Category Archives: sin

The Problem…

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“Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭59‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sin is an uncomfortable topic in our modern world. Many have come to believe that we are beyond that concept. Our thoughts, feelings, and actions cannot be the problem. The problem is the environment we have lived, the people we have interacted with and the situations that have made us. Victims… we are just victims floating aimlessly in a torrent of occurrences that have shaped who we have become. In order to experience differently we must make ourselves what we want to be, chasing what we want, when and how we want it. However, this way of thinking only digs a deeper and deeper hole for the individual who embraces them. Why? It is a complete denial of the truth written in God’s word. It is pursuit of a way outside of relationship with the only one who holds the cure for the death, darkness, and destruction in our lives…Jesus.

We are not self made, and the solution for all the “negative emotions” we feel within ourselves is not found within ourselves. We have a Creator. This Creator designed us for connection to Him in a deep and intimate relationship. When we live our lives separated from this design, we experience lives far from what He created us for. Our Creator is good, loving, kind, peaceful, true, just, etc. He is the only source of these characteristics. So our disconnection from Him means that we live disconnected from all that He is. Apart from God there is no good thing. (Psalm 16:2)

The question then becomes, if separation from my Creator is what is bringing all the anger, anxiety, hatred, bitterness, fear, control issues, etc., WHY am I separated from Him? Who separated me from the source of life I desperately need? The answer is you and I. Our deliberate choice to sin has separated us. We are sinners.

The good news is as we come to terms with what we are is there is a solution for what separates us from the peace, joy, love, faithfulness, self- control, etc. that we all need. It is a solution that is far more simple than our repeated attempts of “self- help” techniques. Because quite truthfully, we cannot help ourselves. We cannot fix what is wrong inside of us. This is only fixed by the one who created us, God.

God has provided the solution to the sin that destroys us, Jesus. Jesus and His death, burial, and resurrection provided the way. As we come to Him in repentance, asking Him to cleanse us from the sin we have in our heart. He begins a good work within us. He gives us a new heart that is inclined to live in a relationship pursing Him. As we see it is our choice to sin and to pursue ourselves over God that is separating us from living a life of abundance, we have come to a place we can accept the Good News!

The problem — our iniquity and sin. The solution — repentance and surrender to Jesus!

Trapped — Reflections on Proverbs 29

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”An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.” Proverbs 29:6 ESV

EVIL- corruption of heart, or disposition to commit wickedness; malignity. (Webster’s 1828 Dictionary)

”for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,“ Romans 3:23 NIV

Everyone has sinned. We’ve all went our own ways. We have all had evil in our hearts- corruption, or a disposition to commit wickedness… sin.

Sin is a trap. I have felt the weight of being trapped by my sin. In that sin I felt like there was no escape. BUT Jesus has offered to us the way to be freedom! The one He sets free is free indeed. His freedom is reason for great rejoicing.

This morning I was reflecting on what Jesus has set me free from, and the freedom that I now stand in! It brought rejoicing to my heart. Because I am free!

We are warned in Proverbs about running from evil and its snares. We are told to pursue righteous living. We must choose between the two. It is a stubborn, stiff necked heart, that pursues its selfish sinful ways. That person will suddenly be destroyed. (Verse 1) We do not have to experience the destruction and entrapment of sin. We can live free!

The only way to freedom and joy is to live a righteous life surrendered to Jesus.

Freedom in the Pursuit of God’s Word – Reflections on Proverbs 7

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Our sinful natural inclination always believes it can sin and get away with it. We often know that we are doing wrong, but somehow we believe we can escape the consequences. A small sin we think we can manage and control, grows. It will grow to the point that we are under its tyrannical rule. How can I say this with such certainty? I have sinned… I have been held captive by sins that I thought I could easily say no to when I decided I had had enough. I’ve also believed that I would not suffer the consequences of my wrong choices. This is another lie. What we do in our lives, right or wrong, will bear fruit.

Solomon warned his son about this reality. He warned that sin, specifically, the sin of adultery, is enticing and the end of it is death.

