith in the Lord know that He works all things for the good of those who love Him. We count on that with assurance.

Some people question why God allows sin, or tragedy, or hardship. Honestly, I don’t see how He could have done it any other way. If it wasn’t for the night, would we even notice the day? If it wasn’t for sickness, would we appreciate health? If it wasn’t for bad times, we’d take good times for granted. If it wasn’t for sin, how could we understand grace?

Solomon seems to be saying, let God be God. “Who can straighten what he has made crooked?” Quit fighting against God, or wasting your time being mad at Him. He is God. And He’s got this.

King Solomon has a dismal view of life. I don’t. And you don’t have to, either. Do you trust God? He absolutely can be trusted with every detail of your life. You can rest assured that, whether the sun is shining, or if you are in the middle of a storm, God wants to show you what He can do, He wants to draw you to Himself.

Good things happen and bad things happen. Trust God in every circumstance. He can be trusted.

June 1; Who Are You?

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Proverbs 16-18

Solomon gives us a chance to do a spiritual exploratory surgery on ourselves. When you read these Proverbs, when you make each of them about you – what do you find? Who are you?

Proverbs 16 has us looking at our hearts, our motives, and attitudes. Are we committed to God, humble, loving and faithful, kind, honest, wise and discerning? Is what is in our hearts pure, so that what comes out of our mouths, and through our actions also pure?

Chapter 17 takes a closer look at our speech. Do we say wicked things? Do we lie, mock, gloat? Are we arrogant, gossips, quarreling people, perverse? Solomon says, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Have we learned that truth for ourselves?

Proverbs 18 explores humility. Solomon calls prideful people unfriendly, fools, wicked, foolish. “Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”

God, through Solomon, tells that what is in our hearts is revealed by what we say and do. If I am prideful, is my heart pure? If I use vulgar language, or gossip, is my heart pure? If there is any wicked way in me, can my heart be pure?

I’ve had several surgeries in my lifetime, and I know it’s not pleasant. It hurts. But sometimes you just have to find what is making you unhealthy, and cut it out.

I hope you’ll do some spiritual exploratory surgery today. Who are you?

 

May 28; The Right To Resist

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Proverbs 5-7

Yesterday we remembered the sacrifices so many men and women have made to insure the freedoms we enjoy here in the United States. Our freedom is a privilege bought at a great price. But those freedoms are a blessing – and a curse.

Because the freedom of free speech has turned into an entertainment industry of violence and depravity, a news and social media full of lies and hate. The freedom to pursue happiness has resulted in aborted babies, mutilated bodies, and an unprecedented demand for individual rights at the expense of the rights of the majority. The abuse of our rights and freedoms have rendered us slaves.

It didn’t happen overnight. Solomon warns us that the “adulteress,” (sin), entices, woos, comes innocently enough until she leads her victims down to the chamber of death. Her victims go like deer stepping into a noose.

Does one drink cause an alcoholic? Does one look at pornography cause an addiction, or rapists and child molesters? Does one glance cause an affair?

No. But hear Solomon’s warning. One leads to two, to three until the “adulteress” has you in her clasp. What starts as innocent curiosity, winds up enslaving her victim in sin.

I’m glad I live in the Unites States of America. I’m thankful for the freedoms that are ours at the costly price of the lives of men and women who wore the uniform of our armed forces. I’m sorry we’ve abused the rights their injuries and deaths insured. And I pray that Christians will heed Solomon’s warning, recognize the temptation to misuse our freedom, and be the people God intended us to be. May we see the “adulteress” for what she is, Satan, the enemy who wants nothing more than to destroy us.

And may we exercise our right to resist her.

May 24; If God Answers Prayer

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2 Chronicles 6:1-7:3; I Kings 8:22-61

When I read Solomon’s prayer for the dedication of the Temple, I can’t help but think of our world, the Church in 2019, and the USA. Solomon prays believing God answers prayer, and knows he is speaking to a forgiving God.

