Category Archives: Temptation & Sin

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November 2, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Peace of God, Temptation & Sin, Trusting God, Worry

SEEING THE SUNRISE

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand. [Isaiah 41:10 (NLT)]

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. [Romans 8:38 (NLT)]

morning dawn Since it was hot and rain had been promised later in the day, I went out walking in the wee small hours of the morning. The few street lights and full moon illuminated my way as God and I had our morning chat. My mind, however, wandered from comforting prayer to worrisome thoughts. We just had our annual physicals and, as often happens with people our age, something suspicious was found. Another test was done, the results are in and a specialist needs to be seen. In all likelihood, it is just a minor health issue, but my mind kept wandering into the area of “what if?” and the various dark scenarios that went along with the question.

Having just completed a couple of devotions on worry and fear for future postings, my own words convicted me of lack of faith. In spite of my well-meaning sincere writing, I allowed worry and fear to creep into my thoughts that morning. There are many ways the enemy tempts us—and it often has nothing to do with the obvious sins of greed, pride, lust, or envy. He subtly sneaks into our thoughts when we’re more concerned about tomorrow than trusting God to get us through today. Living in the land of “what if?” makes us vulnerable to his attacks of doubt, fear and worry.

Whether a minor medical issue (which it quite likely is) or a major medical problem, worry and fear won’t change it. I can’t alter the past nor can I influence the future diagnosis. I remembered that when God brought his people to the Red Sea, He provided them with a way to get across it; He will continue to do so for us today. If He doesn’t part the waters, He’ll provide a boat, give us the material for a bridge, or teach us to swim. Moreover, what we fear could be the sea just as easily can be a shallow puddle through which we can easily walk.

I looked up at the full moon as it was dipping to the west; at the same time, the morning light from the east began to paint the sky pink. For a brief moment, I could see both yesterday’s moon and tomorrow’s rising sun. While I can’t change yesterday and have no control over tomorrow, I do have control over my thoughts of this day. Seeing last night depart in the west and a new morning rise from the east, I chose to trust and have faith for today.

Worry and reasoning are two of Satan’s most successful tools. He’ll get us started with one negative thought and then sit back and watch us finish ourselves off. [Joyce Meyer]

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! [Isaiah 26:3 (NLT)]

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October 14, 2015

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Faith & Hope, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE LIFE PRESERVER

And you must think constantly about these commandments I am giving you today. You must teach them to your children and talk about them when you are at home or out for a walk; at bedtime and the first thing in the morning. Tie them on your finger, wear them on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house! [Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (TLB)]

Teach a child to choose the right path, and when he is older, he will remain upon it. [Proverbs 22:6 (TLB)]

Kids don't float - FL3686WEBWhile walking on the beach last week, I saw a rack of life-vests. It was one of eleven such racks in our county’s free-of-charge loaner program: “Kid’s Don’t Float; Life Jackets Do!” Looking at those jackets made me think of a tragedy that occurred just a few days earlier on a beach in another county north of us, one that doesn’t have such a program. A nine-year old boy was playing in shallow water with his siblings when the wind gusted and what was described as a “freak” wave surged and knocked him over. The boy, who couldn’t swim, disappeared beneath the water and was swept away from shore. Nearly two days later his body was finally recovered.

Would a life vest program like our county’s have prevented this tragedy? Even if life jackets had been available, would he have worn one? We can only speculate as to whether knowing how to swim would have saved his life. The water was extremely choppy and even a strong swimmer would have had difficulty. Witnesses say the children were being properly supervised but that was not enough to protect this little boy. It was just a heart-breaking accident.

My sympathy and prayers go out to his family. Their tragedy, however, got me thinking about how easy it is for us all to think that children are safe or that we can protect them when really they’re not and we can’t. We lecture and supervise them and try to shield them from harm, poor choices, and the evil in our world but, short of keeping them in a bubble, it’s impossible. We have to let children make their way, not just at the beach, but in the treacherous waters they encounter every day in our troubled world. While we may not be able to prevent the rough seas, rip tides and undertows of life, we can do our best to equip youngsters to survive those hazards. Even more important than teaching them how to swim or insisting on a life vest, we must teach our children (and all the young people in our lives) God’s Word and raise them to know and love Jesus. We need to offer them more than a jacket made of nylon and foam to keep them from sinking under the schemes of the enemy. We need to show them how to use the best life preserver of all—the armor of God.

