Tag Archives: sin

January 29; When You Look Into His Eyes

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Genesis 42-44

It had been Judah’s idea to sell Joseph into slavery, rather than killing him. He was part of the cover-up, to take Joseph’s coat, splatter it with blood, and tell their dad Joseph must have been killed by wild animals. Judah and his brothers watched their dad’s soul die that day. Jacob would never get over losing Joseph.

Now years have passed. The boys are grown with children of their own. But I wonder what Judah thought every time he looked into his father’s eyes, and saw the unspoken grief that was always there. Judah had to know he was responsible, and that he had the ability to return hope to his father, if he told the truth.

Something had changed in Judah according to what I read today. Where earlier, his father’s welfare was of little concern to him, now his father’s welfare was his only concern. In fact, Judah was willing to give up his own life to protect his father from any further grief.

Have you ever done something shameful, or hurtful toward your parents, and seen the hurt in their eyes? Have you ever watched your mom’s shoulders slump, or your dad silently fighting tears, knowing their pain was a direct result of something you’ve done? Have you watched your parents grieve, knowing you could change their grief into joy if you’d only make a different choice?

Then I want you to look into the eyes of your Heavenly Father. You might think the choices you make to sin has no effect on Him. But look closer. Our Dad is heart-broken, and we have the ability to do something about that.

If you’ve never repented of sin, do it. If you are a Christian battling a sin, confess it. Put on Jesus’ righteousness bought for you with His blood.

Then look into the eyes of your Heavenly Father, and see the love, the forgiveness, and the pride He has in those of us who choose Him.

January 23; You Know It

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Genesis 27:1-28:9; 36:1-43; I Chronicles 1:35-54

This is a familiar story. Jacob dresses up like Esau and steals his brother’s blessing. I’ve heard it, read it, even taught it many times. But something hit me today as I read, in light of the unrest in our nation.

Isaac wanted to believe the man before him was Esau. Every sense he had told him it was not, but he wanted it to be. He was blind, but his ears heard Jacob’s voice. He heard Jacob’s voice, but his will told him it was Esau’s. His touch felt animal skin, but he wanted it to be Esau’s arm. He tasted goat, but wanted it to be wild game. And when he smelled his son’s clothes, he made himself believe it had to be Esau. Everything in him knew this was not Esau, but he wanted it to be, so it was.

I know there are some people who want a god of their making, or who don’t want there to be any god at all. I know there are some who want to redefine sin, or eliminate the idea of sin completely. I know there are people who want to believe a baby isn’t a baby until it breathes oxygen outside the womb, or that the sex of a person is a choice and has nothing to do with DNA. I know there are those who want to believe they are good, and strong, and powerful in and of themselves. And there are some who want to believe everyone goes to a better place when they die.

But, my friend, wanting it doesn’t make it true. And I honestly believe even the strongest proponents of these lies know down deep, they are wrong. The problem is, they don’t want to look that deep into their souls.

Isaac didn’t. If he had acknowledged what was right in front of him instead of going with what he wanted to be right in front of him, Jacob would not have stolen the blessing.

The insanity in our world isn’t based on truth. It’s based on want, and determination. It’s based on lies.

And I think you know it.

January 20; Disgusting and Dirty

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Genesis 19-21; 25:12-18; I Chronicles 1:28-31

This was tough reading today. The blatant sin in Sodom and Gomorrah, Lots’ willingness to allow his own daughters to be abused by sexual deviants, the strong hold sin had over Lot’s wife that led to her death, God’s fierce judgment on the inhabitants of the two cities, and the unimaginable sin of daughters seducing their father. It’s disgusting and dirty.

And familiar.

I am reminded that I should be appalled at the things I read in these verses in Genesis. I need to be appalled at what I see on TV and FB, read in the news, see in the lives of my family and friends. I need to be appalled at sin in my own life.