Solomon says, “when,” not “if” we sin. Everyone sins. And God punishes sin. Solomon is asking God to forgive sinners when they repent, something we know God loves to do.

Solomon is praying on behalf of the nation. It’s something we should be doing, too. “God, forgive us. Send revival to  your Church. Return this nation to one truly ‘under God.'”

We pray for us, for them. But do we pray for “me?” It’s easy to pray for the big picture. Sometimes not so easy to make it personal. We can pray all day long that this nation will humble itself and seek God. But you and I are not responsible for this nation.

We are, however, responsible for our own hearts’ condition before a very Holy God. Do you pray, “Humble me, Lord?” That’s actually kind of a scary prayer when you think about it.

Do you pray that God will deal with sin in your own heart, or just the sin of abortion in the land? Do you pray God will convict those caught up in the sin of homosexuality, and ignore His convicting hand on some sin in your own life?

Oh, I believe with Solomon, that God can hear from heaven and forgive… and return us to the land. God can turn things around in this nation, in His Church, and in the world.  But it has to start with you. With me.

If God is going to answer prayers for this world, it will be because you and I have humbled ourselves first. I believe God can turn things around, one repentant soul at a time.

Might as well start with you and me, right?

May 2; Forgiven And Cleansed

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2 Samuel 11:2-12:24; Psalms 6, 32, 38

What would you say was the worst sin you’ve ever committed? Are you living with the consequences? Have you asked God to forgive you?

We read about David’s doozie of a sin with Bathsheba, his attempt to make her husband Uriah believe he was the father of her baby, and when that didn’t work David arranged Uriah’s death. For David, one sin led to another and another and another.

God punished David for these sins. God also forgave David when he repented. But I wonder if David was ever able to look into the eyes of Bathsheba and not see the face of Uriah. Sometimes you just can’t escape the consequences of sin.

We read the psalms David wrote during this time and can’t help but feel his anguish. He tells us even his bones were in agony, his guilt overwhelmed him, the light had gone out of his eyes. It sounds like David was in the throws of a deep depression. David knew what it was like to hit rock bottom because of his sin. David also knew what it was like to be lifted up from those depths.

Psalm 32 describes this beautifully. It begins:

Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

David had tried to cover his own sins, by committing more sins. He learned that no matter how he spun it, he could not undo what had been done. He couldn’t hide it hoping others wouldn’t know his guilt. The psalm continues:

Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.

When you think about the worst sin you’ve ever committed, have you been honest about it with God? Have you confessed it all? David tells us God covers that sin and does not count it against you. Can you imagine?

You might beat yourself up every day because of that horrible sin. But I John 1:9 tells us this:

If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Forgive AND cleanse!

David goes on in Psalm 32 to say God not only covered his sin, He forgave David’s guilt of that sin. If you are holding on to guilt over past sin, please read this psalm. Let David assure you that the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds you, surrounds all of us who trust Him.

I asked you to think about the worst sin you’ve ever committed. But the truth is, every sin comes with a death penalty. Every sin separates us from God, and should cause us to feel guilty and ashamed. And every sin is forgivable if we confess it to God who died on a cross so we could be forgiven.

Earlier I wondered if David was ever able to not see Uriah’s face when he looked at Bathsheba. I hope so. I hope when he looked at her he was reminded instead of God’s grace, God’s forgiveness, God’s amazing love. Because when David confessed his sin of adultery and murder, he was

Forgiven and Cleansed.

May 1; Regroup

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2 Samuel 23:8-12, 21;19-22, 10:1-19, 11:1; I Chronicles 11:10-14, 20:1a, 5-8, 19:1-19; Psalm 33

Here’s what I believe Scripture tells us about our enemy. At those times when we can enjoy a victory in a battle for our souls, Satan doesn’t just give up. Our enemy is never one and done.

