“You hate all workers of iniquity!” – Psa. 5:5
In case you were told sin is not that big of a deal.
Tag Archives: Sin
God Is a Consuming Fire
“Our God is a consuming fire!” – Heb. 12:29
In case you were told sin is not that big of a deal.
Sinners Coming Near Jesus
“Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming near Jesus to listen to Him.” – Luke 15:1
Sinners were drawn to Jesus.
Until Sin Be Bitter
Until sin be bitter, Christ will not be sweet. – Thomas Watson, “Doctrine of Repentance,” 1668.
Stop Punishing Yourself
In hockey & soccer there is a penalty box. Its the area where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty for an offence. Get this: sometimes it is called the “sin bin,” or “the bad box.”
Don’t we think that when we sin we need to put ourselves in the “penalty box?” That way we can “pay for it?” Then after a little while, we get out of the penalty box, and go to God so He can forgive us? Folks, that’s the opposite of the Gospel.
Stop punishing yourself! You cannot pay for your sins & save yourself! If you could, Jesus died for nothing (Gal. 2:21).
Paul said the sin he doesn’t want to do, he keeps doing and the things that he should do, he doesn’t do: sound familiar? It should. Romans 7 is the inner-struggle each & every one of us face.
“Recognizing your weakness drives you TO GOD immediately, not AWAY FROM HIM.” – Paul Washer
Instead of thinking that God is mad at us for committing the same sin over and over, focus on His unending kindness. This is what actually leads to repentance (Romans 2:4).
The focus is not what you are doing, but rather what Jesus has already done for you! Its not about YOU, its about HIM.
If we could truly embrace this concept we could get out of our self-imposed penalty boxes and run back into the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.
Insights from Proverbs 6
Insights from Proverbs 6 for the 6th:
Verses 16-19 is where we get the “7 Deadly Sins” (Pride, Envy, Gluttony, Lust, Anger, Greed, & Sloth). Although that exact phrase is not specifically used (it was actually coined by a 4th Century monk) and those specific sins are not exactly listed, here is where the basic idea comes from.
There are 6 things the Lord hates, 7 that He detests:
- haughty eyes (arrogance)
- a lying tongue
- hands that shed innocent blood
- a heart that devises wicked schemes
- feet that are quick to rush into evil
- a false witness who pours out lies
- and a person who stirs up conflict in the community
“Detests” is a pretty serious word choice: He abhors them. What do you think? Maybe write these down and avoid them.
Solomon bookends these abominations with warnings against Folly & even more warnings against Adultery: these are 2 recurring snares when it comes to humanity. Could it be that he’s trying to tell us something?
He gives some absurd examples: If you put flames on your lap, don’t be surprised when your pants are on fire. If you walk across hot coals, don’t be surprised when your feet get scorched. The same goes with sleeping with another’s spouse; there are going to be consequences and they are going to hurt.
Jealousy makes everyone crazy. When they find out about the affair: they’re gonna flip out. Nothing will stop them.
Common sense, right? Solomon says the one who commits adultery has no sense.
I’ve heard the statistic that 50% of marriages end in divorce. The most common reason is infidelity. I’m not sure if that stat is true, but I do know that this is true: marriage is under attack! The enemy wants us to believe that marriage isn’t important, its not sacred, and we don’t need to be good stewards of the family God has entrusted to us.
The opposite is actually true! Husbands, keep your marriage sacred! Protect it! Be ever-diligent!
The enemy is setting specially-designed traps just for you and me.
If this blessed you, please Like & Share!
Ref: http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/what-are-seven-deadly-sins
Your Sins Have Been FIRED!
Let’s say someone comes up to you, removes your coat, and sends it away. Would you say you still had your coat?
No. It was removed. It was sent away. Literally, the coat is no longer here.
Jesus takes our sins away. (1 John 3:5). When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:19)!”
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to FORGIVE US OUR SINS and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9 (Emphasis mine)
Just like that coat; they’re gone. Now, of course we don’t miss the coat or go shopping for new coats, right?
“No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin,” – 1 John 3:9 (AMP)
Therefore, if we repent and turn to Him, Jesus forgives our sins (something only God can do, by the way).
The Greek for “forgive” carries the word picture of discharging something so as to leave.
I note it because:
- It is so much fun to say: aphiémi (af-ee’-ay-mee).
- Its roots are apó, “away from” and hiēmi, “send.”
- Properly then, aphiémi means: send away; release (discharge).
- By forgiving our sins, Jesus removes them and discharges them.
Therefore, because of Jesus’s wonderful Love & Grace, your sins have been:
Let go; fired, dismissed, sacked, axed, laid-off, and canned. They have been given their “pink slip” and “walking papers.” Like Elvis, your sins have left the building.
- Stop re-living them.
- Stop obsessing about them.
- Stop beating yourself up over them.