I need to see sin like God sees it: disgusting and dirty, and deserving damnation. I need to recognize sin, repent of it, resist it, flee from it at all cost. Because, even, if society has softened toward sin, God has not.

God, give me Your eyes to see sin like you see it. May I stop rationalizing it, ignoring it, and participating in it. I repent, Lord. Forgive me. I don’t want to be disgusting or dirty in Your sight. Make me clean through the blood of Your Son. And give me the desire and the strength to encourage others to do the same.

January 19; Come As You Are

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It stood out to me today that God changed Abram’s name to Abraham before he was circumcised. Abram had gotten Hagar pregnant with the mistaken idea God needed a little help fulfilling His promise. Abram did what he thought was right, but it was sin.

Then God changed his name. But Abraham’s name wasn’t the only thing changed.

Hasn’t today’s Church adopted the “come as you are” mantra to a fault? Not just in church attire, but behavior inside and outside the church, too. It’s gone to such an extreme that the word “sin” is left out of some sermons, and in some fellowships sin is ignored or promoted in the name of tolerance and love.

When Abram met God, he fell on his face, a sign of humility and worship. He got up with the name Abraham, and that same day obeyed God and was circumcised. No, of course he didn’t become perfect after the name change. He questioned God seconds later. A work in progress, Abraham progressed.

Friend, if Abram was circumcised before the name change, I’d tell you to clean up your act before going to Jesus. I’d tell you to quit smoking and drinking, to quit being mean to your neighbor, to start telling the truth and be faithful to your wife. I’d say you’d better start going to church, and quit using God’s name as a punctuation mark, then ask God to save you.

But, I’m not going to tell you any of that.

Go to God today, just as you are right now smelling of smoke and hung over, caught in a lie, or in the middle of an affair with your husband’s best friend. Go to God with your doubts and fears and scars and tears. Fall on your face before Him and ask Him to forgive you. He will.

But let me warn you; if you do, it can change your life. It can make you want to obey, even in the difficult things. (I have to believe being circumcised at 99 was a difficult thing. But the new and improved Abraham obeyed.)

Even if you’ve already asked Jesus to be your Savior at some time in your life, but find yourself chained to a sin today, go to him bound. Ask Him to forgive you and break those chains.

If you go to God today, if you confess your sin, if you repent you will receive His forgiveness. That’s His promise to all of us. It’s not make yourself a better person, clean yourself up, then repent. It’s ask, and receive.

Ask, and receive.

Come to God just as you are, but don’t stay that way. Let Him change you into the person you and He both want you to be.

Hebrews 9-13; Make It Stop

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Have you ever felt the sting of God’s discipline over a sin you were holding onto? Dishonesty costs you your job. Infidelity costs you your family. Alcohol or tobacco costs you your health. Sin costs you peace of mind, you cannot feel joy. Conviction bring anxiety, depression, anger, or confusion.

Then you cry out to God, “Make it stop!” “Why is this happening to me?” “I can’t take this any longer.”

When I read Hebrews 12 I hear God say, “I love you as sons and daughters. Therefore, I will discipline you when you are wrong. Don’t expect it to be pleasant.”

I think sometimes when we are experiencing those painful consequences for sin, we pray the wrong prayer. Instead of praying, “Make it stop,” we should be praying, “Help me to stop,” Instead of praying for God to make us comfortable, we need to pray that He will make us clean.

“…God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.” (12:10b)

The writer of Hebrews reminds us of the very real privilege of going to God Himself through our mediator, Jesus Christ. We can boldly approach the throne of grace and know that we will receive that grace to help us in our time of need.

God doesn’t discipline His children because He likes to see us suffer. He disciplines us to drive us to our knees, so that we can share in His holiness, so that one day we will be able to spend eternity with Him. He disciplines us because of His great love for us.

 

 

 

I Corinthians 1-5; A Little Yeast

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It occurred to me as I read this portion of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians that we Christians are concerned about the state of the world; we lament over the blatant sin, the disregard for Christianity, the increasing ungodliness accepted as normal. And we are right to do so

But Paul is talking about caring for the temple. I wonder if we’re as concerned about that as we are about the world. It’s easy to point fingers, to talk about “they.” It’s not as easy to point those fingers at ourselves.

