I want to apologize for not publishing any posts yesterday. I got caught up in taking care of my home and I didn’t even have my own Bible study time.
Now…this is something that I read a little earlier this morning and I thought about sharing what the Bible actually says about that three-letter word…sin.
“I realized that if I, as a Christian, died living in active sins and came before God, I would be judged and condemned to Hell because after putting on the perfect garment of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, I had dirtied my robe and had refused to repent of active sins.” This belief is not Biblical at all even though it is taught and preached in many churches. The teaching that should be taught is that IF you have given your heart totally to Christ and you are saved by the Holy Spirit and changed from the person you were into a “new creation”, even that un-intentional sin is forgiven. IF however, you have not been saved as a new creation and you are living in a state of active sin, then you will go to hell.
There are many who believe that they are saved by their knowledge of Jesus and they’re “going through the motions” like going to church and prayer and occasional reading of the Bible. This is not salvation, it is knowledge of Jesus and that is all. This is a deception that has been placed into many sermons and misquoted by many so there are many who actually believe it. You are not a Christian by association and you don’t become one just because your grandmother said that she has been a Christian all of her life.
Being and becoming a Christian only comes to each of us when God touches our heart and breaks it spiritually so that we know that we need Jesus. At that point, we will seek Him in prayer whether we are driving our car or we are in a revival, or wherever we may be. We KNOW that we need Jesus and we need Him NOW! Don’t turn away from that knowledge when it comes to you. God touches you and me for a purpose and because He loves each of us.
Everyone is so connected these days. When I was growing up, we had to come home to make a phone call or use a very antiquated device called a “payphone”. Life was very different during the seventies. We need to remember this in this connected world we have now: God is never out of reach.
Prayer, for a Christian, is a direct line to our Savior and therefore to God Himself. We can talk to Him at any time and from any place. No antenna is necessary. He is always available to hear our prayers and He can answer them as well if you believe. God is waiting for those who will come to know Jesus as their Savior and He knows who will believe and who will not.
Prayer is a lifeline that connects us to our Creator and our Father in Heaven and we should use it to thank Him for today and for all of the blessings that we have been given every day. It doesn’t matter if you are one year old or one hundred and one, God gave you all of this time to serve Him and we should thank Him for it. Many of us have aches and pains and we wake up with them and go to bed with them every day but don’t blame God for them. Thank Him that they remind you that you and I are human and with these trials, however hard or easy they may be, we are made stronger in our faith if we trust Him to get us through each day.
Prayer is useful in every circumstance, whether it is thanking Him for your meal or praising Him for the blessings that have come your way. Even when trials come in the form of cancer or COVID, seek Him as your Physician and your trial will be made more bearable because you know that He is there working toward your best outcome.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14:26 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/jhn.14.26/34743
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 1 Corinthians 13:4 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/1co.13.4/613
Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for their’s is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:10 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/mat.5.10/68517
I may get some blowback from this post but it is the truth. Pride is the root of sin because that is what started Satan’s downfall. I realize that we can be proud of our accomplishments or our children but the kind of pride that I am speaking of here is “boastful pride”. The kind that brought Nebuchadnezzar from his throne to live with the “wild beasts until he acknowledged God“. He was boastful and said so to himself (and God) until he was driven from his throne by God.
Pride can cause so many sins in our lives. Especially when you think more highly of your accomplishments than you should. God is the Creator and it is He Who gives each of us our gifts and abilities to be and do all of the things that we do. There is no such thing as a “self-made man”. God formed each of us in the womb and gave each of us a specific purpose for our lives. It is up to us to seek Him out in order to find our purpose and then allow Him to develop that ability for His Kingdom.
Don’t be like the king of Babylon. Is it possible for us to be so prideful and boastful? Yes, you see it on TV many times. On the news from Washington, DC. We see it in many sports and the people who are so talented to play professionally in those sports. The problem is that we have forgotten where our talents and abilities come from. God put your DNA together and He is the one who gave you your abilities and strengths. No actor or football player or any other kind of athlete could be as good as they are if God had not given them those abilities before they were born. He had a plan for their life and He is the One that should be praised for their accomplishments.
Give Him the glory for your home and family and all of your accomplishments because ultimately He is the One Who allowed you and gave you the ability to be and do all of the things that got you to your successful life as it is today.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/mat.5.4/74704
Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 KJV https://bible.com/verse-of-the-day/2co.1.3-4/463
