Sin & Forgiveness

To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe.  John Stott

I read recently that when we lose our focus on God we are drawn to the very thing we don’t want to do which is sin.  If you focus on something that is a sin long enough eventually your footsteps will take you there.  It is like an unseen force driving us.  How do we stop this train wreck into sin?

We need to shift our focus.  If our focus is on sin we are far more likely to commit it.   When we shift focus to God we stand a much better chance of avoiding the train wreck.

God provided us with a lifeline.  That lifeline is Jesus.  Jesus never committed sin.  It is hard for me to wrap my arms around that.  Someone with absolutely no sin was willing to die on a cross for my sin.  Jesus paid a high price for our sins.  God poured his wrath for a sinful people onto Jesus His son. 

God also provided a way for us to return to fellowship with Him when we sin.  God’s forgiveness is not automatic.  We must understand and acknowledge that we have sinned followed by confessing our sin and then repent of the sin.  In Proverbs 28:13 it says “he who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”  Forgiveness is given when we confess and repent.  “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  The two words that stand out in this verse for me are “forgive” and “purify”. (1 John 1:9) If I am truly sorrowful for committing the sin and repent He will forgive.  That is where my hope lies.  There was a verse we used to sing in church that reminds me of Jesus our Savior. “My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ love and righteousness.”

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner in need of a Savior.  I praise You for loving me and for understanding that I needed someone to save me and You provided Your Son as a sacrifice for my sin.  I don’t deserve it, I will never earn it but I am forever thankful that You provide a way to You.          

Scripture:  As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.

Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.” Matthew 9:9-13

Help

If you are under the power of evil, and you want to get under the power of God, cry to Him to bring you over to His service; cry to Him to take you into His army. He will hear you; He will come to you, and, if need be, He will send a legion of angels to help you to fight your way up to heaven. God will take you by the right hand and lead you through this wilderness, over death, and take you right into His kingdom.  D.L. Moody

I can't help thinking of the old woman who started out when the war commenced with a poker in her hand. When asked what she was going to do with it she said: "I can't do much with it, but I can show what side I'm on." My friends, even if you can't do much, show to which side you belong. D.L. Moody

Have you figured out yet that God is there to help?  Over the years there were times when I thought I didn’t need His help.  Why does that happen?  It happens because we think we can do better than He can when we are faced with trouble.

When Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights, at that point He was human just like we are now.  To be honest with you I can’t imagine fasting for forty days and forty nights. That simple statement “He was hungry” doesn’t even begin to cover it.  At what would be considered one of His weakest points in life, Satan was sent to tempt Him.  If Jesus in His Greatness could be tempted, we certainly stand a better chance of falling into Satan’s trap.

If we think about it, we are tempted on a daily basis by Satan.  When the Bible says he is roaming to and fro watching and waiting to devour us, that is a harsh truth.  When we sin we fall into his trap. When we decide we don’t need God’s help or if we depend on others more than we do God, we are guilty of falling into Satan’s trap.

God waits for us to come to Him daily.  Sometimes we are too busy, other times we don’t think we need Him, and still other times we think we know what is best for us so we ignore Him.    

When you need God’s help you don’t have to pray some elaborate prayer that has lots of eloquent words and phrases that sound good. In Psalm 50:14-15 we are told to “Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High.  Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” A simple “help me Jesus" or “help me God” will suffice.  He will hear and deliver you.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, sometimes I commit the sin of leaving You out of my troubles and depending on myself to deliver me from them.  When I start thinking that way I am elevating myself above You.  You have been there for me when I needed You most.  Thank You for Your loving guidance and remind me to turn to You when I need help.     

Scripture: Satan Tempts Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:

‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”

Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.  Matthew 4:1-11

Expiration Dates

Every path that leads to heaven is trodden by willing feet. No one is ever driven to paradise.  Howard Crosby

My husband shared an article with me the other day from our local newspaper written by a journalist named Steve Blow.  This may or may not apply to you but it sure applied to us.  The two of us laughed over the article.  I admit it, Jerry and I are easily entertained.

Anyway, the article was talking about expiration dates on foods and how much food we throw away because of an expiration date printed on the container.  As he said sometimes the date on the outside of the container is not an expiration date but a sell by date.  So in reality you may have a few extra days left on that gallon of milk in the fridge.