Paul tells us we ourselves are God’s temple. (3:16) He asks us to consider our foundation, and our building materials. Are we building our faith on the standards of the age, the wisdom of the world? Or is our foundation Jesus Christ, our faith built on Scripture, God’s wisdom? Is our temple built by we who are servants, obedient, faithful?

Paul warns us not to go “beyond what is written.” Do we even know what is written? Building and protecting this temple called Connie involves reading and studying God’s Word apart from anything else. It means obeying God by keeping myself pure, by listening to His voice and sharing Him with others. Caring for this temple, where God lives on earth, involves effort, intentionality, humility.

Now, I believe if we Christians took better care of our temples, our own lives and relationships with God, then our world wouldn’t be in the state it’s in.

But God pointed out something else to me this morning. We Christians aren’t taking very good care of God’s Church, either. I guess that’s a direct result of not protecting ourselves from sin. But Paul addresses the problem of ignoring sin in the church. He even said the church in Corinth was proud of the fact that they embraced a man guilty of a sexual sin. “Shouldn’t you rather be grieved over this sin,” he asks?

I can’t help but think of whole denominations that embrace homosexuals in their congregations and their pulpits. Shouldn’t God’s people be grieved instead? But Paul doesn’t stop with the sexual sin this particular church-goer was guilty of. Paul includes, “greedy, an idolator or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler” in his list of people who should not be comfortable in our pews.

Paul goes so far as to say they shouldn’t be welcome in the church. I know that goes against what many of us believe these days. But I think we need to consider the truth of what God inspired Paul to write.

I remember years ago, after the contemporary movement was introduced as a result of surveys given to unchurched people about what they would like to see in churches that would encourage them to attend, Ravi Zacharias said something to this effect:

Church should be the last place a sinner feels comfortable.

And I believe that. A church that prides itself on tolerance, on open doors, on a come-as-you-are-and-stay-that-way approach, isn’t a church at all, no matter how involved they are in their communities. It’s a social club. I think I’ve shared about the “church” that advertises by saying, “Come worship with us. We won’t tell you what to believe.” Is that where we’re heading?

It is if we don’t start protecting our temple, caring for our churches. It has to start with each of us individually. But it also has to spill over into our churches. Do we allow sin into our midst, hoping that somehow it will turn into purity? Paul says beware, a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough. “Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast.” (5:7) I think that is true both for my heart, and in my church.

If I accept a little sin here and there in my life, it doesn’t stay little. It grows, and it invites its friends in. If we accept, or ignore, a sin in our church it won’t stay little there, either. One sin becomes two, then four, and we end up with an unusable batch of dough. Paul challenges us to become “bread without yeast,” a fellowship without sin.

I hope you’ll read these chapters in I Corinthians. There is so much here. Some of it is hard to hear, some of it will thrill your soul. Let God speak to your heart today, and may it change us. May it change the Church.

Romans 10-16; I’ve Got My Rights

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Our country is in trouble these days because many, many people are fighting for their “rights” at the expense of the “rights” of others. Personally, I think we’ve pushed it to the point of insanity.

Paul has something to say about “rights.” And I think it’s a timely word for us in 2018.

Paul says we all have rights. We have the right to eat meat or not eat meat. We have the right to treat one day holy, and we have the right to treat every day the same. We have the right to drink wine, and the right to abstain. I’d go so far as to say we have a right to wear dress clothes to church, and a right to worship in torn jeans and dirty sneakers. We have a right to prefer hymns, and a right to enjoy a rocking praise song.

Paul says this about our rights. “Let’s stop passing judgment on one another.” (14:13) But here’s the kicker: he goes on to say, “instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” He’ll go on to talk about why setting aside our right to do certain things is the right thing to do.

