Conquering Sin.


The morgue in a abandoned hospital in Deventer...

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“I can’t take it anymore!  I don’t care if I ever see your face again.”  These words were spoken by a husband to his wife, one gentle Spring evening.  He walked out the door vowing to himself to never speak to her again.  Three days later, he spoke to her.  But she didn’t answer.  The last conversation he had with her was as she lay on a slab in the coroner’s prep room.  He had to go identify what remained of her after a violent car accident.  His vow broken, along with his heart, was a vow that should never have been made.

Mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, and enemies make vows of silence toward others every day.  And it is a rare thing when those vows can’t be broken.  But these situations are avoidable.   I could go into great detail about what to do to avoid using words you will surely regret.  But how useless would this post be?  Who would read a 10,000 word post?  Instead, I will go our relationship with God to make the point necessary.

The ultimate relationship anyone can have is that of himself and the Lord who made him.  How often this relationship is broken by the human alone.  We decide we will chase after a sinful path we knew well would not end in the pleasure of our God.  But we did it anyway.  And isn’t this what causes all human discord?  We want something the other doesn’t.  So we willingly break the bond of love and trust between us.

We can avoid every possible break in our relationship with God if we love Him more than those things which tear us apart.  It sounds simple when I type it here.  But in practise we find ourselves pulled into sin by a lack of love for His ways.  “. . . Do you love Me more than these?”

When was the last time you found yourself loving God more than the pleasures of sin?  Perhaps you’re stuck in a cycle of sin, confession, and restoration.  Retrospect tells us plainly how we define the word sin.  Hind sight is very clear when we find the relationship between God and ourselves broken.  We all have a weakness which we allow to trip us up and rip us from the loving and powerful prayer life.  This can be avoided if we train ourselves to love God.

We can’t conquer the sinful nature without a distinct and vibrant love for God.  What Jesus has done is to open the door for us into this relationship.  But He leaves it up to us to decide that this relationship with His Father is worth forsaking everything sinful.  My only hope is that those who read this will consider their love for God in a very deep manner.  There is a place where most will end up like that husband.  They will speak to God with a deep and overwhelming grief.  But it will be too late.

By His Grace.

Who is Your Neighbor?


Nancy Pelosi Signs Unemployment Extension BIll

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I think about Nancy Pelosi and shiver at the thought of spending eternity with her as my next door neighbor.  Ok…. so I spilled my guts about what I think of her.  Now don’t get the gun out just yet.  I got a bit more to say.

I was more a fool than she for many decades.  At least she works for a living.  I spent a whole lot of time drinking and being unemployed.  So she’s got it over me in that arena.  The Lord came to me and taught me to do a better job at taking a stab at righteousness.  She can endure the same thing from Him.  So I shouldn’t be quite so quick to judge her.

Besides, who would want to live eternally with me as their neighbor?  I sure wouldn’t!

“I Only Killed Him a Little Bit.”


CorruptionReading the news, I just saw someone use the term, “soft corruption”.  You gotta be kidding me!  Corrupt means that something isn’t what it should be.  So you’re telling me that something can be “sort of what it should be”?  Really.  Leave it to the liberal mind to come up with another way of softening the word “sin”.

Famous Bad Advice. Stupid is What Stupid Does.


Thinking RFID
Image by @boetter via Flickr

CAUTION:

WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO READ MAY OFFEND YOUR SENSE OF SELF WORTH.

MY INTENT IN THIS POST WAS NOT TO CONSOLE THE MASS OF HUMANITY.  I’VE REALLY TRIED HARD TO OFFEND EVERYONE IN THIS POST.  IF YOU FIND YOURSELF UNOFFENDED AFTER READING THIS, PLEASE INFORM GOD.  PERHAPS HE WILL REMIND ME OF SOME OTHER STATEMENTS. 

“You’re not in a boat that is sinking.  You’re getting ready to go swimming.”

“You’re not about to drown.  You’re about to drink a whole lot of water.”

“You’re not going to be eaten by sharks.  You’re helping feed the earth.”

“The world isn’t corrupt.  It’s only doing what it can get away with.”

“You wouldn’t have done that if you knew what was going to happen.”

“You’re not sinning.  You’re only doing what comes natural.”

“Liberal thinking isn’t wrong.  It’s simply questioning the definition of the word truth.”

