GETTING SERIOUS ABOUT SIN

“But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done” (1 John 1:9, NCV).

 
 The first time we commit a sin it is painful. We are filled with remorse and mourn the fact that we have grieved the heart of God, but regret is not enough when it comes to dealing with sin. Unless we confess and turn away from that sin, we are likely to commit it again. If we allow sin to settle into our life and refuse to confess it, that sin eventually hardens our heart and builds spiritual calluses in our soul. When we become comfortable with our sin, we are walking in enemy territory and setting ourselves up for spiritual failure and discouragement.

The good news is that Jesus understands human frailty. He is well acquainted with temptation and the tactics of Satan. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for yours and mine. He paid our sin debt in full.

1 John 1:9 “But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done” (NCV).

This verse was written to believers as an encouragement to deal with sin and a promise that when we do so, God will be faithful to forgive us and clean up the mess that sin has caused. We are not perfect – just forgiven. To experience that forgiveness fully we need to keep short books on sin. That means being sensitive to sin and immediately choosing to do something about it. God is serious about sin. We need to be as well.

1. We must confess sin continually. “Confess” means to agree with and is a present tense verb meaning that we must confess sin frequently and continually.

2. We must confess sin completely.We commit sins one at a time. We need to confess them one-by-one as well.

3. We must confess our sin confidently.Once we confess and repent of our sin, we can put it behind us. God is just and fair – seeking only one payment for sin. Jesus has already made full and complete payment with His death on the cross.

One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to resurrect buried sin. Wrapping that confessed transgression in his vain taunts and useless accusations, the enemy hauls it back into focus, hoping that guilt will paralyze and imprison a soul set free. Satan can hold us prisoner if we let him. But how often do we believe his empty lies – and by doing so, grant him access to that which he has no right? To break the hold of sin, we can and must stand against the enemy, trusting not in our feelings but in the facts of God’s word. And those facts are unchanging and crystal clear – when we confess sin, God forgives it.

PRACTING GRATITUDE

God inhabits the praises of His people(Psalm 22:3 KJV).

Gratitude is the most effective way to deepen your consciousness to the fact that you are the object of God’s affection and love. Giving thanks awakens your senses to see God, to hear God, to taste and see that He is good. When you feel far from God, praise will bring you back. When you have strayed from acknowledging God’s presence, when you have forgotten in him we live and move and have our being, praise and gratitude will be the ramp to get you back on the right road.

I shudder at the words of Romans chapter one. “They neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened,” (Romans 1:21). They did not glorify Him. They did not give thanks to Him. “Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…” (Romans 1:24). The light of their eyes went dark.

Praise keeps you alert to the glimpses of glory all around. The more you glorify God with praise and thanksgiving, the more your eyes will be opened to the deep well of His love that is but a bowshot away (Genesis 21:19). God inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3 KJV). He feels right at home in a heart that praises Him. He enjoys being there!

I believe gratitude grows with practice. When you thank God, regardless of your feelings, it primes the pump of your heart until gratitude begins to flow freely.

If this is a language you have not spoken often, you can become fluent…with practice. Paul wrote, “I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything” (Philippians 4:11-12 NLT, emphasis mine). “I have learned.”

As with any foreign language we attempt to learn, the more we use it, the more fluent we become. Is it too strong to say that the language of gratitude is a “foreign” tongue? I don’t think so. We come into the world screaming with our very first breath, “It’s all about me and my needs!” With tightly closed fists and squeezed shut eyes we demand attention. A newborn babe can think of nothing more than his wants and his needs: feed me, hold me, change me, nurse me…and do it right now! I would like to think we eventually grow out of that infantile attitude, but I’m sorry to say, many never do.

But we don’t have to live like self-centered, self-absorbed ingrates. We can learn God’s love language of gratitude that opens our eyes and unfurls the fingers. We can speak words of gratitude that remove the blinders to see glimpses of His glory every day. As we discover and practice the beautiful language of gratitude, our native tongue of self-focused dissatisfaction begins to fade.

And we practice. And we practice. And we practice.

I often ask my Spanish-speaking friends who are also fluent in English, “When you dream, do you dream in Spanish or in English?”

Most of the time they say Spanish. A few say both. But only the ones totally immersed in English, who have lived in the States for a long period of time, actually dream in their learned language rather than their native tongue.

Oh how I long for the tongue of gratitude to become the language of my dreams - my heart language. But that will not happen by putting my Bible under my pillow. It is a result of practice as I live and move and have my being in Him with a grateful heart.

This is my prayer. In Jesus' Name

Dear Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear this morning. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness. 

Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You.

Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrongdoing, and receive the forgiveness of God. 

And when this world closes in on me, let me remember Jesus' example -- to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. 

Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak.. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those who are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those who are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately.  I pray for those who don't believe. But I thank you that I believe. 

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers. For every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes that they are out of debt and all their needs are met. 

I pray that every eye that reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words be received into the hearts of every eye that sees them and every mouth that confesses them willingly..