”With persuasive words she led him astray; she seduced him with her smooth talk… little knowing it will cost him his life.” Proverbs 7:21, 23 NIV
”Her house is a highway to the grave, leading down to the chambers of death.“ Proverbs 7:27 NIV

What are we to do in order to walk free? We must know the truth that sets us free — the Word. We are to keep the Word (to practice; to do or perform; and to obey). We are to “store up”. “Guard them,” “Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” (Proverbs 7:1-4)

We cannot afford to be.passive in our pursuit of God’s Word. The stakes are too high.

Sin seduces and entices then it destroys. God’s Word helps us to keep our way free of sin and it’s consequences. God’s Word is LIFE!

The Fear of the Lord – Reflections on Proverbs 1

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Success… we all desire to have it.

King Solomon was the most successful King of the Bible. He amassed wealth and had great wisdom. God gave these to him because he had a heart that desired wisdom above all. Proverbs is a book full of wisdom that Solomon wrote about. The principles within are principles of success.

Solomon begins his book of Proverbs with the key ingredient to a successful life, “the fear of the Lord.”

The fear of the Lord is defined as a reverential awe of God that springs from a just view and genuine love for Him. The fear of the Lord leads us to hate/ shun evil. It leads us to aim for perfect obedience of God. Solomon writes:

”The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.“

Proverbs 1:7 NIV

When we see God rightly, (He is all powerful, all knowing, always present. He is Holy. He is just…) we want to love Him and obey Him. When we see God rightly, we want to run from sin.

Proverbs 1 says “fools despise” this wisdom. They “hate knowledge” and they do not “choose to fear the Lord.” (Verse 1:29)

We have started a New Year. Newness always brings about hope for success. The recipe for success is spelled out clearly in Proverbs 1:

CHOOSE TO FEAR THE LORD. See God for who He is. Love Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And Hate Sin —have nothing to do with it. Run from it! Repent of it! Ask God to set you free from it!

Success in the New Year will only come as you choose to Fear the Lord!

This Man Has Done Nothing Wrong — Reflections on Luke 23

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We are familiar with the account of Jesus’ birth. We are also familiar with the accounts of Jesus’ death. The familiarity sometimes produces a carelessness in our approach to God. It is very true that Jesus loves us. This is why He came. Sin had separated us from God, who loves us so very much.

Jesus takes sin very seriously. He knows that our sin is what keeps us from experiencing Him and His love. It keeps us from being close and connected to Him. Jesus took sin so seriously that He was willing to suffer and die a horrendous death on the cross. He took upon Himself the punishment we all deserve for the sin in our lives. As the thief on the cross pointed out.

”We (himself and the other thief) are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man (Jesus) has done nothing wrong.”“

Luke 23:41 NIV

Jesus had done nothing wrong… He knew the only way we could be free of sin and it’s destruction was His sacrifice.

Jesus took sin seriously, but do we? We come to Him desiring for our lives to be bettered by Him, but freedom from sin comes through the cross. When we receive Jesus’ forgiveness and cleansing we then need to follow Him further to the cross. At the cross we die to ourselves, we die to sin so we can be alive in Him. Sin destroys! I ask you as Paul did, “How can we who are dead to sin live any longer there in?” Romans 6:2.

The Baby we celebrate this time of year came with a mission to destroy the power of sin. He lived His life on earth to fulfill the mission of the cross. As we receive the gift of Christmas— Jesus’ salvation, may we continue to follow Him from the manger to the cross where sin must die.

Lions and Dreams

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“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

I have been thinking a lot about the devil’s tactics to steal, kill, and destroy. It’s probably because I am teaching a Bible class about that very thing. The verse above has been on my heart and in my mind. Last night, I actually had a dream with regards to it.

In my dream there was an African lion, with a large mane. It was prowling about the parameter of my house. It was waiting for someone or something to wander from the safety of my home. The lion could not penetrate that safety. It waited, watching me and everyone who lived with me and our every move. Then Snowy, my Great Pyrenees went outside of the safe zone of my house. The lion attacked and she was torn to shreds. I was so heartbroken.

