The Ugly Sin - An Awesome God

We don't like to be reprimanded...We don't want to think we have done anything wrong.  Yes, we can justify most anything.  Everybody is doing it OR I saw a Christian yesterday do this OR no one will ever know the difference OR it is just the way things are today.  Yes, we can even make sin look better.  But, the fact still remains that we sin and God still isn't pleased with it.  Our measure of what is right and wrong should not be in others or anything in this world (after all, we live in a sinful world).  Our measure should be based on God's Holy Word.
If we base what we do on the Word, then we can clearly see our sins!  So, what do we do about it.  Last Sunday, we looked at Psalm 32.  It is a Psalm of David and who knows sin and forgiveness better than David?  We can see in the Psalm that David knows what happens when sin goes unconfessed.  Unconfessed sin can just eat away at you.  You lose the joy, the peace, and the communication with the Lord.  It is as if God's hand is heavy upon us when we sin.  We know when we have done wrong and we can't just sweep it under a rug - unfortunately, the stuff we sweep under the rug will show up and will always be there.
David knew as we do that we have to confess our sins to the Lord.  If we know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, then we know that He died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of those sins.  We know that His blood was not shed in vain.  When we confess our sins, as a believer, we are forgiven.  We can put those sins behind us and then, we can MOVE FORWARD.
That is important because we don't want to go back to those sins - we want to move on.  We want to move on to serve.  We want to move on to be the people God wants us to be.  We want to move on because God has plans for us and He is ready for us to get to work!
So, what is keeping you from moving forward?  Is sin holding you down?  You know what to do...

Are you sure??

How many times in our lives have we found ourselves telling the Lord that we trust Him and that we have faith that He is going to take care of us...only to find that in reality, we don't...  I say that we don't because we most likely find it easier to follow Jesus and have trust in Him when there is money in the bank, the bills are paid, our health is good, and everything in our lives is going well.  But, what happens when there isn't money in the bank...what happens when we get sick...what happens when we can't seem to get it together?  This is the time when it becomes painfully obvious that we need the Lord.  He is with us all the time...good, bad..no matter.  But, we learn to trust in the times when things aren't going well.  That is where we grow the most.  That leads us to really seek what true "blessings" are.  As people, we think that God isn't blessing us if we don't have plenty of money or nice things.  In reality, sometimes our blessings come in the form of a trial or difficulty.  This is when we grow the most...
This past Sunday, we looked at the words of Jesus written in Matthew.  Jesus is teaching that the man who built his house on a rock was ready when the storms came.  The man who built on sand - not so much...
Notice a couple of things...First, the storms came...Second, the foundation was based on Jesus - His Words and our response to those Words...Third, our foundation would not be good as sand (doing it on our own).
So, I ask you (as I have asked myself)...what is your foundation built on?  If your foundation is built on the things or people of this world - get ready - the storms will come and that "stuff" isn't going to help you...
If your foundation is built on Jesus and His Word and our obedience - then, hold on...the storms still come, but you have the only One who can calm those storms OR just shield you until they are over!
Are you growing in the storms this week?? 

February - first Sunday

This past Sunday, we looked at difficult text.  It is difficult, not to understand, but to put into practice.  The scripture was from James and told us to "Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry" (James 1:19).  All too often, I find myself quick to speak, slow to listen...and we won't even talk about anger...
However, if we are going to be more like Jesus, we have to be willing to listen...but to what?
Listen to what is going on around us - are there opportunities that the Lord is calling us to take advantage of?
Listen to the Word (the Bible) - what is the Bible trying to tell me to do?
Listen to wise, God-fearing Christians
Listen to the Holy Spirit - what am I not doing that I need to do...what I am doing that I need NOT to do...
If I listen more and talk less, I might become aware of what the Lord is trying to tell me...
If I listen to Him more, I might find that I am not easily angered...
Maybe, just maybe, this Scripture does have something to teach me...
How about you?

5th Sunday

What a blessing this past Sunday was.  We are so blessed to have a faithful and dedicated choir that is willing and ready to praise the Lord in song!  And on Sunday, that is exactly what they did.  God has been so good to our church in so many ways.  I could spend days just thanking Him for the blessings we have received.
That leads me to the challenge for the week.  Try taking just a few moments each day thanking God for what He has blessed you with and how He has worked in your life.
Praise Him for the good times...Praise Him for the challenges that enabled you to grow...Praise Him for the difficult times where He was always there with you...Praise Him for the opportunity to serve such an awesome God...In summary, do what the choir began on Sunday...Praise HIM!