Tag: Sin

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Jars of Clay

Daily Reading

Leviticus 14-15

Daily Thought

The ritual begins with two birds. One is killed and placed in an “an earthenware vessel over fresh water” (Leviticus 14:50), but birds don’t belong in clay bowls, they belong in the heavens. In this we see Jesus, who “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:5-7). He belongs in the heavens, yet he became as one of us–a “treasure in jars of clay” (2Corinthians 4:7).

The other bird is dipped in the blood of the first, then turned loose to fly. In this we see ourself, as we find our “redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). When the bird flew into the skies, Israel knew it was made pure and set free. “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom” (Revelation 1:5). 

It is in these rituals, these sacrifices, that Israel is being made ready for her Savior.

Daily Prayer

Heavenly Father, eternal God.  You knew how You were going to save me long before I sinned. My sin is terrible, and reminders of it are terrible and bloody, but I need those reminders. I so easily think of my sins as common and forget that I was made not for sin, but for Your glory.

Teach me to hate sin and love salvation. Remind me of the death sin brings, if only to make my desire grow for Your goodness and glory and grace. May I set my mind always on things above, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Amen

Daily Question

In what specific ways has Jesus changed your life?

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The Eyes of God

Daily Reading

Leviticus 1-4

Daily Thought

Question: Why must the temple offerings be so violent and gruesome? For example, “Then he shall kill the bull before the Lord, and Aaron’s sons the priests shall bring the blood and throw the blood against the sides of the altar that is at the entrance of the tent of meeting” (Leviticus 1:5). Yuch! And wasteful–completely destroying the best of the herd.

We easily speak of sin, almost trivially, at times. Certain lies are white. Venial sins are not mortal sins. If it doesn’t hurt anyone, it is argued, why not do it? Through the eyes of a sinner, sin appears ordinary. The Bible shows us our world through the eyes of God.

The Lord, our holy God, created the heavens and the earth and filled the earth with his creatures. At the very end, he created something special, something above and beyond, some ones in whom he placed his very image. Adam and Eve were holy, without blemish, until they sinned, and their sin, though slight by a sinner’s standard (eating a mere piece of fruit), was catastrophic. You could say it was violent and gruesome and wasteful if you saw it through the eyes of a holy God.

God’s image remains in us, though badly marred, and we do not readily recognize the destructive force of sin, nor the amazing mercy of a holy God who provides forgiveness. The offerings, though violent and gruesome, remind us of purity lost and damage done. They are a foreshadowing of the great cost of sin paid in full by the sacrifice of One like us, though without blemish, Son of Man and Son of God, who took the full force of sin and wrath, and restored us as holy sons and daughters of a holy God.

Daily Prayer

My God and Savior, what a wonderful creation. I see it today through the smog of sin, but the glory of Your handiwork is still evident. Someday, to see it restored, to live in a holy Kingdom filled with righteousness and peace, what a wonderful hope. I’m so sorry for the damage I do when I choose my own way. Thank You for rescuing me.

God, do not let me make light of sin. Remind me of its harmfulness and its cost, so that I will hate it as You do, and love grace all the more. I have the good news of my Savior, Your Son, to share to this world. You saved me with an amazing love. Thank You.

Amen

Daily Question

What are some ways your sins have damaged you?

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Oh Mercy!

Daily Reading

Exodus 25-27

Daily Thought

I. I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me. II. You shall not make for yourself an idol. III. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. V. Honor your father and your mother. VI. You shall not murder. VII. You shall not commit adultery. VIII. You shall not steal. IX. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. X. You shall not covet.

These are the Ten Commandments of life given to a people in covenant with the holy God. “I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God” (Exodus 6:7), but there was no way the people could hold up their end. The Law does not make us holy; it exposes our sin. “I’ve lived a good life,” does not stand up before a holy God, and the Law opens our eyes to this.