I retell this dream because this really is how our enemy, Satan, works. As we abide in the safe zone of God’s dwelling, which is Himself, we have nothing to fear.

“God is our refuge and strength…”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭46‬:‭1‬ NIV

He is our only defense against Satan and his destruction.

The problems come when we wander from His safety. It is when we decide we don’t really want to dwell up close to God, which requires: total submission, total obedience, and total dependence on Him. We would rather have things our way. So we try to keep one foot inside of His protective zone and one foot outside of it. This is living like we did before we came to know Him. It is there the enemy prowls. He knows when we are vulnerable, and then he attacks, shredding us to pieces. His destruction in our lives has ripple effects reaching to our spouses, kids, family, friends, and beyond.

There is one other zone I would be remiss to not mention. It is where those who have not even come close to God at all dwell outside of safety. If you are there, you are in grave danger. You may not believe in the lion who prowls, but he believes in you and there is nothing he would like better than to destroy you! In fact, if you are honest, he has already begun to destroy your life.

So why all this talk about lions and dreams this morning? There is only one safe place. It is close to Jesus dwelling in Him. It is relationship with Him. As we abide in Him, we will hear the lion roar from a distance, but we are in the safe zone having nothing to fear.

Where do you live your life? Are you wandering far from the safety of Jesus? Are you exploring the edges of your safe zone by playing around with sin? Or are you snuggled up close to Jesus, as close as you can get? Are you daily desiring to be even closer obeying, submitting, and depending on him? That is the only safe place to be.

Steal, Kill Destroy

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I had an awesome conversation with my niece Emily yesterday regarding evil. That conversation and a prayer request for a man who was contemplating and then eventually took his life yesterday has been on my heart this morning. So as usual what’s on my heart gets pecked out by my fingers in writing:

“The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).”
‭‭John‬ ‭10‬:‭10‬ ‭AMPC‬‬

One of the biggest deceptions of Satan is to get us to thinking that he isn’t that big of a deal or that he doesn’t even exist. We need to be aware of his existence and we need to know his purpose!
Satan’s main purpose and goal is to steal from us, to kill the life that God has given us, and to destroy our lives. It is what occupies every thought in his mind and every action he takes. He hates God and since we are the ones God loves so much, he hates us!
We NEED to be aware that we have an enemy, and this enemy will go to great lengths to destroy our lives and to lead us to death, darkness, and destruction.
Satan is a liar. That is how he communicates. Nothing but lies stream from his mouth. His ability to lie is like none other, because he makes his lies sound like truth. He is the great deceiver His lies are believable. They seem like they are what we should be following. They appeal to our self- life, who we are without God’s new heart He gives us. His lies are a constant attack on the TRUTH. The Truth is the Word of God.
We will live our lives constantly beat up by his onslaught as long as we refuse to follow God wholeheartedly and we refuse to be in relationship with God through prayer and taking in His Word, the Bible.
Consider where you are in your relationship with God. Are you close to God? If you are not, you are susceptible to the attacks of the evil one. You will experience the loss caused by satan’s stealing from you. You will experience the death of goodness in the situations you come against. Your life will be destroyed.
Jesus offers us differently. Jesus said He came that we would have abundant life.
We choose.
(More on this later)

The New Life is a Life of Holiness. (Part 1)

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We come to Jesus for many reasons: Perhaps we see our life is a wreck and we need Him to save us from our poor choices. Maybe we see the direction of our lives and realize that we are separated from Him, eternally lost, facing an eternity in hell. It is true that Jesus came to extend the invitation promised in John 3:16.

““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 ESV.

We come to Jesus longing for safety from hell, but that safety is not the totality of why Jesus extended the invitation to a relationship with Him. We are to become like Him. The question then remains, what is Jesus like?

He is Holy. He is set apart by His sinlessness, His purity, His perfection.

“but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”” 1 Peter 1:15-16 ESV

Reading these words may seem like an impossibility. It may seem that God has set the bar too high for us to jump. Let me assure you,God’s commands are for our good and for His glory!

