Tag Archives: Sin

Before your head hits the pillow

God Isn’t Fixing This

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God Isn’t Fixing This donned the front page of the New York Daily News the day after the horrific shooting in San Bernardino, California.

The days that ensued were full of politicians telling us what they believe our country needs to solve this problem. One after another I heard them say, “Thinking about the victims and praying for them is not enough, we need to take action!”  I didn’t hear this from one politician, I heard it from several, like it was part of a talking points memo.

The fact of the matter is, the ONLY thing that can fix this is GOD!  These things are not happening because we have too many guns or because one race does not get along with another.  These things are happening because this country, in large proportions, has decided to turn its back on God.

Our children are no longer allowed to pray in school.  Many are threatened if they take their Bible to school. Communities are told that they can no longer put up nativity scenes on the court house lawns as they have been accustomed to doing for years.  Public school music programs are void of Christian carols like Silent Night or Oh Come All Ye Faithful.  Even though you can find a marble figure of Moses holding the Ten Commandments on east pediment of the Supreme Court, courts throughout the country are now told that the Ten Commandments are forbidden.  In God we Trust, our national motto, is inscribed in letters of gold behind the Speakers rostrum in the U.S. House chamber.  In the National Archives you will find a bronze design on the floor of the rotunda that contains the Ten Commandments.  Carved inside the Washington Monument are many Godly messages like “Holiness to the Lord,” “Search the Scriptures,” and “May heaven to this union continue to its beneficence.”

But now we are told that God has no place in the public square.  So maybe God isn’t going to fix this because our country has turned its back on Him.  But 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”  I understand that we are not God’s chosen people as were the people of Israel to whom this message was given.  But as Christians we ARE God’s people and He would do the same for this land if we would turn from our wicked ways and seek His face.

Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “There are six things which the LORD hates, Yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, And hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans, Feet that run rapidly to evil,  A false witness who utters lies, And one who spreads strife among brothers.”  I am afraid that his country has fallen into many things that God hates.  We have become arrogant and self-centered.  Under the protection of this country’s laws and courts we shed the innocent blood of thousands of unborn children each day. And we have run rapidly into redefining the definition of marriage, a sacred union created by God Himself.

But all of those who said that thinking and praying isn’t enough are probably right as well.  I don’t think that their suggested action of gun control is the answer.  The action that is however necessary is a revival.  This country needs a spiritual awakening.  The evil that brings about a shooting in San Bernardino or racial unrest in Missouri all stems from the same place.  It stems from a lack of peace that comes from a lack of union with God.

The action that needs to be taken in this country is for Christians to rise up and bring the Good News of Christ to everyone they meet.  If we want our country back, we need to be willing to bring Christ into our places of work, into the gym where we work out, and into our social clubs.  Keeping the gospel pent up inside the four walls of the church building will not bring the healing we need for this land.

So no, prayer and thoughts are not enough to solve the evil that exists in our country.  It is time for the United States of America to see God.  And the primary way they will see God is through the actions of His children.  Bring the love of God into your communities.  Show His love and His mercy to those around you. Bring His message of hope to the lost.  Let’s start a revival!

Before your head hits the pillow

Is Sin Irrational?

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I think at first blush we might say, of course not.  Sin is not irrational.  We know that “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23.

Psalm 51:5 says, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

So is sin really irrational?  I don’t think that it is rational to believe that we can be sinless but I believe that sin itself is irrational.  The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines irrational this way: not thinking clearly: not able to use reason or good judgment: not based on reason, good judgment, or clear thinking

In this way I certainly believe that sin is irrational.  Being rational would tell us to DO things that are good and conducive for productive and healthy lives.  If we were totally rational we would steer clear of things that would harm us or would cause us distress.

But sin is irrational.  We lie even though we know we could be caught and cause ourselves and others great discomfort.  We gossip even though we know that it could hurt others and might even hurt our relationship with others.  Some drink too much even though they know that getting in their car after a night of drinking might result in an OWI or worse in an accident.  Others may cheat on their spouse even though they know that NOTHING good can come from this.

Sin is TOTALLY irrational.  Paul says in in Romans 7:19 – : For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Now that sounds irrational!

It would seem that we would keep ourselves from sinning because sinning ALWAYS hurts us.  Sinning hurts our relationship with others and it certainly hurts our relationship with God.

