Category Archives: Temptation & Sin

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 13, 2022

Posted under

Bible Stories, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Word: The Bible, Obedience, Temptation & Sin

THE JUDGES

In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. [Judges 17:6

red shouldered hawkWhen the book of Judges opens, Joshua is dead after leading Israel’s united force to military victory as they entered Canaan. The land has been divided among the twelve tribes and it became each tribe’s responsibility to clear any remaining enemies from their territory, which they failed to do. No longer a unified people, Israel lost its way spiritually and began to take on the pagan practices of Canaan. After the optimism in the book of Joshua, Judges is filled with immorality, political division, and spiritual decline. Angry at Israel’s apostasy, God turned His people over to their enemies and, when they went to battle, He fought against them.

Eventually, Israel’s suffering would be so great that the people would cry out and turn from their evil ways and idolatry back to the Lord. When Israel called out, God heard their cries. He would designate a judge and empower the person to deliver the people from their enemies. The book of Judges names twelve judges: Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Deborah, Gideon, Tola, Jair, Jephthah, Ibzan, Elon, Abdon, and Samson.

Although they occasionally settled civil disputes, the judges’ main purpose was to serve as political and military commanders who would lead an army against their enemies. Like a judge, they executed judgment, condemned, and punished but the justice they meted out was to their pagan oppressors. After their victory, a period of obedience and peace would follow during the judge’s lifetime. Sadly, it never lasted and, eventually, the nation would fall back into its sinful ways. When the people repented, God would call up another judge and another cycle of regeneration and degeneration would begin.

Following Samson’s death, the people again returned to their old sinful ways and the last chapters of Judges are filled with horrific stories of idolatry, sexual perversion, lawlessness, civil war, and senseless slaughter. That downward spiral continued in 1 Samuel where we find four others referred to as judging Israel: Eli, Samuel, and Samuel’s two sons. These judges, however, were more like civil magistrates than military leaders. Although previous judges had been called by God, Samuel erred by appointing his corrupt sons as judges. Fed up with their wickedness and wanting to be like the nations surrounding them, Israel demanded a king and God gave them what they wanted.

While Judges clearly reveals that, without a leader, people will go astray, the books of Kings and Chronicles show us that having an earthly king isn’t any better. From the time of the judges through the period of the kings, we see a cycle of rebellion, retribution, repentance, and restoration. What Israel never seemed to understand was that they didn’t need a judge or a king to deliver them from foreign oppressors—what they needed was a Messiah to deliver them from their sins!

Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. [Isaiah 9:1-2 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.

 

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 3, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

WHY DO WE WATCH? 

I will walk with integrity of heart within my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. [Psalm 101:2-3 (ESV)]

rainbowWhile writing about curiosity yesterday, I thought about our insatiable curiosity concerning the lives of others. Some people think nothing of prying into other people’s lives by asking how much it cost, how much you’re paid, what the grade was, and more. The number of followers of the various social media platforms and fans of tell-all books, gossip magazines, tabloids, and reality TV tells me plenty of people want to know all that and more. Whether we know them or not, we seem to have a voracious appetite for the lives of other people, especially the lives of celebrities, former celebrities, one-time-wonders, housewives, bachelors, bachelorettes, the rich and privileged, and just about everyone else. We have talk shows where the more salacious the content the better and people come to blows after revealing sordid betrayals. We have assorted judge shows where in-law problems, unknown paternity, infidelity, and other poor choices reign. Private disagreements, personal relationships, and shocking secrets are openly aired for the curious world.

As much as I struggle to understand why any of us are interested in other people’s private lives, I find it even harder to comprehend why people choose to make public spectacles of themselves. Reality TV, of course, isn’t real and those “real housewives” aren’t really “housewives.” Knowing that circumstances are contrived to guarantee crisis, conflict, and drama, I wonder why people deliberately allow themselves to be manipulated for their five minutes of fame (or infamy). Considering the number of people who have an incredible willingness to freely share the most intimate details of their lives with the world, it appears as if curiosity and braggadocio are two sides of the same coin.

Perhaps it’s conceit, egotism, or a weird sort of arrogance that leads people to think that, no matter how appalling, their every thought, feeling, experience, meal, or intimate moment is worth sharing with the world. People have become so immodest that they will bare their souls and just about everything else to complete strangers. They are like exhibitionists who leave the curtains half open to dance in front of the window and their curious audience is like the voyeur who peeks through those curtains. Sadly, our curiosity has turned people parading their private lives into a lucrative business (apparently the more dysfunctional the better.)