Sin is like a cancer to our soul. It eats away and weighs us down with death, darkness, and destruction. God knows that the only way we can truly experience all His goodness and all of His life is for us to be like Him, free of sin!

He wants us to not only experience the assurance of salvation free from fear of punishment and hell. He wants His life to be flowing through us, His holy and pure life, free from the destruction of sin!

We may see this as nothing but impossibility. Because we know how badly we fail time and time again. Here is where the good news comes in.

We know that Salvation that gives us the assurance of eternity with God is free! Jesus paid the price. He did it all! Holiness that makes us more and more like Him, free from sin, is not what we conjure up and work on our own. Jesus works this within us when we give ourselves to Him 💯. He does it all!!

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”Philippians 2:13 NLT

There is more to be said about this. For today I want to encourage you to ask God to show you what all this means in your life.

(To be continued…)

The New Life is a Life of Forgiveness of Sin!

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Confession of sin and repentance of sin is like frequent weeding of a garden.

Sin is not a fun topic. In fact, I believe I’ve been harping on it a lot lately, but there is a reason for that. It is not to make us feel bad. It is to gain an understanding of how dangerous sin is. The simple fact is God hates sin. He hates it because He knows sin separates us from Him. He longs for us to be connected to Him. Sin makes us unhappy and miserable. Because the one thing we were created for was to be connected to God through relationship. Sin keeps us disconnected. We will never know our life’s purpose when we are bound and tied up in sin.

There is joy in coming to God with our sin and confessing it. There is joy in receiving forgiveness.

“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight!” Psalms 32:1 NLT

There is joy in turning from sin and loving God with all our heart all, our mind, and all our strength, displaying that love with our obedience to all He has commanded. (Matthew 28:20)

In fact, recognizing our need to be free of sin, coming to God regularly and asking God to show us anything that is not of Him within our lives so we can be close to Him is imperative.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24 NIV

Confession of sin and repentance of sin is like frequent weeding of a garden. It keeps the sin, that destroys the goodness of God growing in us, from taking root and reaping havoc in our lives.

God’s desire for us is freedom from the slavery of sin!

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 NIV

The New Life is a Life Free From the Power of Sin.

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We were created to be united or one with God. Before Adam and Eve chose their own way above God’s way, they were one with Him. Sin entered our world when they made the choice to follow themselves and they were separated from God. That separation is death.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”” Genesis 2:16-17 NIV

With death, or separation from God, comes darkness and destruction into our lives. That is because God is the author of Life itself. We cannot truly LIVE apart from Him.

Sin Destroys!

For those of you who have attended an Ashes to Beauty Encounter weekend, the testimonies of sin’s destruction, in the lives of the women, are proof of that point. Truly if we examine ourselves, we can see it in our own lives. Anytime I have chosen my own way instead of God’s, I have experienced the misery of sin in my life. That is why God repeatedly warns us of what exactly sin is.

“The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19-21 NIV

God does not speak of sin because He wants to be a cosmic killjoy. He want us to walk free of sin so we can be close to Him, united to Him once again.

Although the consequences of our sins are painful, we often find ourselves not willing to repent from them. Because the truth is, we love to sin. We want to do our own thing. We do not want to obey God. I say this from my own personal experience. I had to get my fill of sin in order to see how desperate I was for the New Life that God offered to me.

I needed to see that the fruit of this New Life that is empowered by the Holy Spirit, the very things I longed for, could be in me.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

I had to get sick of it! I had to get desperate! That is when I determined that I needed to love God with all my heart, mind, and soul. That is when I repented from my sin and asked God to cleanse me and empower me to live free! That is when I began to experience the New Life in it’s abundance!

Are you where I was? When you look deep inside, are you living in peace, joy, and love? Or is your heart full of fear, anger, rage? Do you run to God with life’s ups and downs or are you trying to deal on your own and in your own way? This can be through self effort, self medicating- alcohol, drugs, self help books, etc. Are you sick of it?

There is New Life in Jesus that frees us from the power of sin!