Like Israel’s enemies in 2 Samuel 10 and I Chronicles 19. When the Israeli army soundly defeated them, they “regrouped.” (2 Samuel 10:15). Our enemy doesn’t waste time licking his wounds, either. His arrows don’t stay sheathed very long. And, like the passages we read today, we end up fighting one battle after another.

I love that Psalm 33 is included in our reading today. Our hope is in the Lord, the Creator God whose eyes are always on those who fear Him. The truth is, God doesn’t always remove the threat before we go into battle. Sometimes we have to go through that difficulty, struggle with that sin.

Sometimes we win. Sometimes we lose. But, as His children, we know the war itself is already won.

I am challenged today to learn something from the enemy. Instead of giving up when I find myself losing a battle with sin, when I commit a sin I’ve already confessed, when doubts and fears begin to take over, I need to regroup. I need to prepare to fight another day.

I need to get my Bible out, to get on my knees in prayer, to reach out to an ally to pray with me or fight alongside me. My hope is in the Lord, and He never fails.

We wait in hope for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
In Him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in His holy name.
May Your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in You.
(Psalm 33:20-22)

April 7; Manipulation

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Judges 21; I Chronicles 6:4-15; Ruth 1-2

They probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place. Sure, there were hard times in the Promised Land, a famine, food shortage. But it would appear Elimelech took the easy way out, picked up his family, and relocated to Moab, an unclean land where people worshiped idols. And God had made it clear His people were not to live with idolators.

But they had food.

Elimelech took care of the physical and placed the spiritual in jeopardy. His sons married Moabite women, something God said should never happen.

But they had food.

In the last chapter of Judges we see what happened after the Israelites nearly wiped out one of their own tribes, the Benjamites, for refusing to repent of a horrible sin. The dust settled, and the other eleven tribes began to feel guilty. There were so few Benjamite men left alive, and not enough Benjamite women to marry them and have Benjamite babies. Would that tribe disappear because of what they had done?

To complicate the matter, the eleven tribes had made a vow, in an emotional response to the blatant sin in Benjamin, that they – none of them – would ever give their daughters in marriage to any Benjamite man. Not ever.

Now that things had calmed down some, the eleven tribes began to think they’d gone too far. So they came up with a plan. If the Benjamin boys “took” some of their daughters for wives, it wouldn’t be like they “gave” them to them. They’d have wives, and the eleven tribes wouldn’t technically be breaking their vow.

Win. Win.

So the Israelite authorities devised a plan for them and the Benjamites to both get what they wanted without losing face.

I see a similarity in both stories, and something God is laying on my heart. The word “manipulation” comes to mind.

Maybe Elimelech looked like some great husband and father to his neighbors. After all, he gave up everything to take care of his family, leaving his home and taking them to places unknown for their own good. Did those neighbors tell each other what a great man Elimelech was because he’d do ANYTHING for his family?

But if you cut away all the dressing, the truth is Elimelech simply did not trust God in the bad times. He took matters in his own hands, maybe justified his choice to disobey God for the good of his family. Noble.

Is it okay for a person to sin for the right reasons?

The Israelites plan to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin involved kidnapping and rape.

Do the ends justify the means?

Can God be manipulated? (Is that even a real question?) I don’t ever want to live on the edge of obedience, or commit a sin while telling myself it’s for a good cause. God is not a fool.

I shouldn’t be, either.

April 6; They Refused

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Judges 19-20

The man was a Levite, a church leader. This story is bad enough, but considering this Levite’s association with the church of that time, it is all the more despicable. He was sidetracked by the temptation to “enjoy himself,” “refresh himself.” It looks like he “partied” with his father-in-law for five straight days. Don’t get me started.

Then, when he was threatened by a group of sexually perverted Benjamites, he tossed his concubine at them instead. They raped her, abused her all night. And she died as a result. Does that make you as angry as it does me?

You can read for yourself what happened. It’s just too disgusting.

Later, when the Benjamites were confronted with their sin, when their brothers told them to rid themselves of the evil, they refused.