It’s almost malevolent the way people want to see others at the worst. Perhaps we’re drawn into this tabloid culture so we can congratulate ourselves on being nicer, saner, smarter, more moral, and less superficial. Pride puffs us up because we don’t hoard, commit adultery, spend excessively, or keep having needless plastic surgery. Self-righteously, we pat ourselves on the back for not living vicariously through our talented children, exploiting our families, brawling in public, or letting cameras into our bedrooms. We feel superior because we’re better behaved, pay our debts, and know who fathered our children.

Granted, there is a difference between watching chefs contend for top honors, brainiacs compete for money, super athletes vie for a title, or pickers search for rare artifacts and watching people engage in attention-grabbing, immoral, inappropriate, or self-destructive behavior. Nevertheless, there is a fine line between innocent interest and prurient curiosity and crossing that line leads us into sin’s territory of judgment and pride.

To rework Jeff Foxworthy’s quote about going to the state fair: “If you ever start feeling like you have the goofiest, craziest, most dysfunctional family in the world, all you have to do is watch reality TV because pretty soon you’ll be going, ‘You know, we’re alright. We are dang near royalty!’” Perhaps people’s bad behavior, excessive alcohol consumption, emotional outbursts, humiliation, tears, and turmoil became entertainment simply to make us feel like saints in comparison to them. Let’s not fool ourselves; we’re not! Perhaps it’s time to check our curiosity and rethink how we spend our time and with what we fill our minds.

Men compare themselves with men, and readily with the worst, and flatter themselves with that comparative betterness. This is not the way to see spots, to look into the muddy streams of profane men’s lives; but look into the clear fountain of the Word, and there we may both discern and wash them; and consider the infinite holiness of God, and this will humble us to the dust. [Robert Leighton (A Puritan Golden Treasury)]

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. [Philippians 4:8 (ESV)]

Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. … Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him. [Colossians 3:1-3,10 (ESV)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

June 2, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

CURIOSITY

When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate. [Genesis 3:6 (MSG)]

catI often wonder why Eve ate that forbidden fruit and why Adam so foolishly followed suit. Of course, we have the clever, devious and deceitful serpent to blame. Assuring Eve that God lied to her, he said she wouldn’t die if she ate the apple. He promised that she’d be just like God with the knowledge of good and evil. God hadn’t given Adam and Eve any reason to doubt His word, so why did they succumb so easily to Satan’s temptation?

It certainly wasn’t hunger that led them to that forbidden fruit; they lived in Eden where everything was good and all of their needs were met. The two already had the knowledge of all that was good so why were they so interested in learning about evil? The serpent, however, piqued Adam and Eve’s curiosity. Seeing that lovely tree with luscious looking fruit, they got inquisitive. Why did God forbid that fruit? What would happen if they ate it? What did it taste like? Who would know? What was evil? What was death? What would it be like to have that knowledge—to know everything? Curiosity tugged at the two of them and they started yearning for what wasn’t theirs to have.

Curiosity was given to us by God and it is a beautiful gift. It makes us wonder what lies beyond and question what things are made of, how they work, and how they can be used. It causes us to ask, “What would happen if…?” Curiosity moved mankind forward in an amazing and awesome way and, without it, we wouldn’t have things like the wheel, electricity, solar energy, computers, vaccines, telescopes, or space travel. As William Arthur Ward said, “Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning.”

Along with being that wick in the candle of learning, however, curiosity can be a double-edge sword. While it’s what makes a child explore and ask “Why?” it’s also what makes him stick a fork in an electric socket, swallow button batteries, and bite into detergent pods. Curiosity sent the Magi to Bethlehem and the shepherds to the manger but it also caused Adam and Eve to disobey God. It was curiosity that caused the Ethiopian eunuch to ask Philip to explain Isaiah but it also caused the prodigal son to explore a profligate lifestyle.

Untamed curiosity can make us vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks. It was curiosity that caused David to watch Bathsheba from his rooftop and lust for what wasn’t his to possess and curiosity made the men of Beth Shemesh peek in the Ark at what wasn’t theirs to see. Curiosity asks, “What’s the harm in one taste…one touch…one sip…one try…one time…one look?” Remember, Lot’s wife took just one inquisitive look back at Sodom and it didn’t end well for her.

“Where would we be today if no one got curious?” asked the teacher. “In the Garden of Eden!” answered the little boy. When curiosity leads us to be displeased with the wrongs of the world, it is a blessing. But, when curiosity leads us to be discontented with the blessings we have, as it did with Adam and Eve, it only leads to trouble. Curiosity isn’t a sin but what we do with it can be! Like free will, curiosity is a God-given gift but, like free will, it must be used with caution. The choice is ours.