“You don’t have to work for a living.  If you look pathetic enough long enough, someone else will feed you.”

“Nobody owns anything they weren’t given by the government.”

“If you do enough good deeds God will accept you.”

“The state of the world is God’s fault.  After all, He’s the one who put the two trees in the Garden of Eden.”

“I am not a liar.  I just don’t tell the truth sometimes.”

“Just because somebody asks you to stop doing something doesn’t mean they really mean ‘stop’.”

“Sexual immorality isn’t sin.  It’s just testing the waters.”

“I know you didn’t mean to kill him.  After you stabbed him the first time you were just being merciful to stab him the other hundred times.”

“It’s only a yellow light.”

“The cops won’t give you a ticket for only breaking the speed limit by 5 miles an hour.  Besides, you’re in a hurry.”

“Jesus isn’t the only way to God.  God just thinks of Him as His Son.”

“God watches to see how you dress, what kind of car you drive, how much money you can make, and how popular you are.  He uses those things to determine how good of a person you are.”

“You can make up your own rules about God.  It’s ok.  There’s too many versions to be sure anyway.”

“It’s ok to believe God is just a myth.  After all, no one has seen Him.”

“Panic on my part is justified if you failed to plan your life.  After all, I am my brother’s keeper, right?”

“Marriage isn’t restricted to a man and woman.  It’s the union of really good friends.”

“It’s ok to take that paper clip from work.  They’ll never miss it, and you need it more than the company.”

“You didn’t kill anybody.  You just caused them to cry a little bit.”

“You were only late for work because you over slept.  It doesn’t mean you don’t care.”

“It’s ok to not read the Bible.  After all, it only makes you feel bad.  And there’s just too much bad feelings in the world already.”

“You’re not a bad man.  You just get a little violent once in a while.”

“It’s ok to look down on the stupid people.  After all, you know what’s right.”

“Prayer isn’t all that important.  (shrug shrug)  God knows everything anyway.”

“If you do what everyone else is doing, God will forgive you.  After all, you’re only human.”

“When you find someone who’s done something worse than you, it’s ok to hate them.”

“Jesus is willing to forgive everyone’s sins (even the most horrible).  But your sins are too much.”

“You’re not going to be judged by the Most High God.  You’re only going to get a chance to see what this ‘Hell’ thingy is all about.

Eternity isn’t that long.

The Faith of David


Jewish scroll icon

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David, the second King of Israel, was a man of amazing understanding regarding the character of God.  David tumbled into sin as do we all.  He saw a woman, when he should have been with his men in the battlefield.  He called for her, and allowed his lust to carry through with temptation.  Upon her announcement of pregnancy, David had the woman’s husband killed.  I don’t state these things as an accusation toward David.  I state them to build an understanding of the severity of David’s sin.

The point is not what David did.  The point is what David did before God.  God told David the child would die and that bloodshed would not leave his family.  What did David do in response?  He appealed to God that God should change His mind regarding the punishment.  But when David saw that no change of mind would come, he rose, washed his face and went to have dinner.

We are told that there is no fear of punishment at the hands of God in those who love Him.  And I see no fear in David’s response.  David trusted the wisdom of the Most High God.  So it is in my own experience with God.  Yes, I have sinned before the face of the Lord.  But should that be the end of me?  Perhaps it should be the end of me.  But that’s not what God promises.  He says that we are sin, even our righteous acts are as filthy rags.  Groveling like a worm under the heat of the sun is not what God desires from His people.  God desires that we admit our state of affairs before Him, believe His promises, and rise up to serve.  What else can we do?  What else shall we think?  Can we conjure up some kind of sacrifice that will undo our sins?  No.

So swallow your pride, drop to your knees and confess to Him.  Accept His promise, and rise up forgiven.  Billions would call that hypocrisy.  God calls that The Faith.

 

by His Grace.

Violence of Today


apples 2

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When did the violence we see today begin?  It began the very moment Eve listened to the snake and allowed herself to give in to temptation.

When did the violence we see today begin?  The very moment any man considers the laws of God of “non-effect” in his own life.

Can this violence be stopped, now that it is in such a popular demand?  No.  It will escalate now.  Consider this:  I could be considered sexist for stating that it was a woman who began all the violence.  Ponderous stuff folks.