For Future Reference...

Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. ~2 Corinthians 7:1 (NKJV)

Light exposes. God represents the light, He created the light, He is the light, and therefore His presence in our lives must expose the sin in us and do away with it before we can fully come to Him. If we think we are in communion with the almighty God and His moving Spirit, yet there is something that lies in the way, then we are deceived and have not been exposed to the hidden sins that must come to repentance. If we truly fear God, we should come to Him with prayer, asking to be made right in every way.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?

Cleanse me from these hidden faults. ~Psalms 19:12

There is an important note on the fact that we are indeed saved from our sins by grace and made perfect in the sight of God through His Son; it is this: we are saved in the future. What do I mean by that? I mean that we can never be perfect on this side of heaven and that in this life we will neither be seen as such. There are always those hidden faults of which do not know, and the only way we are saved from them is because God promises to keep Jesus before us on the day he judges the earth.

Sometimes we need to take a step back and examine where in our lives we could be growing, purifying, confronting God about, and making better. We don't always see or notice when our attitudes are less than ideal or our thoughts are sinful, but as long as we continually delve into God's magnificent instruction booklet for our lives and do so with prayer, asking that He will indeed reveal to us what He considers sin in our lives, He will honor it and show us how to become more Godly and God-fearing children.

He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. ~Micah 7:19 (ESV)

The Peace Paradox

“Enemy-occupied territory---that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.” ~C.S. Lewis

What do you say to the person who questions Jesus' deity? They conclude that, because this world is full of war, death, disease, conflict (and it's on the news every day), the acclaimed "Prince of Peace" is either a fraud or he's not strong enough to hold the peace he vowed to bring. While we sit around a warm cackling fire, a tree full of marvelous gifts, and tables full of wonderful food, there are riots going on against police, terrorists attacking elementary schools, and starvation raging across whole nations. Obviously this story of a savior being born to bring peace to a broken world holds no meaning or merit.

 

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ~Matthew 10:34 (NIV)

Sin will always wage war with peace on this earth. Jesus could force the world into order and sinners to repent, but he doesn't. What he did do was give us a way out. He brought "the sword" because his offer of true peace would split people apart. Jesus made followers, yes, but he also made enemies. The Word is a double-edged sword, and Jesus brought the truth of the Word to all peoples.

A Famous T-shirt logo, but very true when you think about it!

It is true that the peace Jesus brought was not one that would bring "world peace," but spiritual peace for those who choose to know him. It doesn't end there though, because simply knowing Jesus won't necessarily make your life nice and rosy. Sin makes life hard for us no matter where we stand, but Jesus promises that if we follow him, the Prince of Peace, we can find peace and comfort amidst hardships of many kinds.

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. ~John 16:33 (ESV)

Teeter & Totter

It's easy to have a disgust for the sins of others because when we get the whole picture, we can easily see God's point of view and how the sin affects him. When WE sin, however, the lies of the devil blind us to God and only allow us to see the supposed or false benefit of the act. We generally only find a true disgust for our sin when it's done and we can approach the Lord about it.

Here's an easy way to see temptation; consider that you're going on a spy mission. On this mission you are being fed false information. You are told to relax your guard because you have really seen any enemies so far. You are told that even if you do skip out on the mission, it's not like they would fire you, because you are too valuable--it doesn't matter if you fail! You are told that there probably aren't many booby traps on this mission, so you don't have to worry as much. What they aren't telling you is that it will affect someone if you don't follow all the rules! The mission will fail unless you make sure that whoever is backing you is going to do so without fault and that you are physically and mentally prepared for the mission beforehand. Funny thing is, God always has reinforcements when you need them, so as long as you're not too proud or self-seeking, there's really no way the mission can fail with God's help.

Something to remember: A stumble is not a fall. This means that even during the mission, if we start heading in the wrong direction or we get lost, all we need to do is radio in for directions instead of giving up and continuing on toward failure. And if we don't know what it means to fail your mission, God gives a pretty good mission statement in the Bible--you should go check it out!

For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me. ~Psalm 38:4 (ESV)

Final thought: if you are ever teetering on the edge and about to give up and fall forward, just face the other direction and allow God to take the totter. Your iniquities might feel too heavy for you, but consider this: you're probably not the strongest person in the galaxy. Just take it to the Maker.

I'm the Best at Not Bragging

"Anything you do for the sake of personal glory is sin." ~Trip Lee

"Bang--Bang! Look at these guns! You know where I got 'em? From bailing hay all summer! That's right, and I got paid too. Beat that," said my imaginary friend, Bruce. "Alright," I replied, "no problem. See these guns?" "No." "Then you're not looking hard enough, because I'm using them all the time; fighting off demons, that is. I got these from reading God's word all summer! Yup, and I got paid too, a whole bunch more than you did--I'm going to be getting a mansion in heaven some day! Only thing is that I don't really care about the mansion, I'm content with these guns. I'd recommend looking into some yourself!"

As Trip Lee said it, "the root of bragging is thinking something you have is so amazing that everyone needs to know about it." I know that bragging isn't a perfect way to look at this, because the root of the word implies selfishness, but I think if you start bragging to those around you and you don't include yourself doing anything to earn what you got, people will start to get the picture!

"Everything you have was given to you. So why would you brag when all you did was accept a gift?" ~1 Corinthians 4:7 Paraphrase

 "He’s too great to keep to ourselves...[we] were built to brag on Him." ~Trip Lee

There are those (especially at my workplace) who say they are Christians but still cuss and act anything but the part. And then there are those (I'm guilty of it) who act the part of a Christian but never say a thing. People will assume you're just a nice person.

"Every decision you make is an opportunity to be a mirror, reflecting the goodness of your Maker. Each second is an chance to be a monitor, showcasing snapshots of His glory.  And when those around us catch glimpses of that goodness, we get to tell them that our light is only a dim reflection of His. The truth is, bragging with our lives and our lips goes hand in hand. If we only brag with our lives, people may assume we’re just nice people. They won’t know who compels us to live such good lives. And if our words say God is amazing, but our lives say otherwise, our claims lose credibility. We must do both." ~Trip Lee

It's like saying, "Yeah I have this really cool new iPhone 5, but honestly you should be idolizing my friend, who has the iPhone 6--forget me man." Nobody does that, and yet we should. When somebody says that you're a nice person and never do or say anything wrong, are always on time for work, and always give your best effort, we should respond by saying, "Man, that's nothing! I wouldn't be able to do it if it wasn't for Christ changing my life for the better! Everything I'm doing is still just a step down from what he is, so you should check Him out, for sure!" So why not? Let's practice that kind of response in our own lives.

In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. ~Matthew 5:16 (ESV)