Moses brought the Ten Commandments down from the mountain, etched by God on two stone tablets, and they were placed in the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark containing the Commandments would, therefore, speak of our hopelessness if God had not covered the Ark with the mercy seat; “You shall put the mercy seat on the top of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. There I will meet with you” (Exodus 25:21-22). I cannot meet God through the Law, for I cannot keep the Law, so I meet him at his mercy. We meet God not through our goodness, but through his grace. The blood of Jesus Christ paid the penalty of my sin. His death is my mercy, lifting the burden of the Law, and lifting me to my feet to stand in his righteousness before my God.

The Law of God shows how not very good I am, and the cross of Christ, how very good God is.

Daily Prayer

Holy God, You made this world and You planned from the beginning to display the glory of Your love, Your mercy, and Your grace in it. It is displayed on the cross. Even while we are sinners, You died for us. What an amazing grace, what a wonderful salvation.

I live in a continuous state of thankfulness. It fills me with joy, knowing I am loved unconditionally by so great a God. How can I not say “Yes” to the life You set before me. I will follow You, walk in Your ways, and display Your love to others.

Amen

Daily Question

Which of the Ten Commandments give you the most trouble?

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The Heart of God

Daily Reading

Exodus 22-24

Daily Thought

I hear it all the time, “All sins are the same in the eyes of God.” It is said with good intentions, I suppose. No one is worse than anyone else. God loves us all the same, you know, like Grandma. Ask Grandma whether she loves you or your brother best. “I love you both the same” is her answer every time. So one sin is no worse than any other, and they point to James 2:10, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” See!

But is that what this verse says?

Every sin, no matter how big or little, is equally effective in separating us from God. That is the point of James 2:10. The standard is “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). It does not matter if you miss  by an inch or a mile, you missed. Whether you sin badly or not-so-badly, you miss perfection, and you need saving and you need grace and you need Jesus.

On the scales of God’s judgment, however, we find disparity. Some sins weigh heavy, others not so much, and it may surprise us to see which sins are punished most severely. Exodus 22 is a lengthy list of crimes and punishments. In the first 15 verses, mostly about property damage and theft, every one who does wrong gets fined. In the next nine verses, they die. These are sins of sexual perversity and sorcery and idolatry. The punishments increase because the sins worsen. All sins are not the same, the worse the sin, the greater the punishment. Listen to this one: “My wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless” (Exodus 22:24). Yikes! This comes not from lying or cheating or even murder, but when you “wrong a foreigner or oppress him” or “mistreat any widow or orphan” (Exodus 22:21-22). In this, we learn the heart of God who listens to the cries of the helpless and the outcasts and the poor and the weak.  

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, I am amazed You are concerned about me, who I am and what I do. You care about my everyday life. It is good to know what is right and what is wrong, how You expect us to treat each other, what is pleasing in Your eyes. Thank you, Lord, for showing us Your laws that lead to the good life–a life marked by right living. Help me God to remember how personal you are, that You are very close, and that You will lead me. I need to follow!

God, make me keenly aware of those who most need my attention. Give me a heart of compassion for those who need compassion most.

Amen

Daily Question

Would you say you are someone who thinks too much about sin or not enough?

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The Lamb of God

Daily Reading

Exodus 10-12

Daily Thought

The tenth plague, the death of the firstborn, introduces Passover, so named because the angel of death passed over homes protected by the blood of a lamb. But God knew which homes belonged to Egyptians and which were Israelites, so why didn’t he simply skip the Israelite homes? Why did God require blood on the doorframe of a house to protect it from death? 

We must go back to Genesis. When Adam and Eve chose their own desire rather than God’s, they chose death, “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 2:17). Judgment was immediate and their relationship with God was severed. They were, therefore, dead, because God is life. Death through sin has been passed on to each and every one of us. We are all dead, separated from God because of sin. But Grace began immediately, as well. God allowed Adam and Eve, though dead, to keep breathing, and he launched his plan of salvation. Every breath is a gift of God anticipating grace.