Curiosity is a kernel of the forbidden fruit which still sticketh in the throat of a natural man, sometimes to the danger of his choking. [Thomas Fuller]

When God, your God, cuts off the nations whose land you are invading, shoves them out of your way so that you displace them and settle in their land, be careful that you don’t get curious about them after they’ve been destroyed before you. Don’t get fascinated with their gods, thinking, “I wonder what it was like for them, worshiping their gods. I’d like to try that myself.” [Deuteronomy 12:29-30 (MSG)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 31, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, God's Word: The Bible, Love & Works, Obedience, Temptation & Sin

SINS OF OMISSION

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it. [James 4:17 (NLT)]

ALMIGHTY and most merciful Father; We have erred, and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep. We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts. We have offended against thy holy laws. We have left undone those things which we ought to have done; And we have done those things which we ought not to have done; And there is no health in us. [The Book of Common Prayer (1928)]

snowdrop - windflowerA sin of commission is the willful act of doing something that violates God’s commands in Scripture. With a little self-examination, our sins of commission are pretty easy for us to spot because they’re blatant and (more often than not) deliberate. While we may try to rationalize our actions, we know when we’ve lied, cheated, coveted, stolen or worse.

On the other hand, sins of omission are not doing what is right or failing to do as instructed. For example, adultery is a sin of commission but not respecting, honoring or loving our spouse is the more subtle sin of omission! [Ephesians 5:22-33] The things we’ve left undone that should have been done are as much a sin as the things we shouldn’t have done that we did!

Many of Jesus’ parables are as much about people not doing what is right as they are about people doing what is wrong. A priest and a Levite ignored the plight of a fellow Jew lying naked and half-dead in a ditch, the invited guests didn’t come to the great feast, the five bridesmaids didn’t bring enough oil, a servant didn’t invest his master’s money, the Pharisee didn’t humble himself, the son didn’t work in the vineyard, and the forgiven debtor didn’t forgive his fellow servant’s debt. All were sins of omission.

Take a moment to think of the things Scripture commands us to do that we frequently don’t. Chances are we frequently ignore at least one of the commands found in Ephesians—to always “be humble and gentle…patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults.” [4:2-3] Furthermore, we are to rid ourselves of “all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander” and be “kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” [4:31-32]. For that matter, do we always serve as the “salt of the earth” or the “light of the world”? [Matthew 5:13-14] How are we doing on the loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us? [Matthew 5:44] Chances are we haven’t erased from our lives “all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech.” [1 Peter 2:1] We frequently pass by people in need [1 John 3:17]. Do we always love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and how are we doing on loving that obnoxious neighbor with the dog who poops on our lawn? In the forgiveness department, have we skipped over the adulterous ex-spouse, the friend who betrayed our trust, or the co-worker who maligned us and got the promotion that should have been ours?

When a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother!” Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.” As His followers, we are to be doers of the Word. That’s all of the Word—both the dos and the don’ts and the shalts and shalt nots!

The omission of good is no less reprehensible than the commission of evil. [Plutarch]

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. [1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 18, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Fruit of the Spirit, Love & Works, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR

Then they took the man who had been blind to the Pharisees, because it was on the Sabbath that Jesus had made the mud and healed him. The Pharisees asked the man all about it. So he told them, “He put the mud over my eyes, and when I washed it away, I could see!” [John 9:13-15 (NLT)]

great blue heronIt’s easy to assume the Pharisees were irate just because Jesus had worked on the Sabbath but, for these sticklers for the law, it was as much about how He healed the man! Spitting on the ground on the Sabbath was forbidden because plowing was one of the 39 types of work prohibited on the Sabbath! Using their convoluted logic, that meant that digging any hole was prohibited and, when spittle landed on soil, it might cause a small dent in the ground (which would be digging a hole) and dislocate a small amount of dirt (which would be plowing)! Compounding Jesus’ violation of the law by both healing and plowing, He made mud. Kneading, defined as joining small particles into a mass using any liquid, was another of the 39 kinds work prohibited on the Sabbath. Jesus broke this law the moment his spittle wet the dust; the mixing of his spittle and the dirt together to make mud was an additional offense! To them, the restoration of sight meant nothing when compared to His many transgressions of the law!

When Jesus healed a man who’d been lame for thirty-eight years, it also was on the Sabbath. [John 5] Once healed, Jesus specifically told the man to pick up his mat and walk. Carrying anything more than six feet in a public place, however, was prohibited on the Sabbath. When the Jewish leaders accosted the man for carrying a burden, he explained that Jesus told him to do so after healing him! Again, the Pharisees were more concerned about work being done on the Sabbath than the miraculous healing that occurred!

In all, seven Sabbath healings are mentioned in the gospels. Although Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law in private, the rest of His Sabbath healings were done right in front of His critics. When He healed the man with the withered hand, the crippled woman, and the man possessed by evil spirits, Jesus was in the synagogue and He was having dinner at the home of a leading Pharisee (possibly a member of the Sanhedrin) when he healed a man suffering from dropsy (edema).