Last of all I want to remind you that your strength must come from the Lord’s mighty power within you. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand safe against all strategies and tricks of Satan. … So use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy whenever he attacks, and when it is all over, you will still be standing up. But to do this, you will need the strong belt of truth and the breastplate of God’s approval. Wear shoes that are able to speed you on as you preach the Good News of peace with God. In every battle you will need faith as your shield to stop the fiery arrows aimed at you by Satan. And you will need the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit—which is the Word of God. [Ephesians 6:10-11,13-17 (TLB)]

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September 25, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Plan, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

WORDS OF WARNING

Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws. [Nehemiah 9:34 (NLT)]

WARNING -8042webAlthough I heard the rumble of thunder and saw flashes of lightening, they weren’t what woke me from a sound sleep at midnight—it was the klaxon-like sound coming from my cell phone. My foggy brain figured it to be a weather alert and, since I could already see there was a storm, I rolled over and went back to sleep. After checking my phone the following morning, I saw it had been a warning about flash floods in our area. While running errands later that day, I saw the damage left by the storm and understood why the warning had been sounded. Since I had been safely tucked into bed in a house set on high ground, ignoring the flood alert didn’t endanger me. If, however, that had been an alarm about a tornado, I might have regretted not looking at the message or heeding its words of caution.

It’s not just weather warnings that we tend to ignore. Every time a smoker lights up, he is ignoring clearly written warnings on his pack of cigarettes. Do we always slow down when we see those yellow signs warning of a sharp turn, poor road conditions or a hidden entrance? As many times as we women are advised to regularly check our breasts for suspicious lumps, most women I know don’t. We’re cautioned about the dangers of the sun and yet we use tanning booths rather than sun block. Every year, the commuter trains in our area are delayed because people have ignored the warning lights and bells at a railroad crossing and, even though the waiter warns us that the plate is extremely hot, we will touch it nearly every time.

The Bible is filled with warnings; in fact, the word “warn” and its variations appear 173 times in my NLT translation. Add words like “heed,” “beware,” and “be careful” and it is obvious that the Bible is filled with cautionary advice and admonishments. The Israelites failed to heed the various words of warning given them by Moses and the many prophets that followed him and we’re not much better when it comes to abiding by the cautionary words of the New Testament.

Let us never forget that words of warning are a blessing in disguise. Like the annoying weather alerts, they are there for our safety, protection and welfare. It is, however, our responsibility to listen to and abide by them.

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Ephesians 5:15-20 (NLT)]

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)]

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September 15, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Knowing Him, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Wisdom & Guidance

THE EYE IN THE SKY

The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. [Proverbs 15:3 (NIV)]

For your ways are in full view of the Lord, and he examines all your paths. [Proverbs 5:21 (NIV)]

barred owl - CSS6769webDrones have certainly been in the news lately. North Dakota lawmakers just passed a law allowing police drones to carry “less than lethal” weapons such as tear gas or Tasers and Amazon is hoping to have “delivery-by-drone” available within the next few years. Several weeks ago, a Kentucky man blasted a drone out of the air with his shotgun while it hovered over his backyard. Indeed, drones are capable of highly advanced surveillance as a Rhode Island man recently learned. A Benedictine monk who works at the school operating a giant wind turbine, was relaxing in t-shirt and shorts, atop the 200-foot turbine when a drone spotted him catching his private quiet time in the sun. The video ended up on television and YouTube almost instantly.

When he was a toddler, my nephew thought that, by covering his eyes with his hands, he was invisible. Because he couldn’t see anyone, he figured no one could see him. The monk sun-bathing on the turbine knows that belief to be false! Whether we see them or not, it appears that we’re never able to get away from other people’s eyes. Sometimes we’re not a lot different than my nephew when it comes to our relationship with God. Just because we can’t see Him, we think He can’t see us; let’s not forget that not seeing Him doesn’t mean he’s not there. We can’t get away from God’s presence any easier than we can from drones.

Knowing we have absolutely no secrets from God is both reassuring and troubling. Granted, He knows what I look like without make-up or doing my hair, which means I can relax with Him like I would with a best girlfriend. I don’t have to maintain any pretense with Him. On the other hand, He also knows my every dirty little secret, which is far more disturbing than heartening. Since nothing is hidden from God, there are no excuses, justifications or lies about our bad behavior. We may be able to hide things from our family and friends but we can’t from God. He knows the dog didn’t eat the homework, we clearly knew the speed limit when caught speeding, we had time and money to help when we said we didn’t and that no one forced us to have the third drink or smoke the joint. He knows where we go on the Internet, with whom we chat, what we say, what we do, and with whom we do it. He knows more about us than even the most technically advanced drone and yet He still manages to love and forgive us.

Father, I welcome you into my life; search my thoughts and feelings, correct and direct me and lead me in your ways. Guide me so that my walk is always pleasing to your eyes.

