Tag: Sin

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Cotton Candy

Daily Reading

Isaiah 28-30

Daily Thought

I admit, I like cotton candy. It is one of the childhood delights we keep as adults. It is fun food. Well, maybe not food–I looked up the recipe. The ingredients include 5 cups of granulated sugar, 1-⅓ cups of light corn syrup, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of water, food color paste, flavored oil, and baking spray. It then listed serving size 28g, calories 180, carbohydrates 28g, dietary fiber 0, sugars 28g.

This all added up to the bottom line, “Nutritional Value: Zero.” It said that on the label. You cannot live on cotton candy. You will die if you try to live on cotton candy.

Prophets are not elected or appointed. They do not inherit the role or take it by force. They are assigned by God and their task is to tell the Truth. They speak the Word of the Lord, and for that, they are accountable only to God. This means they do not have to please the people, and often they do not. Isaiah has been speaking to “a rebellious people, lying children, children unwilling to hear the instruction of the Lord; who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’ and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right; speak to us smooth things, prophesy illusions’” (Isaiah 30:9-10).

Rebellious people want cotton candy. For dinner.

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth” (2Timothy 4:3-4). 

We still do, and we are starving to death.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, may I keep my eyes on You, the author of life. Because of my rebellion, You took the cross. You traveled the difficult road, You did not give in to the delightful temptations of Satan, but drank the cup of crucifixion. I have got to quit giving in.

There is this overflowing joy in Your Kingdom, and I long to drink from it, but I keep trading it in for things that are fun but don’t last. Yours is the Name above every Name, but not always the popular Name. No matter, I will at all times pursue the joy of Heaven, even during the times it’s not fun on earth.

Amen

Daily Question

What is it about Truth that people don’t like? 

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Bee Stings

Daily Reading

Isaiah 23-27

Daily Thought

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). Jesus prays what Isaiah prophesied, “In that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem” (Isaiah 27:13). The kingdoms of this world present power and pleasure, but deliver destruction and death. Isaiah declares a day to come when we will return to the mountain of God, where the Lord “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces” (Isaiah 25:8). Isaiah is speaking of Jesus.

This world offers us pleasure today. We can hold it now, which is the power of temptation. It is in our grasp, but comes with a sting, the terror of sin and promise of death. At six years old, I was scared to death of bees, and a bee flew into the car. Dad rolled the car windows down, offering escape, but this bee was intent on terrorizing me. Finally, Dad reached over and caught the bee in his hand and held it. I did not see it sting, but I know it stung because he opened his hand and showed me the bee. Dead. Dad plucked the stinger out of his palm, and I was brave again. 

“’O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” ~1Corinthians 15:55-57

God offers us joy forever in a day to come. It comes with a cross, the triumph of sacrifice and the promise of life. We can be sure of it, which is the power of trust. That is the choice we must make, between today and tomorrow, between temptation and trust.

Daily Prayer

My Savior God, You warned me. You told me that sin leads to death, and yet I like to sin. And so, I deserve death because I choose a life of sin over a life of obedience. In astonishing love, however, You took the death I deserved, even while I continued to sin. No wonder I learn love only because You first loved me.

It’s an amazing grace You offer me. Through faith, I receive the righteousness of Your Son. I do not need to obey to earn Your love because You freely give it to me. So, now, I obey, not because I need to, but because I want to. You have changed my desires, God, and now I want nothing more than to follow You.

Amen

Daily Question

Often we sin even though we know at the time it will do us harm. Why do we do that?

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Party On

Daily Reading

Isaiah 18-22

Daily Thought

Isaiah continues with chapter upon chapter of God’s judgment against nation upon nation; and so one may wonder why is God so judgmental? What have they done that is so bad?

Back in Genesis, the Garden, the beginning, God issued several commands to obey. They were God’s design for life on earth. First, he said, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28). Mind you, he said this to a married couple, and he commanded them to have sex, and a lot of it. That does not sound like a mean God. Then he said, “I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29). He told us to eat, and to eat a lot–not gluttony, but quite a feast. After that, he made a day holy, the seventh day (later, it would be called the Sabbath), to rest. Right off the bat he told us to take a break once a week. Again, not so bad. We can do a lot of just about everything. Finally, he said, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). God lives large and his limitations are small. One tree, one piece of fruit. That is all.

