Tag Archives: sin

July 13 – Seek God And Live

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Amos 1-5

“For three transgressions…and for four  I will not revoke its punishment.” God spoke these words to Amos eight times, referring to eight groups of people who sinned against God. In chapters 3&4 God declares that all the tribes of Israel are guilty, none worship God as He deserves and demands. And because of it, God is going to punish them.

But in chapter 5 another phrase is repeated several times. “Seek me that you may live.” Seek the Lord, seek good and not evil that you may live.

I believe God would have us apply these same principles to our individual lives. God will not revoke punishment for sin. Period. Not ever. Every sin comes with a death sentence that must be paid. That will be paid. There is no getting around it. Not for the murder of five policemen in Dallas, and not for that snide remark made about a coworker. Not for adultery, or for that little white lie. Every sin will be punished. God will not revoke its punishment.

But God tells us to seek Him – and live. Now that doesn’t mean He overlooks sin in those who seek Him. That means when we seek God, ask for His forgiveness, our sin debt is marked, “Paid In Full.” The thing is, your sin debt (death) is already paid. Jesus died once and for all.

So it’s sad when people continue to try to pay the debt of their sin on their own, refusing what is already theirs. It’s like thinking you can take care of the national debt by giving them the change in your pocket. Are you kidding me?

Someone is going to die for your sins. You can accept the fact that Jesus has been there, done that on your behalf. Or you can face God without His Son and offer Him the change in your pocket. Dear one, your payment won’t come close to covering your debt. You will be handed the death sentence. And God will not revoke that punishment just because you were a nice person.

God is inviting you to get to know Him. Read His Word. Pray. Accept Jesus as your Savior, your only hope of life. Recognize the many ways in which God is trying to get your attention. Consider His creation and bow before a Holy God who loves you, who gave Himself for you, who died so you wouldn’t have to.

I mean, He’s already paid the bill. Just accept it.

 

July 11 – Many Problems. One Answer.

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Isaiah 1-4

As I read these chapters in Isaiah my thoughts naturally went to the state of the world in 2016. What is the answer for the corruption, the hate, the unrest? Is it in President Trump or Clinton? Is it in Wall Street or the Pentagon?

Isaiah, when speaking about a day of reckoning, reminds me to “Stop regarding man, whose breath of life is in his nostrils; for why should he be esteemed.” (2:22)

Our hope is not in anyone sporting a body of flesh and bones. Oh, God will use people to refine His children, and reveal Himself to the world. But it’s not people who are in charge of this world.

I don’t want to get so caught up in world news that I neglect to examine my heart’s condition before God, or before I listen to and obey His voice. I want the focus of my life to be on Jesus, not on anyone or anything else.

When I read Isaiah I see that the world is lost without God. Then I have to ask, what am I doing about that?

July 9 – It’s Not Too Late

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Jonah

Nineveh was forty days from destruction because of their disobedience. Forty days. But when they heard Jonah’s warning, the people repented and turned to God. And God relented. He didn’t destroy them.

Folks, we might not have forty days. But I know from reading Scripture God punishes disobedience. He is not willing that any person should die in their sin, but He will not let the guilty go unpunished. I kinda want to carry a banner and do a Jonah:

REPENT! THE END IS NEAR!

REPENT! THE END IS NEAR!

REPENT! THE END IS NEAR!

God will relent if His people humble ourselves, and turn from our wicked ways. So I am pleading with you:

REPENT! THE END IS NEAR!

 

July 5 – Angel Armies

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2 Kings 5-8

We just celebrated the birthday of this great nation. The United States of America was founded on Christian principles, and has been blessed by God because of it. I know there are some who would re-write history to obliterate the facts, but their denial doesn’t change the truth.

It’s because of the flagrant disregard of God and His Presence that the US is in trouble today. But reading about Elisha reminds me that God is standing at the ready to fight the battle for His children.

Christian, do you believe that? Do you pray believing that? It’s not the Hillary Clintons of the world we should fear. It’s the Christian who doesn’t pray, doesn’t vote, doesn’t spend time in God’s Word, and doesn’t nurture a relationship with the Savior. We should fear the Christian who sits back and waits for God’s “will” to be done. It’s the Christian who laughs at sin, is tolerant of sinful lifestyles, accepts multiple ways to God who should scare us.

Do you know that, as a Christian, you hold the key to America’s future? In 2 Kings 6:16-17 Elisha says: Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

Then he prayed: O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see. What that servant saw was a mountain full of angels ready for battle.

That same angel army is standing at the ready today.

O Lord, open our eyes that we might see and believe. May Christians humble ourselves, and turn to You once again. Defeat our enemy Satan in this land, and around the world. In Jesus’ name, and for His sake.

June 30 -Sympathy and Death

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I Kings 20-21

Sometimes I think we Christians are too soft, too trusting, too passive, afraid to “judge”, and are satisfied to sit back and let “God’s will” be done.

God told Ahab to destroy the Arameans, and God would give him the victory. But when some of the enemy put on their sad faces and pulled the “we’re family” card, Ahab let them go, including King Ben-hadad. God told Ahab his disobedience would cost him his life.