I am of the mind that you can kill most germs in the microwave.  Just nuke it a few minutes.  I admit I have forgotten things in the fridge that would be better off not opened, but how can you tell until you open it unless it is in a clear container.  I am sort of a recycler of plastic food containers so sometimes my memory fails me about what I thought was important to save for a second meal. 

I love to cook but never seem to have the time anymore so my theory is don’t go near the kitchen or the fridge.  That is why bad things happen in my fridge. I put the leftover pizza wrapped in foil in there and forget about it for several days.  When I return to get something out, I start wondering what is wrapped in the foil.  I open it and there is the leftover pizza from last week that resembles an over large hockey puck with extra toppings. It gets even better when you have several people putting things in the fridge because it gives a whole new meaning to the term “mystery meat”.

Then there are the dressings and condiments in the door.  Every year or so I clean those out and throw the outdated ones away, but I wonder if it is just my paranoia over eating some dreaded bacteria that makes me throw out that old bottle of ketchup. Too many times I think we buy into what the manufacturers tell us because they don’t want to be liable for us eating something that makes us sick, plus they want us to buy more. What better way to do this than to tell us our old ketchup is no good anymore.  My theory is that if I left the ketchup in the fridge for over a year, it’s every man for himself.  Eat at your own risk. 

Then there are all the take-out food containers that accumulate.  We take the left-overs from the restaurant and decide to give them a new place to live, “in our refrigerator”.  So they take up residence and never leave until the next time you get hungry.  Then it’s like a scavenger hunt.  Do I open this container and find a shriveled up piece of bread and that stuck together chunk of pasta or the leftover salad that disintegrated.  I kind of like to think of the refrigerator like that old show “Let’s Make a Deal”.  You could choose between door number one or door number two.  Door number one could be a dud and door number two could be edible. 

If you think about it, we all have an expiration date too.  The thing is God doesn’t want us to expire before we make the choice to come to Him.  Every person in this world has an expiration date.  We all will expire from this world into another.  Where we choose to spend the next life is a choice.  None of us know when our time on earth will end but we do have the opportunity to live forever with no expiration date.  Have you accepted Christ’s invitation to the wedding banquet?          

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I will leave this earth one day for another home. I have the choice to live in eternity with You.  I also have the opportunity to show others the way home, but if I don’t tell others how to get to You, then I am not living the life You have called me to live. 

Scripture:  And Jesus answered and spoke to them again by parables and said: “The kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who arranged a marriage for his son, and sent out his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding; and they were not willing to come.  Again, he sent out other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and fatted cattle are killed, and all things are ready. Come to the wedding.” ‘But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his business.  And the rest seized his servants, treated them spitefully, and killed them.  But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.  Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy.  Therefore go into the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding.’  So those servants went out into the highways and gathered together all whom they found, both bad and good. And the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless.  Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

“For many are called, but few are chosen.”  Matthew 22:1-14

 

 

Exclusions Apply

Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief.  John Calvin

If you ever listen to commercials they are normally always ended with “exclusions apply”.  I hate it when they say that.  If usually means when you go to buy whatever it is they are selling, you are not going to like what you hear.  They convince you with the opening of the commercial that you really can’t live without what they are selling but then they add exclusions apply in print so tiny you can’t read it or talk so fast you can’t understand what the exclusions are in the first place.

So you trek down to the store to buy and you get to the counter and they tell you, “I’m sorry, you can only buy one”, or “this special only applies to generic not name brand”, or how about “you must open a credit card in order to take advantage of this special”, (i.e. I want your money so I am going to make you open a credit card with high interest rates so you will spend more).  I mean I am surprised they haven’t inserted in the exclusion language that you can only purchase if you have 2 kids, 1 turtle, a cat and a bird named Wilbur.  That may sound ridiculous but it has almost gotten to that extreme.   