We chose that tree. We keep choosing the forbidden tree. All sin is choosing the tree, and though it seems there are a lot of ways to sin, it is all the lone tree. We miss this feast for a piece of fruit. These nations are living small. They say, “There is joy and revelry,  slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! ‘Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we die!'” (Isaiah 22:13). Turn out the lights, the party’s over. That is the fruit, party until you die. They allow what is unnatural and unlawful to become their norm, then wonder at the consequences.

On the other hand, for those who choose God:

God says, “On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare
a feast of rich food for all peoples,
a banquet of aged wine-
the best of meats and the finest of wines.
He will swallow up death forever.
The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears
from all faces.” ~Isaiah 25:6, 8

Both the ungodly and the godly party. The difference is one party ends when the other is just getting started. And lasts forever.

Daily Prayer

My God in heaven, Your Name is Wonderful. I put all my trust, all my life in Your Name. I gladly exchange anything life has to offer me today for eternity with You. I have only just tasted Your glory here on earth. What will it be like when I am in Your presence. What a party!

To You, all glory and majesty, honor and praise.

Amen

Daily Question

If you were the Garden in place of Adam or Eve, would you have eaten the forbidden fruit? Why do you think you would or wouldn’t?

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Turn On the Light

Daily Reading

Proverbs 7-9

Daily Thought

When you speak sin aloud, when you describe it accurately, the glamour fades. We prefer the secrecy of darkness; wisdom turns on the light. She knows what is going on, “For at the window of my house I have looked out through my lattice, and I have seen among the simple, I have perceived among the youths, a young man lacking sense” (Proverbs 7:6-7). She knows what you are up to, why you are where you should not be, “passing along the street near her corner, taking the road to her house” (v 8), and when you should not be, “in the twilight, in the evening, at the time of night and darkness” (v 9). She knows the tempting way of the wicked, “I have spread my couch with coverings, colored linens from Egyptian linen; I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. For my husband is not at home” (vv 16-17, 19). And she knows you, “All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter” (v 22). 

She called you an ox. Wisdom does not flatter like that other woman, “the adulteress with her smooth words” (Proverbs 7:5).

For wisdom is better than jewels,
and all that you may desire cannot compare with her. ~Proverbs 7:11

Daily Prayer

My God, Creator of all, Author of good, Wise Judge, Loving Savior, I live this life for an audience of One. You are the crowd, it is Your applause I long to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” May my life be a reflection of Your grace and goodness. May I at all times be concerned for Your reputation, not my own. If I say I love You with all my heart and soul, mind and strength, may my life back up my words.

Thank you for caring enough to call out my foolishness and showing me the right path. May I choose it and stay on it. May I listen to You.

Amen

Daily Question

What are the attractions of sin?

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Broken Windows

Daily Reading

Psalm 96-102

Daily Thought

When David became king, the country was divided and disheartened. Israel required a king who would unify and lead. How to pull a country together and point it in the right direction is the task of the new king, and David embraces it enthusiastically: Psalm 101, “I will sing” (v 1), “I will ponder,” “I will walk” (v 2), “I will not” (v 3), “I will know” (v 4), “I will destroy,” “I will not endure” (v 5), “I will look” (v 6), “No one shall,” “No one shall,” and “I will” again (vv 7-8). To unify rightly, you must raise up something worthy to compel devotion, “I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music” (Psalm 101:1). To lead well, you must walk the right path, “I will ponder the way that is blameless” (Psalm 101:2). There must be the right mix of setting the course and cleaning up the place.

New York City was a dirty city and Mayor Rudy Giuliani became famous for cleaning it up. A “broken window” theory was key to the clean-up. Windows break; it happens. “But,” asked Giuliani, “why must they stay broken?” A building has a few broken windows. Leave them, and vandals break a few more. Squatters take over the building and criminals take over the neighborhood. Rudy Giuliani, mayor of New York City, declared “Zero Tolerance” on broken windows. A broken window will not be tolerated. Fix it now.