This is my prayer.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Breathing a Miracle

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.
Job 33:4

Recommended ReadingPsalm 33:6-9

If you're reading this devotional -- you're breathing. As long as we're healthy, breathing is subconscious and effortless. But the elaborate breathing cycle is incredibly intricate. Controlled by the nervous system, breathing is regulated by the respiratory center of the brain and more than twenty respiratory muscles.


In all his achievements through the centuries, man cannot boast that he created breathing. Every breath we breathe is a gift from God. He is the originator of the process that begins and sustains life. The Book of Genesis beautifully describes the creation process: "And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). God's "breath of life" gives man his lifeblood, and "the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding" (Job 32:8).

Make this the day you inspect your own breath of life. If there's any false pride that's arisen, remember that man doesn't own anything -- including his first breath. What we have is from God's gracious hand, and only what we give back to Him will live and breathe forever.

The world asks, "What does a man own?" Christ asks, "How does he use it?"

 

Heaven's Currency

Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
Exodus 19:5

Recommended Reading Proverbs 3:9-10

A quarter of Wall Street executives see wrongdoing as a key to success according to a survey by whistleblower law firm Labaton Sucharow. In a survey of 500 senior executives in the United States and the UK, 24 percent said they believed financial services professionals may need to engage in unethical or illegal conduct to be successful.¹

In God's kingdom, disobedience doesn't lead to success. Prophet after prophet warned Israel not to disobey God's Law and reminded them to prepare for the coming of the Lord. Finally, God gave His beloved nation one last admonition before sending their promised Messiah. The prophet Malachi delivered a strong message of fiscal responsibility toward the Lord's temple -- a tithe that promised God's future blessing.

 

The currency of heaven is obedience. From financial integrity in the workplace to financial stewardship in the home and church, God will bless the faithful, generous steward. Where does your money stand with you and God? Has it come between you? Or do you use it to glorify Him?

Not So Familiar Christmas Scripture: Numbers 24:17

I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; a Star shall come out of Jacob; a Scepter shall rise out of Israel...
Numbers 24:17

Recommended ReadingNumbers 24:15-19

Jesus is called a "Star" three times in Scripture. In Numbers 24, Balaam predicted a Messiah in the far future, rising like a star from the descendants of Jacob. Second Peter 1:19 talks about the Morning Star rising in our hearts. And in Revelation 22:16, Jesus called Himself "the Bright and Morning Star."

In astronomy, the bright and morning star is not literally a star, but the planet Venus that appears in the eastern sky just before dawn and is one of the brightest objects in the sky. The sight of this "star" is a sign that night is nearly over.

It's symbolic of Christ. The dark epoch of earth's history is nearly past. Soon the Lord will rise from His throne like the Star of Morning, ushering in an eternal day for His children. Just as He came the first time, so He will come again. And we "do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart" (2 Peter 1:19).

Rest in God

            

 

Psalm 23:1-3 (NLT) “The LORD is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul.”

Life is so daily and often filled with uncertainty, a reality that can make me very nervous. I want to know what the plan is and how that plan is going to be implemented. Details! I need details! Instead, God calls me to rest. I don’t want to rest. When I rest, I feel guilty. I have places to go, people to see and important things to do. I hear the quiet whisper of the One who knows me best and loves me most, “Mary, it is time to rest.” I have tried to ignore that whisper on more than one occasion, but it is only a temporary maneuver on my part. The Lord is my Shepherd. He is used to dealing with stubborn sheep like me. He will lovingly make me lie down in green pastures and firmly lead me beside quiet waters. Why? He wants to refresh my soul and give me the peace that can only be found at His feet. Rest is not really an option. It is a spiritual discipline that needs to become a spiritual habit in our life.

Admit your need for rest. Many of us have bought into the lie that who we are is based on what we do or don’t do. We fill every waking moment with something or someone in order to prove our worth. After all, we must be worthy if we are doing worthy things, right? Busyness does not always equal productivity. When we admit our need to rest, we are acknowledging the fact that we are imperfect and that our human power is limited. We need to rest in Him.

Turn to Jesus to find rest. Recreation is anything you enjoy doing while relaxation is any activity that slows you down. Restoration is an inside job and can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We once had an Australian cattle dog named Dallas. Australian cattle dogs are extremely loyal to a master of their choice. Dallas chose our son, Jered, to be his master. When Jered came home from school each day, Dallas would greet him at the door and follow him wherever he went. If Jered was doing homework in his room, Dallas would find a spot under the desk. If our son was working in the garage, Dallas was with him. When Jered ran an errand, Dallas went for a ride. Dallas instinctively knew that the only place he would find genuine rest was at the feet of his master. The same is true in our lives.

Lay your stuff at Jesus’ feet. The number one stress in our lives is the result of bearing a burden that is not ours to carry. Exhaustion comes when we take on a responsibility God never intended us to have. The twin of exhaustion is emptiness that comes when we fail to take on a responsibility God does intend for us to assume. God empowers His plan and agenda for our life. When we step outside of that plan, we are stepping into our own power and depending on our own strength, both of which will soon be depleted.

Realize you are not alone