To Understand God's Love

     "Very rarely does anyone die for a righteous man, but for a good man someone might possibly dare to die."  In this verse, Paul emphasizes a fact that can be observed by all people throughout the world.  It is not often that we see one man die for another man, and you never see a man die for an unholy man.  It is practically unheard of!  And yet "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

     Can a person truly comprehend the ultimate act of selflessness demonstrated by God the Father and Son?  On earth we rarely see one man die for another, but God sent his Son down to the earth to die for our sins.  He died for our sins!  If one of us had the choice to die for another man, we would want to die for someone that deserved it, and no man on the earth would want to die for a low down sinner.  After all, even if we could stoop down low enough to die for a righteous person, it would seem impossible to stoop down even lower and die for a sinner.

     Again I say, can we truly understand God's love for us.  After all, none of us would want to go through the pain that Jesus did for a sin that was not even ours.  Additionally, we cannot even begin to fully feel the agony that Jesus went through as he took on the sins of the world, and the pain that he went through as they nailed him to the cross.  This ultimate act of love never ceases to make me look to God in awe.  And as I draw closer to understanding His love, I become inspired all the more to get rid of sin in my life.  I know that as a human I will mistakes, but I do know that when I die I will reach a perfect state of being in heaven.  I challenge you, read Romans 5:6-8, and strive to understand God's love, and then act upon your new understanding.

Romans 2:1-6

You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth.  So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment?  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance?  But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.  God "will give to each person according to what he has done."

Hypocritical Thinking

     Human nature tells us to do everything that is within our means to make ourselves look good.  This human quality often gets in the way when we look around and see the many people around us with sin in their life.  In fact, often times we are inclined to see the sin in the life of another before we see the same sin in our own lives.    The fact is, when we judge others and have the same sin in our own lives, we are storing up wrath against ourselves for the day of judgement.

     Romans 2:1 says, "For at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things."  It is easy to see from this passage that whenever we pass judgement, we are in fact judging ourselves.  Think about it, would you really want God to use the things that you judged others for on yourself.  If any of your judgments could also be used against you, then you are condemning yourself and not the person you thought you were condemning.  

     The question is, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"  What makes their sin more important then the same sin that is in our own lives? When the day of judgement comes, it will not matter how everyone else looks up next to you, because God will judge with truth and fairness.  Examine your life, have you been saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, or has hypocritical thinking caused you to stray away from the faith?

A Spiritual Battle

     All around us a battle wages that is not of this world. A spiritual battle in which we must fight with weapons that seem wimpy to the world, but have the power to send the devil's minions cowering away. Truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, salvation, and the Word of God are these weapons. Ephesians 6:11-18 describes how we must prepare for the battle at hand, and how we must take our stand against the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” In order to use the weapons given us by our Father, we must understand how to use these weapons. So, let us enter the spiritual battle training arena.

Ephesians 6:11-18

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Ephesians 6:11-18 NIV

The Secret Sin

      Too many times have I looked at a woman lustfully, or let my gaze rest on an image not fit for a servant of God. Whether it was a flash of skin or simply a beautiful figure, it was something that didn't seem so bad. “After all,” I would tell myself, “I did not actually commit the sin.” But then I read Matthew 5:27-30, and the truth came to light.

“27 You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to into hell.”--Matthew 5:27-30

      This scripture brings to light the fact that even though we have not actually “committed” the sin, we have committed the sin in our hearts. By doing so, we bring as much displeasure to God as if we were actually doing it. The Bible says, “Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” If we are to have absolutely nothing to with sin, we should not be doing it in our hearts. Furthermore, the scripture above tells us to do whatever it takes to keep ourselves from sinning. I am not saying we should go out and gouge out our eyes, but I am saying that we should find an accountability partner, confess our sins, and then spend time reading scriptures on this topic. Afterwords, be sure to talk to God, I have found that the more I pray and meditate on God's Word, the less I think about sinning.

      If you struggle with this sin, please pray with me. “Dear God, I have sinned against you. I have defiled your holy temple which should always be kept holy. God, I just pray for your forgiveness even though I do not deserve it. Please give me the strength to stand up and conquer this despicable sin. Amen.”

Throwing Away Discontentment

       What is it about possessions that traps the heart, mind, and soul in to a “cyclone” of desires? Why is this desire to make ones self happy so addicting? Is it just human nature? I have asked these questions so many times, and too many times I found my heart in a place where discontentment reigns supreme. Whether the source of my discontentment was a desire for more possessions or the fact that a sibling just would not shut-up. In my mind, there are two types of discontentment.

       The first is the want for more. For example, many of us just absolutely have to possess the newest piece of technology. It could be anything from a cellphone to an iPod touch to a brand new laptop. Many of us would also like to have a nicer vehicle. After all, there is always a new model coming out and there are just so many options. The second type of discontentment is more subtle, but real none the less. How many times have you wished that someone would just shut up? Or maybe you were hoping for some peace and quite and the next thing you know a sibling comes topples into your room head over heels! Is this not discontentment?

       Have you ever noticed that discontentment does not feel good? Even when your desire is fulfilled, that happiness seems to rush away with the wind. I believe that the solution to this puzzle is the opposite of discontentment. Hebrews 13:5 says to “keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” God has promised to give us everything that we need and yet we have so much more then we need. Just stop a moment and make a list of everything in the room. Do you truly NEED all that stuff on your list? In fact, I am going to guess that you do not really need any of it. Take the time to read Philippians 4:11-13 and 1Timothy 6:7-12. Meditate on these words of life and then make a commitment to do away with all of your dissatisfaction and just “be content with what you have.”