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Sin

It’s Time To Stop Pretending

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John 5:36-40

36 But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.

37 And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape.

38 And ye have not his word abiding in you: for whom he hath sent, him ye believe not.

39 Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

40 And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Most of us instinctively draw back from dealing with this stubborn commitment to independence from the world, pretending we are all right as we are. It is much easier to pretend we are thirsting after God than it is to face the challenge of giving up our commitment to independence from sin.

Psalm 42:1

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

What is the answer? We must ask God to search our hearts, expose our self-centered motivations, and help us to see just where it is that we stop short of panting after Him.

You see, the more deeply we sense our thirst, the more passionately we will pursue water. But we will never sense that thirst until we are willing to face the fact that we may be drinking more from our own self-constructed wells than from the wells of God.

We cannot continue this way. The days of pretending are over.

Proverbs 14:12

12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

Our own reasoning will lead us to destruction. Without God’s counsel we will perish.

1 Corinthians 10:20-21

20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.

21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table, and of the table of devils.

We cannot pretend to be one way and be another. There is no middle ground. You are either free from your sins and fighting temptation or you are in bondage and fighting to pretend you are free.

James 3:14

14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.

Don’t fight to prove that you are something that you are not. Do not lie against the truth of who you are. It is better to face and fight our demons than it is to try and hide them from the view of others.

Philippians 3:12-14

12 Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

If we forget about something then it is dead to us. Until what leads you into sin is removed from you through the grace and mercy of God then they are not forgotten (or behind you).

Life for us now consists of discarding wrong attitudes and habits accumulated in the past. In modern, psychological terms, we must lose our baggage. For us, the past is dead, buried in the waters of baptism. With that behind us, we must diligently make unwavering progress in putting out the leaven of sin, growing in God’s love, producing the fruit of God’s Spirit, moving toward the Kingdom of God, and putting on Christ’s perfection, His image in us.

11 Defiling Things To Be On Guard For

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Mark 7:19-23

[19] Because it entereth not into his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught, purging all meats?
[20] And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man.
[21] For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders,
[22] Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:
[23] All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

When you begin to think about all of the parts of yourself that you wish that you could change, I am sure there are many things that come to mind. One thing that I have learned about God is that if we are willing that He can work with us to change each and every part of us that is lacking or is continually falling into defeat in something. After reading the passage above, I felt led just to list out into more detail some of the things that proceed out of our hearts:

1 ) Fornication and adultery – any act or sexual traffic or capacity
2 ) Theft – kieptes and legtes – tiny and large acts of stealing (as a pilferer and brigand)
3 ) Murderer – all violent deeds
4 ) Coveting – idolatry, whose sole purpose is gaining and getting
5 ) Wickedness – unspiritual and ungodly conduct
6 ) Deceit – cunning, craft, and art of deception
7 ) Lasciviousness – acknowledge no restraint has no shame
8 ) Evil eye – jealous grudges or envy
9 ) Railing – speaking against (men) or blasphemy (God)
10 ) Pride – absence from the heart spiritually unconscious
11 ) Foolishness – one who lives not by morals

With this listed it is very easy to identify how our walk with God can be so easily diminished. As we allow one or more of these types of feelings to overwhelm us, we begin to lose our ability to believe in God and defile the power that we normally have. So what can we begin to do? One of my recommendations under the leadership of God would be to put each and every one of these things under subjection and complete defeat when possible. These listed things are not things to live with, but to live without! Learn to get these out and put more of God’s love in and to bear the fruits of the spirit in your heart.

All About Preparation

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I want to start today’s writing in the thought of talking about food. If I said to you that you had a choice on something to eat based on how it had been prepared, what would be your pick?

Are you the kind of person that can’t wait, and will go through and get something that takes 5 minutes or less to fix, just so you can have it right then?

Are you the kind of person that is willing to wait a little longer, maybe 5-10 minutes, while something cooks in the microwave?

Or are you the kind of person that will wait the longest amount of time, maybe 30 minutes to an hour, while something bakes in the oven?

If I started taking answers from everyone, I’m sure that the responses would vary greatly. However, if I told you that the best tasting food was the food you would get if you waited the longest, I am sure that the answers would begin to change, right? I’m not here today to talk about microwavable blessings. That is a wore out topic, that everyone is very much aware of. I want to discuss something that everyone seems to leave out every single time.

I’m not here to tell you that I am an avid chef, but there is a very important step in making the perfect meal. It’s all about preparation.

If you rush through the process of putting all of your ingredients together during the beginning of your process, then your meal will be a mess, and won’t come out the way you want it to be, and you will be unhappy with the end result, not enjoying the taste of your food by any means.

Now then, let’s move this from food to more spiritual matters.

Let me just go ahead and tell you how God has put this on my heart. I’m sure I won’t make any fans or followers on this, and that’s okay. It’s very often that I see the people of God coming into services day in and day out, so unsatisfied with the way that church is anymore. There is always one in the crowd, no matter how good the food is, that won’t like the way it tastes. They aren’t happy with the way that the praise and worship is, the preaching is, the teaching is, they blame just about everything in the world, and are very unhappy with the way everything tastes. It’s not just one church you go to that you see this trend; it’s everywhere that you travel.

And the truth of the matter is, it is nothing more than a lack of preparation from a person:

Isaiah 57:14-21

[14] And shall say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumblingblock out of the way of my people.
[15] For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
[16] For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
[17] For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him: I hid me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart.
[18] I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.
[19] I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.
[20] But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
[21] There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.

If we do not begin to learn to prepare ourselves to have a humble spirit, we will go into our services and be the very stumbling block to people that need to be saved, or need help in a desperate way. If you are going in church, and have no peace of mind, and you are just completely distracted all together, then just pray that God will help you to find peace. He is the one who gives it, and will restore, as the word above reads.

I’m learning every day that having more prayer and reading throughout my week every single day is helping me be more prepared to be of a help in church services to others that stand in need. I have also learned the hard way that doing nothing at all leaves me in that wicked state that it speaks of, leaving me in no better shape than someone that is lost, just as confused as they are, having to get myself back in good shape with God.

It took a lot of boldness for me to write this, so I pray that you take some initiative like I have, and start being more prepared before you ever hit the doors to the church: come with a song on your heart, come with a scripture on your mind, come with a person burdened on your heart to pray for, come with a goal to give God glory! Come prepared to do something spectacular!

Then I know beyond all doubt that you will leave with a better taste in your mouth, and you will leave much more full then you would if you came with no preparation. Because like the old adage, there is nothing better than eating a meal that has been slaved over all day, right? God Bless!