Return to Exodus 12. The judgment passing through the land was just. Every family deserving of death would be visited by the destroyer, which means, because all sin, every family would be visited, including the Israelites. That Passover night, the destroyer would not discriminate between Egypt and Israel, all would be judged unless death had already been to that household. A substitute sacrifice, a lamb approved by God would pay the price, and the sign of blood was on the doorframe. It was God’s grace and we are amazed by grace only so far as we are appalled by sin. Blood on the doorframe is horrible. So is sin. The blood was a reminder that the sins of this household had been covered by the death of a lamb.

Now fast forward to A.D. 30. “The next day John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’” (John 1:29). Amazing grace.

Daily Prayer

Almighty God, Your goodness runs deep, but I choose to wallow in the shallows of my desires. Still, despite my rebellion, Your grace seeks me through the loving sacrifice of Your Son. May your righteousness consume my passions and may my desires become Yours. In response to Your overflowing never-ending love, I live thankfully and joyfully in a life made new again. 

What a wonderful Savior. What amazing grace.

Amen

Daily Question

How do you keep in mind the seriousness of your sin and the wonder of God’s grace?

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The Next Right Thing

Daily Reading

Exodus 4-6

Daily Thought

Moses, after hiding in Midian for forty years, hears God speak from a burning bush, obeys God, and returns to Egypt to speak against the Pharaoh on behalf of the nation of Israel. Along the way, something strange occurs: “At a lodging place on the way the Lord met him and sought to put him to death. Then Zipporah took a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it and said, ‘Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me!’ So he let him alone” (Exodus 4:24-26). God threatens Moses with death right after he commissioned him to go to Egypt. What’s that all about?

It is about keeping a covenant. God promised Abraham he would be a great nation and established a sign of circumcision securing that covenant (see Genesis 17:9-14). Delivering the Israelites from slavery to Egypt was part of God keeping his promise, but Moses, God’s chosen leader, had broken covenant. It seems Zipporah, his wife, was repulsed by the very idea of circumcision and Moses had accommodated his wife rather than do what was right. Moses messed up, he did the wrong thing and God’s judgment made that clear. He could not do the wrong thing and, at the same time, lead Israel to God’s promised land. But then comes grace. Zipporah did wrong, but then she did right. She circumcised her son and restored the covenant, and Moses lived.

Following God, you will mess up sometimes, like Moses and Zipporah. You will not always do the right thing, but after you do the wrong thing, you now have the opportunity to do the next right thing. Following God is not always doing the right thing, but doing the next right thing.

Daily Prayer

Mighty God, thank You for salvation and grace and Your goodness. You saved me from bondage of my own making, my sin. Thank You, as well, for Your righteousness and holiness. Saved by grace, may I live for You. May I hunger and thirst for Your righteousness. May I live rightly. 

I should not cheapen Your grace by taking advantage of it. Instead, I shall each day wake up and see the day before me as a gift from You, and delight in it. I shall remember that I am Your workmanship, made to do good works, that others will praise You. I shall love You fully, and live out Your love to this world. Help me do that, God!

Amen

Daily Question

Which is more effective in keeping you from sin, God’s goodness or God’s judgment?

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Sodom and Springer

Daily Reading

Genesis 19-21

Daily Thought

Genesis 19–what a chapter! The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are a carnival of perversity. The depraved men of Sodom clamor for sex with two men/angels staying in Lot’s home. Lot offers his daughters instead. Are you kidding me! Sodom’s time is up. Their sin has eclipsed the height of God’s patience. The time of God’s mercy is over as he destroys the cities, yet God’s grace endures and Lot and his family are rescued before the downpour of fire and brimstone. Astonishingly though, as the cities smolder in the distance, Lot’s unrepentant daughters get their dad drunk and take turns sleeping with him. Both end up pregnant.

This is akin to trash TV at its worst, “The Jerry Springer Show” of the 1980’s and 90’s. Mr. Springer was asked if it was difficult to find his outlandish guests. “Are you kidding?” he laughed. “They are in every neighborhood in America. Yours too.” He’s right, of course. Millions of people watched Jerry’s show. Look at our entertainment, our websites, our video games, our politics, or look at the daily news headlines, and we are what we watch. Lot’s wife looked back with a longing desire. She loved the lifestyle, and we do, too. What’s wrong with this world? In the words of G.K. Chesterton, “I am.” We all are.