Brother and sister, they are not even there! (Heb. 8:12, Rom. 11:27, Mic. 7:19, Psa. 103:12)
To pretend otherwise is to act like you still have that coat on that someone removed from you and sent away.
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We Are Torches Ablaze For God
One of the most commonly shared experiences has got to be lighting candles on a birthday cake. You know how it goes: you take one candle & light it. Then you light the other candles with it until they are all lit.
That is exactly how the Holy Spirit ignites our hearts for the Gospel; individually, until we are all burning. Even the smallest candle has the potential to set a whole forest ablaze. That is how Grace grows! LIKE AN INFERNO!
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. – 1 John 1:7
A candle without the Flame is useless. It’s just wax & some string. But the candle ABLAZE becomes powerful (Psa. 18:28). Now it’s a beacon (Matt. 5:14-16). That shift is solely due to the Source: God, who is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29).
He kindles us (Luke 12:49).
As lanterns for the Gospel we carry the light of God’s truth through this present darkness (Eph. 6:12). A torch cannot help but burn & bear light. Neither can we (John 12:46; 8:12)!
We, the kindled, the ignited, the aflame – spread those sparks into a roaring wildfire.
William L. Watkinson said “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Yelling at the night never did any good. No, we overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21).
Now, don’t expect the world to like your torch (John 15:18). Don’t expect a Thank-You card & some flowers. No, light DESTROYS darkness. So for them, its self-preservation. Don’t be surprised when the world turns on you. They like it in the dark, can’t stand any light, & don’t want His light cast on their dark. They like to be covered in a blanket of shadows.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. – John 3:19
It is the appearance of light that kills darkness. Light douses dark. Darkness can’t extinguish the torch. Never! No, darkness has to flee (John 3:19).
With one word, the darkness is vanquished. That word is JESUS!
– If this blessed you, please like & share!
Inspired by: X Ambassadors, “Torches”
Weight Loss
Kurt Vonnegut wrote a story once that always stuck with me. It was called, “Harrison Bergeron.” It told of a future where the government forced people to wear “handicaps” in order to make everyone equal. If you were really graceful, you wore heavy weights to make you clumsy. If you were handsome, you had to wear a hideous mask. That way no one felt insecure or sad about not being as graceful or as handsome as anyone else.
Anyways, there’s a scene in which a beautiful ballerina is on TV. She is weighted down with 200lb weights because she is so incredibly graceful. She is masked because of her great beauty. Of course, her dance is not very good. It’s been “handicapped” so much that she is now average.
This is political fiction. However, the tragic image of that ballerina trying so hard to perform even though she is so clearly hindered perfectly illustrates how sin can literally weigh us down.
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us” (Hebrews 12:1, HCSB).
Think of it this way: sin has actual weight. We are told to lay aside the sin. We all know that. But we are also told to lay aside the weight. Extra weight slows our progress. Sin slows our progress. Sin ensnares us. It trips us up. Just like the ballerina weighted down, if we are full of the weight of sin, our performance will suffer.
“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” (Psalm 139:23-24, NIV).
David was a man who knew the weight of sin. He knew all too well just how ensnaring it can be. But he also knew the sweet freedom that comes with throwing off that weight. He knew how much easier it was to continue on the path of righteousness without it!
Want to lose some unnecessary weight? Lay aside sin! But please don’t dare think you can do this weight-loss program on your own. Ask Jesus for help. He’s the only one that can take every weight and the sin that SO EASILY ensnares us, and cast it aside so we can join him in the light.
May God’s Love be with you
Switched On
Following Jesus will change things. It will change everything actually. Your life will transform from night to day. Jesus will disrupt your thinking, your views and your attitude. If there is no change, if there is no illumination – you have not let Him in. You have not fully committed.
I described to Brittany how it’s like a light switch being turned on that cannot be turned off again. And really, why would you want to? Why would anyone go back to the shadows? No! What you do is, you get closer to the light. You try to make the light as big as possible. You want to tell everyone about the light! You want everyone that’s bumping around in the dark to flip that switch too!
I envision people with their eyes vehemently shut… almost spitefully so. There’s nothing covering their eyes. They are not blind. They are not even blindfolded. They cannot see because they are purposely shutting their own eyes!
“I got it, I got it. I can see just fine like this. Leave me alone!”
“Ah! OPEN YOUR EYES, MAN! You’re about to walk straight over a cliff! Let me help you!”
“Listen crazy-pants, I don’t need your help! Who are YOU to help ME? There is no such thing as light! There is no such thing as cliffs either!”
By the way, I’m aware of the double meaning of “switched on” as meaning “alert” and also “in love” because both apply. Following Jesus is being alert and it is being in love.
Commit to following Jesus today. Allow him to change your life. Walk in the light, man. Darkness is for chumps.
God Bless!
#switchedon #lamptomyfeet #lightformypath #understanding