Like His other Sabbath healings, this didn’t appear to be a life-or-death situation and, for all we know, the man was there as a way of entrapping Jesus into another violation of the law. Nevertheless, after asking the Pharisees if it was right to heal on the Sabbath and not receiving an answer, Jesus healed the man and sent him on his way. He then exposed His critics’ hypocrisy by asking which of them wouldn’t rescue his son or cow if they were to fall in a pit? His question exposed their convoluted thinking since rescuing an animal from a pit on the Sabbath was acceptable even to the Pharisees! In fact, a primary principle in Jewish law is preventing tza’ar ba’alei chayim, the suffering of living creatures, and the Talmud specifically permitted rescuing an animal in pain or at risk of death and even permitted moving prohibited objects to relieve their pain. Yet, the Pharisees seemed unwilling to have compassion on their fellow man!

Once again, when it comes to the law, Jesus made it abundantly clear that every other law is subordinate to the greatest one of loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. The next time we see someone in need, along with asking, “What would Jesus do?” we might also ask, “What would I want done for me in a similar situation?”

Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets. [Matthew 7:12 (NLT)]

Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. [Matthew 5:17 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.
Standard

Posted by

Posted on

May 17, 2022

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Love & Works, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

FENCES

Stay away from every kind of evil. [1 Thessalonians 5:22 (NLT)]

Moses received the Torah from Sinai and committed it to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the Prophets, and the Prophets to the Men of the Great Assembly. They said three things: Be deliberate in judgment, raise up many disciples, and make a fence around the Torah. [Misnha (Pirke Avot)]

tigerLast December, after breaching the barrier surrounding the tiger enclosure at our local zoo, a man stuck his hand into the tiger’s cage. A similar incident occurred a few months later at a nearby airboat attraction when a man improperly went through the first enclosure and put his arms into the tiger’s cage. Although both men survived, they suffered serious injuries to their hands and arms. Fences are placed to protect us and keep us from getting too close to danger but you can’t protect people from their own stupidity.

Just as those fences around the tigers’ cages were meant to protect people from the tigers (and the tigers from people), many of the Rabbinic innovations were designed to protect the commandments of the Torah. It is in the Mishnah (the oldest collection of post-biblical Jewish laws) that we find the phrase “make a fence around the Torah.” It is this fence, not the Bible, that explains the hundreds of prohibitions we find in Judaism.

Those Rabbinic rules were supposed to prevent people from being tempted to break the law or unintentionally doing so. For example, items like hammers and scissors that were associated with prohibited work like building or cutting, were not even to be picked up lest handling them led to their use. Although the Sabbath officially begins at sunset Friday, a few minutes were added before its beginning and after its end to make sure no one accidentally worked too late or resumed work too early. Even today, for my Jewish friend, the Shabbat candles are lit and all work has stopped no later than 18 minutes before the sun officially sets. His Sabbath ends when three stars are visible, which can be about 30 minutes after sunset. Rather than additions to the Mosaic law, these fences were seen as a way of helping people remain obedient to the law; they were erected to keep people from giving into temptation or just cutting it too close! Sadly, through the years, the rules became increasingly complicated and, by Jesus’ time, they were the heavy yoke about which He spoke.

Nevertheless, Jesus gave us a New Testament version of building a fence when He equated the emotion of anger with the act of murder and the attitude of lust with adultery. Anger and lust are like stepping too close to the tiger’s cage—they’re dangerous territory! Just as picking up his cell phone on Saturday might lead my Jewish friend to break the Sabbath by using it, lust and anger can lead to something far worse! Sticking your arm in a tiger’s cage or stepping into sin never ends well and, rather than gouging out our eyes or cutting off our hands, we can erect spiritual boundaries to keep us and our loved ones safe. We may restrict our youngsters to G or PG movies or set specific rules about dating for our teens. We might use internet filters to screen out inappropriate content on our computers, abstain from alcohol, or avoid the appearance of inappropriate behavior by following the “Billy Graham rule” of never being alone with a person of the opposite sex except for one’s spouse. We each have our own spiritual fences.

Unless they’re found in Scripture, however, those fences are not doctrine. They are our personal rules and, as such, other people may have different ones, some of which may be closer or further from the tiger’s cage than ours. We are not in a position to judge other people’s spiritual barriers any more than they are to judge ours. Unfortunately, for the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, the fence around the Torah became more important than the law itself. We must never do that. Every fence we erect must comply with God’s simple law that we love Him with our entire being and love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

…he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.” [Mark 12:28-31 (NLT)]

Copyright ©2022 jsjdevotions. All rights reserved.