THEY REFUSED!

Thousands of people lost their lives because of that refusal. Thousands of people lost their lives.

Chapter 19 begins with, “In those days Israel had no king.” That explains it. When people are allowed to do their own thing, make up their own rules, come up with their own definition of morality, people die.

Yes, we are seeing babies die, kids killing kids, addictions taking lives, wars both abroad and on our own streets. People die every day because too many are living like there is no king, or that they are their own king.

But there is a King. And the King established the rules, defined morality according to His holiness, laid out consequences for breaking His laws, and He has not changed one bit since He inspired His Words to be written down thousands of years ago.

I wonder if we are becoming a bit like the Benjamites. When confronted with our own sin, what do we do? Do we repent, get rid of the evil? Or do we refuse? (and you do know that ignoring a sin is a form of refusal, don’t you?)

The Bible tells us thousands of people died because the Benjamites refused to deal with their sin. I wonder how many people will die today because of their own refusal? I’m not even talking about the physical death. I’m talking about that awful, eternal death that comes from refusing to obey God. How many people will die today without any hope?

Once again, God isn’t satisfied with me thinking about “them.” Generalizing a lesson from Scripture is sure a lot more comfortable than making it personal. But if I am serious about my walk with God, I need to allow Him to make it personal.

I feel God is asking me how many people are going to die that eternal death today because I refuse to eliminate sin in my own life. How Benjamin-like am I? My life touches so many who associate me with the Church, they know I’m a Christian. What do they see that draws them to their Savior? Or do they see things in me that make them want to run?

If I refuse to deal with a sin God reveals to me I know it effects my relationship with Him. I know that I am treading on thin ice. What I’m seeing today is, I may have invited others to join me there on that thin ice without even realizing it.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me… then I will teach transgressors your ways so that sinners will turn back to you… My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. (Psalm 51:10,13,17)

May I never refuse to repent of sin brought to my attention. For my eternal soul. But also for yours.

April 1; Completely

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Judges 1:1-3:36; 17:1-13

One thing that stands out to me as I read about Israel’s take-over of the Promised Land is how easily they gave up. God had promised to GIVE them the land. Yes, they’d have to do their part and go to battle with the inhabitants. But those inhabitants were enemies of God. And He wanted them gone. He would give the Jews victory.

God’s instruction was for them to rid the earth of the inhabitants of Canaan – completely, Don’t let any of the evil survive. He even warned Israel that if they left any of the enemy remain, they’d be asking for trouble.

I count 17 cities – plus surrounding territories – where the Jews failed to eliminate the enemy. Ungodly people were allowed to live with God’s people, which was a total act of disobedience on their part. And by 3:6 we see that the Jews had intermarried with the enemy, and even served the enemy’s gods.

Why hadn’t the Jews rid themselves of the evil like God told then to in the first place? Sure the ungodly people were determined to remain on their own land in their own homes. Who could blame them? Sure, they were strong warriors with state of the art battle gear. But did Israel think any of that was too strong for God?

Why didn’t they step out in faith and let God do His thing, eliminate the sin that so easily entangles? They gave up on God.

I don’t know what sin God is revealing in your life. But I know He wants it gone. Completely. And I know that He is able to help you do the impossible, defeat the evil in your life. I believe God will give you victory – if you let Him.

What’s stopping you? Have you fooled yourself into thinking that one sin is no big deal? That you can handle it and not let it take over your life? Do you think eliminating the evil is too hard because you are too far gone? Or do you think God is either too weak, or too uncaring to defeat this enemy?

I believe God not only wants to, but can give you the victory over whatever sin He wants you to eliminate. Understand that if you decide to live with that sin, you’re asking for trouble. Serious trouble.

We’re going to see the results of allowing sin to exist in the lives of God’s people here in the book of Judges. They were one generation away from not even knowing God. That is the result of tolerating sin, of living with it, of not eliminating it from our lives…

Completely,