“But,” you might argue. “I have my rights. If someone has a problem with that, it’s their problem not mine.” I’d like you to show me a verse that supports that argument. I honestly don’t think you’ll find one. From what I read here in Romans, I think God is saying it’s very much our problem.

If you’re worried about your rights, you are focused inwardly. Remember, this life as a child of God is no longer about you. It’s about that unsaved person sitting in the cubicle next to you at work, or living next door. Before you exercise your rights, think about how that action will look to someone who doesn’t know your Savior. Think about that weak Christian who is struggling with sin in regard to what you  perceive as your “right.” Paul goes so far as to say that if someone is distressed because of your exercising your right to do something, “you are no longer acting in love.” (14:15) And doesn’t Jesus tell us love is what identifies us as His?

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men…. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. (14:17-21)

I believe our churches, and our nation, would be healthier if we laid our rights at the feet of Jesus, and truly lived as servants of God, setting aside our “rights” for love of Him who gave Himself for us, and for our neighbor who needs Him.

Romans 6-9; The Struggle Is Real

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Do you relate to Paul? I sure do. I’ve been a Christian long enough to know there are some things I should do, and some I shouldn’t. There are thoughts and actions that honor God, and some thoughts and actions that go against everything He stands for. I know this. So why do I find myself committing the same sin He’s already forgiven dozens of times before?

Paul says it’s a battle. I relate. As I’ve been thinking about this passage for a couple days I found myself wondering why it is Christians sin. I’m tempted to use the every popular excuse, “Because we’re human.” But it has occurred to me that with the Spirit of God living in me, I’m not just human.

I have a daily devotional book, “What Every Christian Ought To Know Day by Day” by Adrian Rogers (BH Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2008). I read today’s thought, (November 23, page342) before reading Romans and was once again blown away at how God reveals Himself. Because Adrian and Paul were singing the same song.

Dr. Rogers says our struggle with sin is a result of our understanding that God forgives. We pray that part of the Lord’s Prayer: “forgive us our sins.” But we don’t understand the “lead us not into temptation” part. Rogers says:

“The reason we have to come back to God so many times asking forgiveness is that we have not put on His protection that would keep us from falling so repeatedly.”

If we continue to read in Paul’s letter to the Romans, he will tell us often that the Spirit in us is more powerful than the temptation to sin. So why aren’t we putting on that protection?

Yes, God is faithful to forgive 70×7. So going to Him with a repentant heart will result in forgiveness every time. But be warned. Paul makes it pretty clear that our actions are a result of what is in our hearts. And if we continue in sin, we need to consider whether or not we’re really children of God.

I would encourage you to read all of the chapters today. But at least look at 8:5, 11, 13-17, and ask God to speak to you about what is there.

If you find yourself under conviction for committing a sin you’ve already asked Him to forgive, ask for forgiveness one more time. Then ask God to put that protection around you that will keep you from that temptation. Ask God to remove the temptation, or cause that temptation to have no effect. Ask God to give you strength and desire to resist that temptation. He’ll be happy to answer that prayer!

Yes, Paul admitted it was a struggle. But he never tells us to give in to the struggle. He never tells us to go ahead and sin because God will forgive it anyway. In fact, God through Paul tells us it’s very important that we not only ask for forgiveness, but that we turn from that sin, that we die to that sin, that we flee from the devil.

Don’t forget, if you know Jesus as your Savior you have the Holy Spirit. Take advantage of that. Don’t ever think you are helpless because you are “only human.” You are a human with the Spirit of God living in you!

Hosea 1-5; The Allure

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We know God disciplines His children. You probably know that all sin comes with consequences. But Hosea reminded me something today about God I’d like to pass on to you.

You remember, Hosea, don’t you? He’s the prophet God told to marry a prostitute as an example of God’s relationship with His people. I kind of feel bad for Hosea, because I think he might have loved the unfaithful woman. Then I remember – I am that unfaithful woman, and God is the One who loves me still.