God has plainly told His children to get rid of ALL sin in our lives. Poke out your eye if your eye causes you to sin. Be holy. Flee youthful lusts. Resist the devil. Walk in the light.

It’s when we begin to look at sin with a sympathetic eye like Ahab looked at Ben-hadad dressed in sackcloth, that we disobey.

Friends, do you understand we are at war? We’re at war with Satan within our own hearts. Forget what sins your neighbor has committed. What sins have you let exist in your own life? Then, when you have addressed the sin in you, take up the sword and shield and get off your couch.

Get out there and fight this enemy in your neighbor’s home by introducing your neighbor to Jesus.

Once again I’m reminding us all that tolerating sin, ignoring sin, adopting the live-and-let-live philosophy of life, or thinking if God wants that neighbor saved, he’ll get saved theology is disobedience.

Let me help you with that. God died for that neighbor so, yes, His will is that neighbor be saved. And God is depending on you to be obedient to His leading.

Remember that letting sin go, is a death sentence. Read it for yourself in Ahab’s story.

June 27 – When Faced With Sin

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I Kings 15:1-24, 2 Chronicles 13-16

Baasha, king of Israel, was at war with Asa, king of Judah. King Asa heard that the Israeli army was going to cut them off, preventing anyone from coming in our going out of Judah. So Asa sent silver and gold to Ben-hadad, king of Aram, asking him to break his treaty with Israel, and help the people of Judah.

Here’s the thing. Asa had been doing some pretty good things in Judah. He led his people in worship of God, and removed the idols from the land. But when Asa’s true colors were seen when went he to Ben-hadad for help instead of going to God, the seer Hanani got a word from God to deliver to Asa. The message went something like this:

You blew it, Asa. You didn’t trust God to help you against the Israelites, but you trusted a mere man. So God wants you to know that from here on out, your nation will surely have wars. (16:7-9)

I’d like to tell you that Asa repented when faced with his sin. But he didn’t. In fact, he got mad at Hanani and threw the seer in jail.

I get it. Nobody  enjoys hearing they’re wrong. Nobody likes having their sins thrown in their faces. But when we are wrong, and we will be, how we handle the correction is very important.

Asa’s stubbornness led to an illness . Even in this, Asa didn’t turn to God. He turned to the doctors and just tried to side-step the Lord. Not a smart move.

I need to remember that when God points out sin in my life, whether through reading His Word, through a Sunday sermon, or through the voice of a friend, my reaction is crucial. May I not react harshly toward the messenger, but rather repent of that sin.

And may my worship of God come from a heart that wants to please Him, even in those times I have to swallow my pride and admit I’m wrong.

June 26 – Satan In Church?

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Lamentations 3:37-5:22

I suggested yesterday that we read Lamentations and consider our relationship, and the relationship of the Church, with God. I was struck again today by what I found in 4:12:

The kings of the earth did not believe, nor did any of the inhabitants of the world, that the adversary and the enemy could enter the gates of Jerusalem.

That really scares me.

There are some who believe the Church is invincible because of God’s power. I think that leaves us open for a fall. If we believe the adversary and the enemy can’t enter the doors of the church, we haven’t been paying attention. It’s already happened.

It has nothing to do with God’s power. It has everything to do with our sin.

Once again I feel the urgency of lighting a fire under Christians and shouting WAKE UP! It’s time we identify the enemy and get him out of our pulpits, strip the name “Christian” from him, and call sin sin.

How long are we going to ignore our adversary, or worse – listen to him?

Dear God, help us defeat the one who is impersonating You. He is the adversary, the enemy. Satan isn’t just the power of evil out there in the world. He’s right here in our home. Defeat the evil in us, and in our churches, for Jesus’ sake.

June 25 – False And Foolish

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Lamentations 1:1-3:36

It is likely that, when we read Jeremiah’s lament over the condition of Israel and the devastating consequences they were experiencing as a result of sin, we are tempted to say, “Boy! God was really mad at the Jews.”

But I am reminded that the Bible is not merely a history book. It is alive and active and powerful for today. What was true for the nation of Israel in Jeremiah’s day is still true today for the 2016 Church.

I know there are some wonderful things happening in the name of Jesus throughout the world. I know there are many of you who are standing on the Truth of Scripture, who are sharing the Gospel with boldness. I thank God for you, and praise Him for souls saved because of your faithfulness.

Yet sometimes when I read the Bible I get a sense of urgency. Warning bells go off. Like when I read 2:13b-14:

To what shall I liken you as I comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your ruin is as vast as the sea; who can heal you? Your prophets have seen for you false and foolish visions; and they have not exposed your iniquity so as to restore you from captivity, but they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

This makes me think about the number of “churches” that have eliminated the word “sin” from their theology. Larger denominations that have accepted, and even promote sin in regards to abortion and homosexuality. The growing number of divorces happening in Christian homes, indicating that a vow to God is meaningless. The emphasis on positive thinking, deserving happiness, taking care of yourself before all others.

I think about the “tolerant” mantra being repeated by people claiming to be Christians, the acceptance of multiple paths to God, the denial of the inerrancy of Scripture, and the idea that Jesus wasn’t really God.