I would like to hear just one advertiser say “No Exclusions Apply”.  The only thing I know of where “No Exclusions Apply” is being saved by God’s grace.  God doesn’t tell us that since we sinned 40 times we are not allowed in.  He doesn’t tell us that if we sinned 400 times that we are excluded from entering the gates of heaven.  If we want in, God swings the doors open wide and greets us with open arms.  What a comfort it is to know that we can’t be excluded from entering into eternity with Him because He gives us a way in that we don’t deserve.  Salvation is yours and No Exclusions Apply.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, You provide a way into heaven for a sinner like me where I can spend eternity with You.  Jesus paid the price for us so that we could live with You for eternity in heaven. We were excluded until Jesus died on the cross for our sin so that we could have salvation.  You give me the choice and if I want in the only thing it will cost me is to love You and obey You.  That is a cost I will gladly pay.

Scripture: Oh, sing to the Lord a new song!  For He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory. The Lord has made known His salvation; his righteousness He has revealed in the sight of the nations.   He has remembered His mercy and His faithfulness to the house of  Israel; All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.  Psalm 98:1-3

The Good News of Salvation
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.”  Isaiah 61:1-3

Hidden

As Christians, we are called to maintain lives that can be "toured" by outsiders at any time, without embarrassment. A commitment to holiness means having a life that is always "ready for company" and open for inspection - a life that can stand up to scrutiny - not just in the obvious things, but in the hidden places where most might not think to look.  Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Are you ready for company?  If someone knocks on your door are you ready to open it and let them in. 

Writing these devotionals has helped me tremendously.  I have told stories of my life that some people have never heard.  By some people I mean the people closest to me, my family and closest friends.

What purpose does it serve to reveal the hidden things in your life?  For one thing, the majority of hidden things are often sin.  Why else would we hide them? We don’t want anyone to find out that we are not perfect.  We don’t want anyone to know that we failed.  We don’t want to admit that we are not God. 

We elevate ourselves above God when we decide we will keep our sin hidden from others.  If we think our sin is hidden and convince everyone around us that we are good and that no one will know, we are separating ourselves from God.  The problem is God knows.  When we figure out that God knows every wrong we have ever committed, that is the first step we take in His direction. 

When we realize that God knows, we then take that second step which is asking for forgiveness from the One who created us.  The next step is one of the most critical.  For us to be healed from the sin that entraps us we need to reveal that sin to someone else.  The thing about this step is we have to be careful who we reveal it to.  If we don’t choose someone who is trustworthy and understands that we are human with human failings, we could be opening ourselves up to ridicule and that can cause us to return to hiding our sin.  If we are not sharing our sin with others we are not opening up that door for another person’s intercessory prayers on our behalf.

Keeping our sin hidden can only happen with people just like us.  Sinners.  If we want to step out onto God’s path and walk toward Him, we must first confess the sin to someone we trust and ask that person to pray for us.  Too many times I think we choose the wrong person to confess our sin to and the reaction we get from that person can send us back into hiding again.  Choose wisely and confess openly.       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner.  I am on a path that Satan tries daily to throw things my way that will make me stumble.  Help me to choose wisely the people I confide in so that I will not fall into Satan’s trap of trying to hide my sin thinking no one will know.  You know every sin I have committed and You forgive me over and over again.  Thank You for showing me grace and mercy when I don’t deserve it.  My trust is in You and I love and praise You. 

Scripture: Separated from God

Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear.  But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.  For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.  Isaiah 59:1-3

And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.  And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth produced its fruit.  James 5:15-18

The Sinner

The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.  Charles Spurgeon

I am a sinner.  That is not news to you and it certainly isn’t a newsflash to me either.  The problem comes when I start thinking that because I am a Christian, I am no longer a sinner.  That is my first mistake and the second is the belief that I can be a good Christian overnight.  I can’t even be a mediocre Christian overnight. 

Because the world tells us we can have everything in an instant we start believing all the hype.  If it took me 51 years to get where I am today as a Christian, how can I think that I can be changed overnight into what God would like me to be.

When I was baptized I really didn’t understand what it meant to be a Christian.  I didn’t understand a lot about Christianity.  I knew right from wrong, who Jesus was and that Noah built a big boat but that wasn’t all I needed to know about it.  There were many pieces missing.  I hadn’t yet learned that being last was important, loving others was critical, and failing would make you grow.  I didn’t know that struggles and trials would be an everyday thing in the Christian life on earth. 

So you take a twelve year old and turn them loose on the world.  The problem with the world is that it is every man for himself.  If you can beat someone to the finish line in anything and be first you begin to think you are better than them.  So instead of loving them you lord it over them.  Then there is the whole failing thing.  I have failed at so many things in my life that it would take me years to write them all down.  The thing is through every failure I learned an incredible lesson.  Failure can bring me closer to God. 