“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I will know nothing of evil” (Psalm 101:3-4). Not only committed to do right, David pledged to hate evil. “No one who practices deceit shall dwell in my house; no one who utters lies shall continue before my eyes” (Psalm 101:7). He hated broken windows and the City is grand once again.

Daily Prayer

My God of Love, who hates sin because it destroys, may I share your passion. I must hate, truly despise, sin. I must also desire and cling to goodness and righteousness. This is not natural for me, but God, You have changed me. Your Spirit is inside me. May I submit to Your ways and walk with Your Spirit.

Do not allow me to tolerate sin in my life, God. Thank You that I can come anytime to Your throne and confess, and find Your forgiveness.

Amen

Daily Question

Can you hate sin and tolerate sin in your life at the same time?

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Restoration

Daily Reading

Psalm 51-57

Daily Thought

A friend in college bought a sporty 1978 MG Midget. Sweet car, nice looking, good paint. And then he got a ding, a 4-inch gash on the left front fender. Several weeks passed and I asked if he was going to fix it, but it was a lot of money and his insurance would go up, and, “well, no,” he said. “Maybe I can put up with it.”

“How often do you notice it?” I asked.

“Every single time I get in the car,” he said. 

We got in his car and drove to the body shop. 

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.” ~Psalm 51:3

King David shuts his eyes and sees his sin, opens them and sees Bathsheba, his wife and reminder of adultery and murder. His heart becomes desperate to deal with his sin and be restored to righteousness.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” ~Psalm 51:10

You hear in his cries the shame of sin, but it is not that which drives him most. It is something bigger, something better, something lifting him heavenward. He misses his Father, “Against you, you only, have I sinned” (Psalm 51:4). Inside all sin is a sadness, a scarred remembrance of the holy wonder of our creation and our Creator. 

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation.” ~Psalm 51:12

Daily Prayer

My God and Savior, what an amazing love You have for me. You sent Your only Son, the only sacrifice sufficient for my sins, so that I might be made righteous. You created me in Your image, and yet I turned to the pleasure of sin and away from the joy of paradise. Still You are willing to forgive me, to invite me back in the family, to create in me again a clean heart.

Restore right desires in me. Renew my love for righteousness and justice. I am sorry for my sins. I will turn away from them and follow You. Make me new again.

Amen

Daily Question

What sins do you need to deal with right now? What are you going to do?

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Great Sinners

Daily Reading

Psalm 40-45

Daily Thought

David begins the 40th Psalm, “I waited patiently for the Lord” (Psalm 40:1). That seems proper, but by the end of the psalm, David’s mood changed, “O Lord, make haste to help me!” (Psalm 40:13). 

What happened to patience?

Verse 12! “For evils have encompassed me beyond number; my iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me.” David counted his sins, and they were too many to count so he stopped.

David warns against the proud, “those who go astray after a lie” (Psalm 40:4). The lie they tell themselves is “I am not so bad”; therefore, their god is not so big. 

Jesus said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” ~Mark 2:17

Great sinners need a great Savior, and David’s sins were countless. He needed God and he needed him now.

As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God! ~Psalm 40:17

Daily Prayer

My God, keep me from comfort in sin. May I love Your righteousness so much that I never delay to confess and turn away from the wrong I do. Thank You that Your mercy is endless because my sins are countless and I need your never-ending forgiveness.

Develop in me a habit of goodness, that I would desire to do what is right. When I fail, pick me up and set me on the right path again, and I will do the next right thing. I want my life to reflect Your glory, so others will desire the same salvation You have given me. I love Your salvation!

Amen

Daily Question

How many sins did you commit yesterday?

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Delight

Daily Reading

Psalm 36-39

Daily Thought

The serpent spoke to Eve, “Did God actually say…” (Genesis 3:1). That’s the voice of temptation and sin still talks to us, “transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart” (Psalm 36:1). We were made in God’s image, so we must be deceived to sin. “You will not surely die,” said the serpent. “You will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). The lie is not that we don’t know, but that God is somehow not the final word. Every sin is deception, “there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.” (Psalm 36:1-2). We deceive ourselves that no one is watching, or that what we do does not matter–“Why can’t I if it doesn’t hurt anyone?” 