Secret sins, services, and sorrow are under God’s eye. This speaks comfort to saints, and terror to sinners. [Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary]

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. … Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. [Psalm 139:1-2,23-24 (NIV)]

Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. [1 John 2:6 (NIV)]

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September 9, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Love & Works, Nature, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Today: Make it Count

COLLATERAL DAMAGE

Steamboat Springs, CO-cropweb
Abijam began to rule over Judah in the eighteenth year of Jeroboam’s reign in Israel. … He committed the same sins as his father before him, and he was not faithful to the Lord his God, as his ancestor David had been. [I Kings 15:1,3 (NLT)]

Nadab son of Jeroboam began to rule over Israel in the second year of King Asa’s reign … But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight and followed the example of his father, continuing the sins that Jeroboam had led Israel to commit. [I Kings 15:25-26 (NLT)]

“Where are the Flattops, Hahn’s Peak, or the Sleeping Giant?” we wondered. Smoke and haze from the fire-ravaged Pacific Northwest were obscuring the view of our favorite Colorado landmarks. The mountains and crystal clear skies had disappeared because of fires raging some 1,500 miles away. Reduced visibility from the smoke caused air traffic delays in Denver and posed respiratory problems for cyclists racing through the mountains. Satellite images show that smoke from these fires has covered a portion of at least twenty states. On our return east, the haze was still visible as we passed through Iowa.

Fire has a way of causing far-reaching collateral damage and so does sin. The chronology of kings in Israel and Judah are filled with stories of how a father’s sinful example was followed by his son and led the people to sinfully disregard God’s commands. Today, the abusive father is likely to have an abusive son, the adulterous spouse’s divorce hurts the entire extended family, toxic relationships poison everyone near them, and the children of an alcoholic carry emotional baggage that affects their own children. When the bad stuff hits the fan, it tends to spatter all over innocent people. Well, I’m not abusive, adulterous, toxic or alcoholic so I can’t spread sin, pain and sorrow, or can I? A few poorly chosen words, a sharp retort, a tidbit of gossip, a rude gesture, a bit of spitefulness, impatience and rudeness can also have far-reaching effects. That saleslady with whom I was clearly annoyed might well be irritable with her next customers who then will be short-tempered with the people they meet later. By the end of the day, my thoughtless act of rudeness may have created a negative chain reaction that affected dozens of people.

We talk of paying it forward when doing a kindness that will reverberate with more kindnesses. Unfortunately, it works that way with sin and unpleasantness, as well, and, sadly, paying unkindness forward with more of the same is probably far more likely to happen. Any time we fail to live as Jesus did, any time we allow Satan a foothold in our lives, any time we forget to respond with love, whenever we are inconsiderate of other people, that ugliness, just like the fires in the northwest, can spread far and wide.

Father, guide our words and actions so that the love of Jesus is clearly seen and felt by all whose lives we touch today.

The greatest need in the world is the transformation of human nature. We need a new heart that will not have lust and greed and hate in it. We need a heart filled with love and peace and joy, and that is why Jesus came into the world. [Billy Graham]

He looked out across the plain toward Sodom and Gomorrah and watched as columns of smoke rose from the cities like smoke from a furnace. [Genesis 19:28 (NLT)]

This wickedness is like a brushfire. It burns not only briers and thorns but also sets the forests ablaze. Its burning sends up clouds of smoke. [Isaiah 9:18 (NLT)]

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August 7, 2015

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

THE LAW

I love God’s law with all my heart. [Romans 7:22 (NLT)]

“To protect and to serve” – the motto of the Los Angeles Police Department.

In an attempt to enforce seat belt and cell phone laws, the San Bernardino police department recently set up a “sting.” Four officers, looking a little like panhandlers, stood on the side of the highway holding handwritten cardboard signs saying, “I am not homeless. SB Police. Looking for seat belt /cell phone violations.” In spite of the clear warnings, drivers ignored their signs and over fifty tickets were written: thirty-three for cell phone violations, fifteen for seat belt infractions, and five for driving either without or on suspended licenses.

Some people would view this operation as an illustration of how the law is our adversary and simply out to get us. For them, slow speed zones, no parking signs and red light cameras are simply ways for the law to ensnare and trap people in legalities and make their lives miserable. Others might view this operation as just another way the government tries to control our lives and rob us of our individual freedoms, the same way it does with bans on assault weapons or by requiring a photo ID and the removal of shoes when going through airport security. There is, however, another way of looking at the law: neither enemy nor dictator, the law acts as our servant and protector. A sting of this sort not only serves to remind us of the law but also protects us from distracted and unlicensed drivers. It even protects those drivers from their own stupidity when they text while driving or don’t wear seat belts.

How do we view God’s law? Is it our enemy, eager to expose our every error and intent on condemnation rather than salvation? Is it a controlling master, always finding ways to restrict our freedom, limit our choices and hamper our fun? Or, does God’s law serve and protect us by setting a standard for our behavior? As for me, God’s law isn’t a long list of “don’ts” that condemn my actions or keep me from enjoying life. God’s law is a long list of “hows” that show me the way to live and enjoy eternal life.

For law and grace are not enemies, for law sets the standard and grace enables us to meet it. [Warren Wiersbe]

And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. [Titus 2:12-13 (NLT)]