Tag: sin | Page 5

Fear Not 365 –

February 8, 2017 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

Joshua and Judges are exciting books. I love the action and intrigue. In this passage from Joshua 10, Israel has just won a brutal war, rather God has won it for them. Some of their enemies surrendered and became allies. Those who did not surrender were completely defeated; leaving buy a few survivors. Those few went home telling of the Israelites mighty God, and as a result, many of Israel’s enemies were gravely frightened.

The story is a terrific one, with God sending hailstorms, and kings locked up in caves. The earth stops turning, allowing the Israelites to finish the battle, and in the end, when the battle is won, Joshua delivers God’s promise:

… “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Be strong and courageous. This is what the Lord will do to all the enemies you are going to fight.”

Not every promise found in the Old Testament applies to 21st century Christians. Three things can be taken from this passage, though. The first is that this really happened. God really did intervene on Israel’s behalf. The story of the sun standing still in the sky is found in the tribal memory of ancient cultures worldwide. He still intervenes on behalf of Israel. See the link at the end of this post to read one such story.

Secondly, God really did direct Joshua to kill the kings that he had taken captive. In the same way, He sometimes directed the armies of Israelto kill every man, woman, and child in the cities of their enemies. This today seems cruel and savage, but there is no denying that it happened. I could try to excuse these actions a dozen different ways, but the truth is our God is not only merciful but just. Mercy and justice go hand-in-hand. One without the other is meaningless. If He does not mete out justice to those who are beyond redemption then His mercy for those who seek Him would mean nothing. We can only begin to comprehend the slightest spark of the mind and actions of the holy God. We should never dare to pass judgment on Him or His people.

Finally, the Old Testament is full of illustrations that help us understand our relationship with the living, indwelling Lord of our lives. How can we apply this passage to our lives? Think of the Nation of Israel as the life of a Christian and her enemies as the sin with which we struggle. There is no way we – fallible beings that we are – can defeat sin: not on our own, without God’s help. There was no way Israel could have defeated her enemies had God not intervened. Only with God’s divine intervention can we be rescued from the bondage of sin. Deliver us He will, if we surrender to Him.

Surrender, though, is just the beginning. Good also demands discipline from His children. Don’t be surprised if God directs us deal the final blow (the death blow, one might say) to the sins from which He has delivered us. Don’t worry, though, for He never calls us to a task for which He has not empowered us.

Are you struggling with your deepest, darkest secret sins? Don’t fear. Don’t be discouraged. In the same way that God destroyed the enemies of Israel, He will defeat the sins that bind you.

Change My Heart

September 24, 2016 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I have often heard it said that everything will be revealed on Judgement Day, that even our deepest, darkest, nastiest secrets will see the light of day at the throne of God. That’s what I’ve been told.

This is, I believe, a distortion of the truth. While it’s clear that God will reward followers based on what they have done with the gifts He has given them, it is also clear that the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin.

Have you ever heard someone say, usually with disdain, “They’re only fooling themselves,” or “Who does he think he’s fooling?” We often – no, not often – MOST of us really do deceive ourselves MOST OF THE TIME, and try to put on our “best face” for others. A wise old man once told me, “Inside each of us are three people: there is the me that I see. There is the me that others see. And, there is the me that only God sees.

The Bible tells us that man cannot know his own heart, for it is “deceitful above all things.” God knows it, though. He sees all the closed doors, the locked up cabinets, the hidden passages, and the secret compartments. He knows us better than we know ourselves.

Now, here is the good news. He sees all our secrets and all our sins and loves us anyway.

One more thing…

If we want to follow Jesus… If we want to be holy as He is holy (which God expects of us)… Then we should ask God to search our hearts and reveal to us those places where we hide sins, and then to rid us of those sins.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.

– Psalm 51:10

There is an old hymn that we sang when I was just a boy, Search Me, O God. It is my prayer:

Search me, O God, and know my heart today, Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray; See if there be some wicked way in me; Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.- James Orr, 1936.

Daily Devotion for Tuesday, 9 August 2016 – No Bigger Sinner

August 9, 2016 by ChristianHolinessDaily Leave a Comment

I’ve done in again. I do the things that I don’t want to do… that I never want to do. And the things I want to do, well… I just don’t do them. That paraphrasing of the words of Apostle Paul could apply to every man and woman who has ever served God. They apply to me. Yesterday, you and I talked about dying daily, but which of us go a day without failing God? I die daily because I know I fail Him daily.

As a young Christian, I often asked my pastor if I could sin so much that God wouldn’t forgive me. Many times I feared I had reached a “point of no return.” Now, I know that there is no sin too awful to be washed away by the blood of the Son of God. To think so is wrong, and, in its own peculiar way, prideful.

God’s love is unconditional. He doesn’t love us when we are good and hate us when we are bad. His love never changes. To think otherwise is to attribute frail human qualities to the perfect nature of God. His love never fails us. In a strange and inexplicable way, He is always ready to forgive me when I sin. He’s ready to forgive you, too.

His love truly is amazing.

…I am carnal, sold under sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. -Romans 7:14-17

O wretched man that I am. Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!. -Romans 7:24-25