Today's
scripture: Psalm 19:12-13
We live in a world of gray. So many people say that if it doesn't hurt anyone,
then it's okay. Cheating is okay unless you get caught. Sex with anyone at
anytime is fine if it's "consensual." Lying is just par for the
course. Anger held in the quiet recesses of our heart doesn't matter.
Yet, the Bible is clear. Sin is sin. Sin that the world can see and also those
"secret faults."
If we claim to follow Christ, we should pray today's verses every day:
Cleanse me from secret faults.Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins;Let them not have dominion over me.
We should stand firm on what the Bible says is wrong. We should, instead, focus
on living fully surrendered to glorifying God—in all things and at all times.
I believe if we got up every day with the single desire to glorify God each
moment of that day, we would live very, very differently.
I'm not sure where I read it, but an author wrote of his
grandmother. They wanted to take her to see a popular movie, and she declined.
She didn't object to the content. She merely said, "Jesus is going to come
back, and I'd rather be doing something for Him."
This may be extreme, but it's food for thought. What do I want to be doing when
Jesus returns? Secret faults? Presumptuous sins?
No. I'd rather be doing something that pleases Him. Wouldn't you?
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13
Sometimes I reread a verse I’ve read many times before, and I’m struck again by
how God blesses His children.
Many Christ-followers are familiar with verse 13: "No temptation has
overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not
allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will
provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." These
words give me both peace and confidence.
Peace because I know God is faithful in all things, even in times of temptation
or trial.
I do have to make a clarification here: I used to work with a woman who
insisted that temptation meant exactly that, and she claimed that those who
quoted the verse as “God will not allow you to experience trials beyond what
you are able” were wrong. However, when you look at the word “tempted” and
cross-reference with at least one other reference using the root word (see 2 Peter 2:9), you find it does also mean trial. The Amplified Bible offers additional context for today's verse 13:
For
no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes
or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to
man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human
resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human
experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to
His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted
and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power
to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out
(the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong
and powerful to bear up under it patiently.
So,
I can be confident that not only will God not give me anything more than I can
endure, but He’ll also give me the strength to endure it.
Trials will come. Since the fall in the garden, they’re just a part of life.
But we can be confident that our faithful God will see us through.
Praise Him!
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 10:6-10
In these verses, Paul gives us several “Do nots.”
Do not be idolaters. Some of us
think of idolatry as worshipping an image of some other god, and yes this is
true. But idolatry is more than that. We Christians can be idolaters. If we put
anything—things, hobbies, work, relationships—ahead of God, then they become
idols in our lives. I quoted Susanna Wesley a while ago when I wrote about sin,
but I think her words speak to this idea of idolatry as well:
Whatever
weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your
sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, whatever increases
the authority of the body over the mind, that thing is sin to you, however
innocent it may seem in itself.
We need to make absolutely certain God is number one priority in our lives.
Do not act immorally.
When we do anything that goes against God’s moral code, we sin. We are to keep
ourselves pure and abstain from sin of any kind: sexual, spiritual, mental,
emotional. We should strive to dwell on those things that are good and lovely
and edifying (see Philippians 4:8). We should, “Flee also youthful lusts;
but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord
out of a pure heart” (NKJV, 1 Timothy
2:22).
Do not try the Lord. While many of
us go to the story of Gideon and his testing of God with the fleeces, we need
to trust God and His plan. We need to focus on Him and spend time in His word
and in prayer. We need to love Him fully—heart, soul, mind, and strength.
Do not grumble. Of all these “do
nots,” this may be the hardest for some of us! We tend to be a discontented
lot. We have been blessed so much, yet we want more. God promises to supply our
needs—not our wants—and, for many of us, He has done so abundantly. God
miraculously brought the Israelites out of slavery, and provided food and water,
and yet they grumbled. God provided for their needs. yet they complained time
and time again (see Exodus 15:24; 16:2; 17:3). Our needs have also been
provided for, and yet, we, like the Israelites, we grumble and complain. We
must not to do so.
God, and our relationships with Him, must be our first priority. We must live
to please Him by not living immorally or testing Him or grumbling.
Because one day, we’ll stand before Him. I don’t know about you, but I long to
hear, "You are a good and
faithful servant … Come and
share in my happiness!" (CEV, Matthew 25:23).
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:12-14
Susanna Wesley was the mother of two great men of faith, John and Charles. A
wonderful quote about sin is ascribed to her: “Whatever weakens your
reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God,
or takes off the relish for spiritual things then it is sin for you, however,
innocent it may be in itself” (source: dailychristianquote.com).
This is very much what Paul is saying. Yes, there are many things the Bible
condemns as sin—those things we must not do—adultery, lying, wrath, pride. But
sometimes, even those things that are “lawful” become sin to us. If I’m
focusing on a hobby or a vocation or a relationship that takes my focus off of
God, then it is sin for me.
One definition of sin is “missing the mark” or not being whom God has created
me to be. Sin is anything that separates me from God and His plan. So, believe
it or not, even ministry can be sinful if I’m not pursuing it wholeheartedly
seeking God’s will.
Praise God, though, all we have to do is turn back to God—and turn over
anything that is making God anything less than the number one priority of our
lives. We merely need to “confess our sin [knowing that He is] faithful and
just to forgive us of our sin” (NASB, 1 John 1:9).