And still God’s grace endures. Jesus took our sins, like those of Sodom and Springer, and mine, and made them his own. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5). He took what I deserve. That’s mercy. Then he gives me his righteousness. That’s grace. He became like me so that I can become like him. That’s love.

Daily Prayer

My Lord and Savior God, Your love is overwhelming. You love me and I am not worthy of it. You love me anyway. Thank you for that, and thank you, as well, for hating sin. I need to hate sin more. What it does to me, what it has done to Your creation. I look forward to Your coming Kingdom when sin is removed, when holiness is the way of the world, when Jesus reigns. Turn my longings toward You, my desires toward Your ways.

Amen

Daily Question

When have you experienced God’s grace in your life?

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Kittens

Daily Reading

Genesis 4-7

Daily Thought

Cain and Abel each bring an offering to God, one of fruit and the other a firstborn lamb. God found Abel’s acceptable, but why not Cain’s?

The essence of worship is faith and trust, humility and submission, devotion and awe. The Lord said to Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted?” (Genesis 4:7). The problem was not fruit or flock, but Cain’s attitude. There was no contrition, no faith, no love or adoration. It was, at best, an offering of duty, and more likely one of greed and rivalry and pride. Cain gave in hopes of getting.

The warning is in verse 7, “And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” Sin has a life of its own, crouching tiger-like, waiting to spring and strike and devour. My dad told us boys, “The problem with kittens is they grow up to be cats.” My dad did not like cats. Beware when you keep little sins as little pets – they grow up. Sin craves repetition until it takes hold and becomes a habit and so becomes master.

This is why worship more than willpower beats the beast in this battle. Willpower gives us strength but worship guards our heart and transforms our desires. When I worship rightly, I shoo the beast away from my heart and put God back on his throne.

Daily Prayer

My wonderful God, may my life be the first thing I bring to You as an offering, as worship. I shall love You with all that I am, my heart and soul and mind and might. And sin I shall hate. You are going to have to help me with this. Please, do whatever it takes.

Amen

Daily Question

What are ways I can best prepare my heart to worship God?

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The Sin of Sloth

Daily Reading

2Thessalonians 1-3

Daily Thought

The Seven Deadly Sins listed in Christian tradition are pride, greed, lust, gluttony, wrath, envy, and sloth. Sloth, the sin of laziness, is possibly the least noticed, but the most insidious. Paul warns the church at Thessalonica, “We hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies” (2Thessalonians 3:11). When people are not busy doing what they should, they are often busy doing what they shouldn’t, or at least dreaming about it. This sin of doing nothing becomes a breeding ground for all the other sins.

So Paul advises, “If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat” (2Thessalonians 3:11), a punishment connecting behavior to consequences–always a good idea. “As for you, brothers and sisters, do not grow weary in doing good” (2Thessalonians 3:13). 

The best antidote to laziness is love, serving others. Love is a verb, an action verb. There is no laziness in love.

Daily Prayer

My God, may I live life fully, actively, passionately serving others in the Name and to the glory of Your Son, Jesus Christ. May love drive me toward people, toward forgiveness and reconciliation when called for, toward charity to those in need, toward encouragement to the discouraged.

May I have no time for gossip, may there be no room for bitterness, may my life be too full to allow for either idolatry or idleness. May I stay single-focused on love, toward you with all my heart and soul and mind and strength, and toward others seeking their best.

Amen

Daily Question

In what kind of actions does love show up in your life?

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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 became aware 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. Then we begin asking the right question, not can I be good enough, but who is good enough?

“Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” ~Romans 7:25

It is an oft-asked question, do you want the good news first or the bad? We need the bad news first, “for the wages of sin is death,” for the good to sink in, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). 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

Daily Question

Are you good enough for heaven? Are you bad enough for hell? Why or why not?