The irrationality of our sin has consequences.  Wayne Jackson in “Have you Considered the Consequences of Sin?” states that our sins have MANY consequences. He says that sin can have national consequences. When nations move away from the moral standards that God expects and wickedness is all around, the Lord imposes judgment.  God severely judged Israel and Judah, His chosen people, but he also judged the Assyrians, the Babylonians and many other secular countries for this mistreatment of His people

Sin can also have physical consequences.  When Adam and Eve sinned, their physical consequence was death, a death that would then be imparted on all mankind. Adam and Eve were living in perfection, walking in the beautiful Garden of Eden with the Creator.  But then Eve decided that she would rather believe the snake than the God who had created her.  How irrational!  But this irrational sin had gargantuan physical consequences.

Sin can also have mental consequences.  Sin can cause someone so much guilt and grief that they find it hard to sleep at night.  2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us that,”Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”  So that mental anguish caused by sin in the life of a Christian should bring about repentance but to a non-believer it will bring death.

Sin can also bring about societal consequences.  I believe the sin of abortion has taken a huge toll on society.  Have you ever wondered why social security is almost bankrupt?  Well think about the more than 50 million children who have been aborted.  Many of these same children would have been working and paying into the social security roles but instead, the number of people involved in this program has diminished so drastically because we have aborted generations of people, that his program is no longer sustainable.

Sin also has spiritual and eternal consequences.  If we continue in our sin, our relationship with the Lord is diminished.  If we fail to accept Jesus and repent of our sins, we should expect nothing less than eternal condemnation.

So if we believe that sin is irrational and that sin ALWAYS hurts us, then let’s pray that God places within us a rational heart, a heart that sees the consequences of sin before they are committed so that we can spare ourselves the pain of those consequences and instead of feeling pain, feel the blessings of God.  For not only do we hurt ourselves when we DO sin but we live in harmony and peace with God when we DON’T sin!  Pray for a rational heart!

Before your head hits the pillow

The First Sin

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…Before your head hits the pillow…

The First Sin

Today’s world doesn’t really like to talk about sin. And unfortunately some churches and Christians don’t like to talk about sin either. Some people believe that because we have been redeemed that a discussion about sin is too negative. I believe that unless we discuss sin in a real way and understand that even if we are Christians we must fight against sin, we make it too easy to fall into sin.

So what about that first sin? For years, I believed that the first sin happened at the moment that Adam and Eve ate of the fruit of the tree forbidden by God. But the more I think about this, the more I think that was not the first sin. The first sin didn’t happen when Adam and Eve at of that fruit, or even when they picked it off the tree. The first sin happened in the MIND of Adam and Eve when they chose to deny the truth that God had given them forbidding them to eat of the fruit.

Sin begins in our minds. Sins are not typically impulsive. When a child decides to pick up a candy bar and steal it in the checkout counter, they first thought about how good that candy bar would taste. They thought and then they acted.

When someone becomes involved in pornography it doesn’t just happen. The person begins to think lustfully FIRST and then starts looking at things they shouldn’t be seeing. When a husband or wife gets involved in an adulterous relationship, they first begin to think about what it would be like to be with this other person.

Mark 7:21-22 says, “For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.” All of these sins start in the thoughts of men, women, and even children.

James 1:14-15 tells us, “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.”

And James 4:1, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?”

So, sin begins in our minds and in our desires. This is the reason that it is so important to guard what we see, to guard what we hear, to be careful with whom we associate, and to steer clear of those things that could bring our thoughts to a place that breed evil desires, and where evil desires breed evil deeds.

David Peach in 5 Ways to Avoid Sinful Habits and Thoughts (whatchiristianswanttoknow.com) gives us these ideas about guarding our thoughts:

First, fill your mind with God’s Word. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Reading the Bible will fill our lives with these virtuous things!

Second, keep your mind clean. Psalm 101:3 “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me.”

Third, establish accountability with someone. Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Fourth, view others with godly eyes. I Timothy 5:1-2 “Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.” We must think of others as brothers and sisters. If we do this our minds won’t stray to gossip and slander.

And fifth, avoid temptation. Romans 13:14 “Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”

Sin does begin in our minds, but we can resist sin. We have to believe in the assurance of I John 4:4 “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Oh how I love the promises of God!!