The prophets in Jeremiah’s day spouted false and misleading oracles. And Israel was suffering the consequences for going along with them. We’ve got some of those kinds of prophets yet today. I believe God is very clear to warn us that if we go along with them, we’ll suffer the consequences, too.

I hope you’ll read Lamentations and ask God to speak to your heart about your own relationship with Him, and what your church fellowship is feeding on.

Are we as broken before God over sin in the Church as Jeremiah was over sin in Israel? May it be so.

June 21 – First Love

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I Kings 10-11, 2 Chronicles 9

My sister Kathy and I were talking yesterday about the passages in Ecclesiastes I’d been reading. We were remarking about how Solomon was not only the wisest man who ever lived, he was the richest.  And as far as I can tell he was the most self-indulgent person on record, too.

Solomon had it all. And it became his ruin.

Kathy said something that has me thinking today as I read about Solomon’s turn from God. She wondered how the same man who wrote The Song Of Solomon, the man who was totally devoted to his first love, and who was loved like that in return, could end up with 700 wives and 300 more women he had sex with. How did he go from that precious first love, so pure, intense, and exclusive, to such a mind-boggling disregard for that love?

The answer is in the chapters I read today. It happened gradually. One day, one step at a time.

Most likely some of the women were gifts from neighboring kings. But Solomon welcomed them into his home. And he allowed them to bring their detestable idols with them. Everything God had warned him to avoid.

I don’t think Solomon woke up one morning and said, “I think I’ll worship Ashtoreth today.” But Scripture tells us eventually Solomon became a worshiper of that Sidonian god, and a worshiper of other imaginary gods as well.

Did it start out with curiosity? Solomon seems to be a man who loved learning everything he could. Maybe he thought observing his wives go through their pagan rituals was a learning experience, would help him understand his wives better. I don’t know. The Bible just says this about King Solomon:

For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and his heart was not wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. (I Kings 11:4)

That makes me sad. The Bible seems to indicate that Solomon kept his first wife, his first love, separate from the others. Built her a better house. Maybe spent more time with her than with the others. Probably gave her roses on their anniversary or a box of candy on Valentines Day. But the reality is he had something else going on, too. And that something else ended up turning his heart away from God.

The Bible takes it a step further:

Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. (I Kings 11:6)

Solomon who built that incredible temple, who was so gifted with wisdom and power and material wealth. Solomon who represented God to the nations around him. Ended up being remembered for doing evil in the sight of the Lord.

Fast forward a few thousand years. What would God want me to take away from Solomon’s life? I find myself checking my relationship with my own first love.

The early church in Ephesus was a vibrant, busy congregation who persevered, did not tolerate sin, even called their preachers out when the preachers weren’t speaking the truth. But Rev 2:4 reports what God says about that church in Ephesus:

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

That’s where God is nudging me this morning. I can think about Solomon and wonder about his fall, but there is a more important truth to consider. And that is my own heart’s condition before my Lord.

The question I need to answer today is this: Is my heart “wholly devoted” to God? Or have I tolerated a bit of sin in my life? Have I begun to take those steps away from God that I consider no big deal at the moment? Do I serve Him out of love? Do I nurture that love, think about Him, talk about Him, spend time with Him? Is God the focus of my life or not?

Solomon is going to be required to give an answer for his heart’s condition before the same Holy God I’m going to give an account to. What will my answer be?

God, I want to love You like You deserve to be loved. I want to keep You the focus of my thoughts and actions. I want to walk with You, include You in every minute of every day. And I want to forsake all others, keep myself only for You, resist the devil. I want to serve You out of a heart of love and devotion. It’s You and me, Lord. Just You and me.

 

 

June 20 – Parenting 101

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Ecclesiastes 7-12

Just reading over these chapters doesn’t do justice to the wisdom here. I find the book of Ecclesiastes to be one I need to read slowly, and take time to digest it all. I don’t have the time, or even the desire, to dissect every verse on this blog. But I would like to share one verse that God used to get my attention today.

Since yesterday was Father’s Day, I guess I am still thinking about parents and parenting. Here is God’s advice for parents, given through Solomon in 8:11:

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to evil.

1) Don’t do that. 2) I told you not to do that. 3) How many times do I have to tell you to stop? 4) If you do that again, I’m going to spank you. 5) Do you want a spanking? 6) Did you hear me? 7) I’m tired of telling you to stop. 8) Stop!

Sound familiar? Your child willfully disobeys you. Not once, eight times in this example. And what you’ve taught your child is that they can break your rules eight times before they have to obey. Sometime your child learns they never have to obey because your threats are meaningless.

WHAT YOU ALLOW, YOU TEACH. Not only does the guilty child learn that lesson, so does everyone within hearing distance.

Look at the crime rate here in the US compared to countries that hand down swift and harsh punishment for breaking the law. What you allow, you teach.

Parents, it is your responsibility to raise children who are not “given fully to evil,”  as Solomon says. How you discipline your child for disobedience makes all the difference in the world.

And it’s a lesson your child just might take into eternity. It’s that important.