It does, and always God first.

Our best defense against sin, therefore, is not willpower, but worship, finding our delight in God’s delight, “for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10). The fruit of the tree was delight to Eve’s eyes, but a lesser delight. Rather she would delight herself “in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4), transforming our corrupted desires as we “drink from the river of your delights” (Psalm 36:8). Drink often and drink deep and temptation’s flavor turns sour.

Daily Prayer

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; your judgments are like the great deep. 

How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. ~Psalm 36:5-11

Amen

Daily Question

Can you sin without hurting anyone?

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Bad News, Good News

Daily Reading

Romans 4-7

Daily Thought

You could attempt to not sin. Benjamin Franklin tried, and recorded the effort in his autobiography, “I conceiv’d the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. As I knew, or thought I knew, what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other.” He made a chart of virtues: Temperence, Silence, Order, Resolution, Frugality, Industry, Sincerity, Justice, Moderation, Cleanliness, Tranquility, Chastity, Humility. He recorded his success (and failure): Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and “was supris’d to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined.” A good way to become aware of our sins is to try not to. 

The Apostle Paul discovered this and cried out in despair, “I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing” (Romans 7:18-19). Our sin is not merely personal, but ultimate, against God our Creator, who made us in his image to be holy, and thus, “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), eternal separation from God. In trying to be good, Paul discovered he cannot be good enough for heaven, but he is certainly bad enough for hell. “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Romans 7:24). When we become aware of our sin, we become aware of our need, not for a system, but a Savior. Now he is asking the right question, not can I be good enough, but who is good enough?

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” ~Romans 6:23

It is an age-old question, do you want the good news first or the bad? We need the bad news first. The bad news of sin prepared Paul for the good news of a Savior.

Daily Prayer

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. We worship You, adore You, praise You. But how, then, do we approach You? For we are not holy. Far from it.

By the blood of Jesus Christ, who bore our sins, we are made righteous with his righteousness. I may approach You, O God, with confidence, through a holiness not of my own, but through my Savior, my Lord, my God, my friend, Jesus Christ.

Amen

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Loving Good

Daily Reading

Ezekiel 23-24

Daily Thought

Ezekiel writes of sisters, “Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem” (Ezekiel 23:4); Samaria, the capital of Israel, and Jerusalem of Judah. During the reign of Rehoboam, the Hebrew nation split in half, into two sisters. “To your tents, O Israel!” (1Kings 12:16), cried the older sister as she broke with Judah. Oholah means “her tent,” and Israel began worshipping idols and set up her own temple and priesthood. Oholibah means “my tent is in her,” and God’s temple remained in Jerusalem, but she was no more faithful than her big sister.

Confused yet? The names make this difficult to follow, but here is what happened: “Oholah (Israel) played the whore” (Ezekiel 23:5), and the consequences were terrible. “Her sister Oholibah (Judah) saw this (both the whoring and the consequences), and she became more corrupt than her sister in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister” (Ezekiel 23:11). It is baffling! Why doesn’t Oholibah learn from the mistakes of her sister and choose to do what is right?

At youth events, speakers often share with teenagers how bad they had been when they were young teenagers, and the consequences of their badness. “If the kids hear what I went through,” they reason, “they won’t make the same mistakes.” The speakers are usually wrong. What teenagers hear is if someone speaking up front at a youth event did bad things then they could do bad things, too. They ignore the consequences. Why? Because they like bad. Oholah liked bad, and Oholibah watched the bad things Oholah did and the bad things that happened and went ahead and did bad anyway.

God created this world and called it good. We chose to do things our way, and it has gone bad ever since. Consequences be damned, we like bad. We will love good again when we love God again.

Daily Prayer

My God, I did not love good, but was delighted with my own way, until You came along and showed me a better way. You loved me and brought me back into a relationship with You, and I found what I needed, my great God and Savior.

Thank You for the righteousness of Your Son Jesus Christ, which became my righteousness when I gave my life to Him. By Your grace, through faith, I can live again displaying Your goodness, serving others with the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. May I, at all times, stand for Your Kingdom and Your righteousness.

Amen