Make no mistake about it: God hates sin. He never condones sin or ignores it. Every sin comes with a death penalty. God is a just, and harsh judge. But there is a side to God we might sometimes either overlook or misinterpret. That is His mercy.

God, through Hosea,  calls out His children, exposes our nakedness, our depravity, and God tells it like it is – we have turned our backs on Him. We deserve it if He turns His back on us.

But I want you to notice 2:14. After exposing Israel’s sin, God says this:

Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. (emphasis mine)

I love that so much. I would expect God to say, after expressing how He looks at our sin… “Therefore I’m done with you!” Instead, God in His mercy says, “You’ve done awful things, You have sinned, turned Your back on me, defied Me. So I’m going to court you, and woo you back to me.”

“Here I  am,” He says. “Love Me. I love you.”

That allure can occur as you read His Word, or in answered prayer, in the changed life of a believer, in a hint of joy in sorrow, in unexpected blessings, or any number of reminders of God’s love in your life. Those sweet whispers from God are personal and intimate. Don’t miss God’s repeated attempts to woo you, to entice you to come to Him.

Because God doesn’t want you to live – or die – without Him. Just don’t mistake God’s tenderness for acceptance. His mercy has conditions.

Please know, if you accept Him on His terms, His mercy and grace are yours! Jesus paid the penalty for your sin and for mine. And God only wants you to accept it.

I want to share what Matthew Henry had to say about this:

“Those who will not deliver themselves into the hand of God’s mercy cannot be delivered out of the hand of his justice.” (Commentary in One Volume, Zondervan Publishing, 1961; page 1107)

Pay attention to God’s attempts to allure you, whether it’s to find Him for the first time, or to draw you closer to Him as His child. There is no one He loves more than you.

Ezekiel 45-48; Sweet and Salty

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My favorite dessert.

But I’m not going to talk about the gigantic piece of chocolate cake with thick fudge frosting, drizzled with hot fudge, a scoop of ice-cream, and peanuts that my friends and I shared last night at dinner. Give me a second…

Ok. I’m back. 🙂

I live on an island in the Atlantic, surrounded by beautiful, mysterious marshland. There are several rivers near me that flow through the marshes and into the ocean. You can take your boat from the salty waters of the Atlantic, right into fresh flowing water that comes from the mainland. And vise versa.

Sometimes those rivers overflow their banks and pour their sweet water into the marshes before rushing into the ocean. That is quite a sight to see. Really, the marshland scenery changes all the time. I love it.

The water from these rivers never stops flowing. Every minute of every day, thousands and thousands of gallons of fresh water pour into the ocean Yet with all that fresh water, the ocean is still salty. That’s a fact.

So when I read chapter 47 I was a bit confused. Water from a river making salty water fresh? That’s not the way it works.

So as I sat here considering how this passage could be true, God reminded me that this is a vision, Connie. Not a science lesson.

Oh right. A vision!

So – what does the fresh water represent?

Jesus! The Gospel!

What is described in Ezekiel’s vision is so true in the life a believer. This water we know as Jesus Himself, changes our saltiness, uselessness, our guilt, into something refreshing, and fruit-bearing. Sin cannot do what Jesus can do. The Gospel is life-giving! It’s a miracle.

Then I thought back to chapter 46 where God tells Ezekiel that people must come into the temple by one gate, walk straight through, and exit through the opposite gate. No turning back. It speaks about we who come to know the Lord, and leave our past behind to follow Him. That’s what God demands:

“Don’t look back, Lot’s wife. Don’t look back. Keep going.” (Oh, she turned to salt when she disobeyed, didn’t she? She didn’t accept the fresh water of salvation that was hers for the taking. And she died in her sin.)

Keep moving, Christian. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Keep sharing the Gospel and allow God to do the impossible – changing salt water into fresh, changing sinners into saints through the blood of Jesus as people confess their sins and repent.

Now that’s sweet.