Or as Martin Luther wrote, “Either sin is with you, lying on your shoulders,
or it is lying on Christ, the Lamb of God. Now if it is lying on your back, you
are lost; but if it is resting on Christ, you are free, and you will be saved.
Now choose what you want” (source: dailychristianquote.com).
Indeed. Choose what you want. Choose those things that are profitable and
choose not to be mastered by anything—other than the Master of your heart.
Today's scripture: 1 Corinthians 6:9-11
We are all sinners, each and every one of us. No one is without sin. Even when
we come to faith through the acceptance of and belief in Jesus Christ’s
sacrificial death and resurrection, we still sin.
However, as we become more and more like Christ, as we mature in faith, we
learn to avoid sin more and more.
When we do sin, we need to go to Jesus and confess our sin.
These verses deal with those who haven’t committed their lives to Christ. Those
people who practice sin unrepentantly will not “inherit the kingdom of God.” I
could add to this list: those who are habitually angry or prideful or those who
gossip or slander.
Yes, we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), and
yes, the penalty for that sin is death—eternal separation from God (Romans6:23). When a person knowingly and willfully chooses to live in sin, when he
chooses not to follow Christ, then he chooses death.
This world is winding down. I believe this with all my heart. One day—be it
days, weeks, or years—Christ will return. Everything on this earth will be no
more. So ask yourself this one question: Is the sin I choose to live in worth
eternal separation from my Creator?
Temporary sin versus not inheriting God’s kingdom? I don’t think so.
Today's scripture: Ephesians 4:31
Bitterness and wrath and anger … These are destructive. They can tear apart
families. They can annihilate friendships. They can kill the soul.
So often, they start “justifiably.”
Someone hurts us or someone we love. We think have the “right” to be angry, and perhaps we do. We should be angry at injustice or blatant sin.
However, we have to be very, very careful to not let righteous anger grow to a
bitterness that flames out of control.
I speak from experience. I was “justifiably” angry at the men who abused me.
Between the ages of nine and sixteen, I was abused by three men … and I was
angry. However, instead of dealing with the pain, instead of offering
forgiveness—whether they asked for it or not—I allowed the anger to grow from a
tiny flame to a forest fire in my heart and soul. It burned away peace and joy
and contentment.
That bitterness and wrath and anger pulled me away from faith. From my Father.
There’s a saying: “Anger is like taking poison and expecting the other person
to die.”
If your heart is full of anger—righteous or not—I encourage you to do two
things: First, forgive whomever has hurt you. It won’t be easy, but you can do
it if you do the second: Give all your bitterness and wrath and anger to the
Lord. Ask Him to help you forgive. Ask Him to fill your heart with love instead
of anger. Peace instead of bitterness. Joy instead of wrath.
Today's scripture: Ephesians 4:28
Today’s verse deals specifically with stealing, but I think we can replace
“steal” with any habitual sin.
Whatever it is you deal with, whatever sin you struggle with, you “must [fill
in the blank] no longer.” Is it anger? Is it the tendency to gossip? Is it
lying? Lusting? Laziness? Being judgmental?
We are, after all, “new creatures” in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We should be
“transformed” every day (Romans 12:2).
We need to do “what is good,” focusing on what is true and noble and just and
pure and excellent (see Philippians 4:8). We need love our neighbors as Christ
loves them—and He said, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends”
(John 15:3).
If we do, we’ll want to serve others, sharing with them how God has blessed us.
Today's scripture: 1 John 5:16-18
Prayer is a privilege. The very idea of being able to talk with our Creator, to
commune with Him, to request of Him … it’s an amazing thought.
We can praise Him, thank Him, intercede for others, ask for needs to be met …
and He listens to us.
Another aspect of prayer is praying for our brothers and sisters who are caught
in the trap of sin. It’s not our responsibility to save them, but we can pray
for them. We can pray that their hearts will be convicted and that they’ll
repent of their sin.
Now I want to address verse 18. This seems to contradict many other words of
scripture. Paul wrote many times of fighting sin. And yet, John wrote that “no
one who is born of God sins.” He went on to say that “the evil one does not
touch him.”
Yet Jesus Himself told Peter that Satan had made a request to “sift him like
wheat” (Luke 22:31). And of course, God allowed Satan to more than touch Job.
So who’s right? Do children of God sin or not? Well, yes. Since we all sin,
are we not children of God?
As I’ve said before, I’m no theologian. I’m just someone who loves God and loves
His word. I pray that the Holy Spirit will illuminate God’s word and reveal
truth to me. I sometimes “get it,” and other times, I’m still perplexed at the
mystery.
However, this is what I believe. I believe that we can accept the gift of salvation, and
when we do, we are cleansed of our sin and we look forward to eternity with
God—Father, Son, and Spirit. But while we’re on earth, we still battle our
flesh. There are times the flesh—however briefly—wins. But as we grow in
faith, as our relationship with God becomes stronger and more intimate, we
recognize our sin more quickly and immediately confess it.
And pain and suffering? Crises and tragedies? Are they from God or from the
enemy? I’m not sure. But this I know. God knows everything. He sees things we
don’t. He knows what we need in order to be stronger in faith. And if He
sometimes allows the enemy to touch us, it’s because He knows it will
eventually turn out for our good (Romans 8:28).
No, I don’t know all the answers, and honestly? I pray I never do this side of heaven. But I trust God. I
know what He’s done—and continues to do—in my life. So even when I don’t quite
understand, I’ll believe Him. Because He’s God, and I’m not.