What I have learned is that when you come to the end of self it is the beginning of a new you. When we begin to understand that the Christian life is one step at a time and there will be setbacks, wisdom will come.  God intends everything for our good.  If we learn that one concept we begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel. God is standing at the end of the tunnel waiting but we have to make the choice to step into the light.

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am a sinner and there is not a day that goes by that I am not tempted by sin.  That sin can be how I view others, my thoughts, how I speak and the things I do in my daily life that are against everything You teach us about being a Christian.  I need Your help to keep Satan from taking over my life.  If I use Your Living Word I can overcome any temptation Satan throws my way.  I praise You always for saving a sinner like me.

Scripture:  The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  Moreover by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and I shall be innocent of great transgression.  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.  Psalm 19:7-14

Listen & Ask Questions

The next time you find yourself alone in a dark alley facing the undeniables of life, don't cover them with a blanket, or ignore them with a nervous grin. Don't turn up the TV and pretend they aren't there. Instead, stand still, whisper his name, and listen. He is nearer than you think. Max Lucado

I received a call from one of the cable/dish providers.  This is the same one that I disputed with over an additional installation fee when we already had multiple accounts with them. 

I admit I should have listened and asked questions first, but I still had that memory of my previous week long conversations with them, so I still had a bad taste in my mouth, so to speak, about this company. 

So this guy calls and tells me that he is an Account Manager with them and that my account was added to a “list” and directed to him.  So I immediately assume that he is calling to try to soothe my ruffled feathers.  That was my first mistake; assuming anything.  So he tells me he understands I had some issues 3 months ago related to my service.

This is where the listen and ask questions should come in, but I didn’t do that.  I immediately started telling him of all the issues I had trying to get new service with them and how they charged me $200 to set up new service when we already had multiple accounts with them, and how they wouldn’t waive the fee and told me I could file a complaint but that it would take approximately 2 months for the review of my complaint and in the meantime I wouldn’t have service so I caved and paid the fee because what other choice did I have, since they didn’t give me one (a choice that is).  I know this is a run-on sentence but this is sort of how it went. 

The guy then apologizes for the actions of the person I spoke with previously and tells me that he has the authority to give me an extreme discount that the other person wasn’t authorized to provide. 

So I ask him what kind of deal.  He tells me he can give me a rate of $39.99.  I respond by telling him that I understand how that kind of deal works.  They will give me that rate for 3 to 6 months and then jack the price up. He proceeds to tell me that in this case the fee would remain the same. 

So I tell him ok.  Here is where it really gets interesting.  He tells me the address that he is calling about is in Ruston, Louisiana.  So a light goes off in my head and a shocked look crosses my face, BECAUSE WE DON’T HAVE AN ACCOUNT IN LOUISIANA all of our accounts are in West Texas.  This train is derailing with no stopping in sight.  I tell him, “We don’t have an account in Louisiana”.  He starts stammering and tells me to hold.  Then he says, “I’m calling about the service you cancelled”.  I reply, “What service?  We didn’t cancel any service.”  So he gives me the correct address.  The service he is talking about is the one we turned off because we sold the property. I felt like I was in the skit “Who’s on First” with Abbott and Costello.

I think too many times we jump to conclusions before we even know the question.  If I had listened I would have heard his first statement that he was calling about an account we had cancelled.  That would have told me what I needed to know and I could have averted this train wreck.

Too many times we treat the Bible the same way.  We open it and start reading and instead of listening for God’s voice and asking questions, we think we know what it means and we run with it.  The problem is God’s Word is not always easy to understand.  If we are in too much of a hurry to meditate on His Word and ask questions we may miss the very thing God is trying to teach us.    

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, I am often too quick to jump to conclusions before I really understand what You are trying to teach me.  If I am moving too fast to meditate on Your Word I could miss the very thing you most want me to hear.  Help me to slow down and listen.  Understanding Your Word is the beginning of wisdom, and You have all the answers if we will turn to You.  

Scripture:  So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, because you have listened to the voice of the Lord your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 13:17-18

Hear instruction and be wise, and do not disdain it.  Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord; Proverbs 8:33-35