Lingering in sin.

Sin, a word we are all familiar with. But it is more than a word it is a heart condition. It is a silent killer that daily destroys lives, marriages, and families

It dwells in each of us, we are born with it by nature and there is only one cure. Jesus Christ and His atonement, redemption and reconciliation with God the Father through Faith and Grace.

But we are resistant and we are stubborn and hooked on our sins. Like Lot in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, we want to stay where we are we linger when God says run, we negotiate with sinful desires when God says to stay away, we are blinded by our desire to please our selfish ways.

Read Genesis 19 today look at the entire picture here of how far sin will take a person, at some point people go beyond response and God turns them over to their gods, themselves.

Are you lingering around a certain sin today that God has told you to flee from? No matter how big or small it is , sin will hold you back from what God is doing, it will take you further than you ever thought you would go, and it will leave you for dead once it has used you as it's slave.

Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord , and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.” And Lot said to them, “Oh, no, my Lords. Behold, your servant has found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness in saving my life. But I cannot escape to the hills, lest the disaster overtake me and I die.

Genesis 19:12-13, 15-19

Pain is good?

Living as a Christian doesn’t mean your life is perfect it doesn’t mean living free from struggles; instead living a Christian life means you will rely on the Holy Spirit who will help you face these difficulties head-on day after day.

Struggles shape our hearts and our faith humbly submitting to God is the first step in overcoming struggles. Humility pulls us away from self reliance and closer to God. It is not an easy life, but it is a rich life, filled with the presence of God. He teaches us, comforts us, and walks with us as we grow, He reminds us of who we are and who He is in the face of pain and struggle, our faith in Him will give us comfort, guidance, and hope.

When you read the Bible, life often gets worse before it gets better. Salvation, the free gift of God, is sometimes painful.It costs us nothing and Jesus everything.

Pain teaches us: because to understand this pain change and struggle are part of the growing process.

This doesn't mean all pain is good, or necessary it means God knows what it takes to get through to our stubborn hearts, and that He alone is good and does all things for our good and His glory, He loves us enough to work in us and make us like Jesus.

C.S. Lewis said God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: It is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world”

Is God shouting at you today?

God wants us to see that He is our only hope. If we can control something on our own, we will never come to know the greater power of God. No matter what Is going on God is still in control He acts according to His eternal plan and perfect will.

 Isaiah 30:18 tells us the Lord is a God of justice for those who wait on Him. He will not abandon us in our times of helplessness. We have to trust in Him that He alone is able to change whatever situation we are in, into a time of hope, joy and peace.

Through it all, God will act and show us that He cares for is personally and deeply. Don't surrender to pain, trials or temptations, instead surrender to God our creator and see His power shine in you , on you and through you as you make it with Him through this life.

Mark 10:27: With man [it] is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. — Romans 5:3-5

Now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:6-9

Protesting against God

When Jesus walked the earth He was harder on the religious establishment than any others, some may ask why? The answer is simple the Pharisees and Scribes were self righteous believing that what they did was in service to God, but being deceived by their own desires.

Jesus spent time with those who were lost, not full of themselves. Look when Jesus called Matthew who was known as Levi. Luke 5:29-32
Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.  I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

To those who think themselves righteous the word of God is clear, Romans 12:3, 9-21 For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of  himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

The folly of fools is that they believe themselves to be sinless, none of us are there, we are not better than others, just forgiven by God's grace, and if we do things without love, then we act on our accord, we are to hate what is evil, sin is evil, not just one sin all sin. Let us examine ourselves and compare us to the scriptures.

I Corinthians 6:8-11 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you  do these things to  your brethren! Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

To many make their idea of god into the one they serve, either we serve God the creator  or the enemy, it doesn't work the other way. Let love be without hypocrisy, means we confront sin by exposing it for what it is, the world is lost in their sin, they do not know the ways of our Lord we pray, we encourage, we help, we share God's love to them. The scriptures tell us not to accept sin amongst the body, unbelievers are not part of the body, do you get that?

I Corinthians 13:1-8, 13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the  gift  of  prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the  poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there  are prophecies, they will fail; whether there  are tongues, they will cease; whether there  is knowledge, it will vanish away. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I John 1:5-10 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

I John 2:3-6, 9-11, 15-19, 24, 28-29 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked. He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they  went  out  that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.

I John 3:7-8, 10-20 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.

I John 4:7-11, 17-21 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to  be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.