I'm Making My Way

Do you ever stop and wonder; where am I headed? What am I doing with my life that makes a difference? There are many questions we could ask ourselves, but they all have the same answer. Who are you making your way for in the life you are given? You may answer; I am doing everything for my family. I work hard for them and give them everything they need and want. You may say; my kids are my life and hope, everything is for them and their future. These are all noble statements and things that everyone should do for the greater good. Taking care of your family and children is a universal truth and a widely excepted one at that. Okay, so who should we be living our lives for everyday? What should be our motivating factor? The answer is simple, but the doing is very difficult. God. Nothing else even needs to be said. Jesus says “It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” We may need the bread of this world to survive this earthly life, but our life and soul depends on how much time with spend with the words that come from God’s mouth. These words that come from the mouth of God, are none other than the very Bible. God has given everything we need to deal with this life in this book. You may be saying to yourself that it does not cover every subject known to man. The truth in this is that everything falls under some subject in the Bible. This is why we need to spend time daily learning and reading God’s word. Not only does it strengthen our relationship with the creator, but it gives us the very substance to survive our daily lives. By gaining more understanding and investing in our relationship with God, we are investing in more than we could imagine. When you are making your way with God as your leader and instructor; the other things that are important to you like your family and children will automatically be blessed by your obedience. When those things of life get you down and you are broken as Hezekiah was when he learned of his soon to be death. When you weep against the wall as he did and ask God to pull you out of the depths of sorrow and pain. Or when it is the blessings of life as it was for Abraham when God provided a sacrifice for him. Making your way with God may be a great challenge at times and may bring sorrow and pain. The great thing about making your way with God is that you are making your way with the creator of it all. He knows the path because he laid the foundations of the earth. (Job 38:4)"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand.” We do not understand, but he does. Live your day for God; fill your plate with His word and the rest will fall on the plate where it needs to be; but you can bet it will not fall on the floor as crumbs from a table.

What Do We Do With Sin

What do we do with sin? A simple enough question, right? You may be thinking, well duh, you repent, you do away with the sin or try to overcome the sin. Okay, this works great when the sin is your sin and you have the ability through Christ to deal with the sin. What if the sin belongs to another person; what do you do then? This becomes a completely different scenario when you start to talk about other peoples sins. Now, before we get started I am Not telling you that you should make a habit of seeking out others sin. Seeking out other people’s sin is not what we are called to do; by Christ. At the same time though we have a great responsibility as Christians to other people see sin for what it really is; that sin is part of a fallen world. I am going to take a guess here, but I am willing to say that most if not all people hate to be told they have done something wrong or committed a sin. Most of the time the response goes something like this; “ who are you to tell me what I am doing wrong, look at your own problems and stay out of mine.” We have gotten it into our heads that we have this right to be living in sin as long as we can justify the sin. I hate to tell you but no matter what the sin is, there is no justification for the sin; stop thinking there is no justification. As a Christian you have the responsibility to let another Christian know they are headed down a road of destruction. I believe the reason most people do not like others to tell them what they are doing wrong, is that most of the time it is done in such a harsh or hateful manner. How exactly are we to approach and deal with other people’s sin. By being Christlike of course. Never once did you see Christ be hateful in showing someone their sin. A great example is how Jesus deals with the adulterous woman in (John 8:1-11). Jesus met her where she was at, on the ground broken, accused and humiliated. What did he say to her? “Then neither do I condemn you, Go now and leave your life of sin.” There was no, how dare you, you evil sinful person or you are living in sin and going to hell. When the disciples began their ministry the followed this example. There are four easy steps to follow when talking to someone about their sin. 1. Patiently Listen - James 1:19 says “Let every person be quick to hear”. Get to know the person see why they are the way they are and the reason they do these things. Most of the time it is because they do not even know better or somewhere in their past someone important to the justified their actions. You cannot help anyone if you do not take the time to understand them. They will only look at you and say “who do you think you are.” 2. Personally Repent - The sins you commit are no less than anyone else's sin. (Luke 13:5) “I tell you no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” There is no way you can help someone with their sin if you are committing the same sin. Unless you understand that you are without a doubt a person in need of redemption you can help no one. Another question to ask yourself is’ what are my motivations? Do you really care about this person or persons; or do you just want them to disappear and be silenced. Luke 7:47 says “ he who is forgiven little, loves little.” 3. Gently Instruct - (2 Timothy 2:22-25) “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone..correcting his opponents with gentleness.” We are to be kind in approaching someone and telling them they are living a destructive lifestyle. We also have to be careful that what we are calling a sin is a sin. There are plenty of times that people will say something is a sin and there is no biblical background saying it is a sin. For example, someone would say having an alcoholic beverage would be a sin or that dancing is a sin. There is no biblical basis on these matters. Sure, we are told to be drunk is a sin, but having a drink of alcohol is not. Be gentle and understanding in how you approach people. 4. Mercifully Pursue and Then Engage the Heart - “Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 22–23). We are told not to hide in the shadows or to be rude, but to move boldly into confusing, high-stakes situations with the gospel of God’s mercy. (1) Stay with people do not give up on them, continue to love them in mercy and show them where their mistake lies. Help them not to just see then understanding of the sin with their minds but with their hearts so that they may remember and cherish the gospel of God’s forgiving, redeeming, and merciful plan of salvation.


John Freeman Christ and Sexual Sin http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/christ-sexual-sin/
This 4 step guide is John Freeman’s message in the above link. I only added to his ideas.

Misguided Devotion

Have you ever known anyone who did something in the Lord’s name, but you knew that what this person had done could not have been what God would have wanted? Often these types of acts are done with a complete lack of thought. There is a story of a man in the bible; his name is Jephthah and he was a judge of Israel. Jephthah was not an evil man, in fact he was a man that God moved upon when the Israelites fought the people of Ammon. I gather he was a man devoted to God and wanted to please God. The problem with Jephthah I believe is that he got a little excited and made vows to God that he did not think through. In Judges 11:30-31 Jephthah makes a vow to God; he tells God that he will sacrifice the first thing out his door to meet him, if God would deliver Israel from the people of Ammon. This vow does not sound to bad at first, but the problem arises after the battle when Jephthah gets home. I believe he truly thought an animal would be there to greet him, however this was not the case. A person greeted him at his door and it was his daughter, not just any daughter; his only child. What a foolish vow to make to God. Now there is much debate over what Jephthah actually did to his daughter. In God’s law human sacrifice was strictly forbidden, but I believe that Jephthah was not to knowledgeable on God’s law. If he was I think he would have offered silver in place of his daughter. Some say he sacrificed her others say that he sent her to the sanctuary to live out a life of virginity. Either way his vow cost him and his daughter greatly. I am not telling you to never make a vow to God to show your love or devotion to Him. What I am saying is when you do make a vow to God be sure it is one that He would have you do and that it does not go against what God has commanded. We often make silly promises to God that He knows and we know that we will never be able to keep. A vow to God should never been done in haste, it is always best to think it through and most of all pray to God about your offering. Sometimes or promises effect others in ways God would not want.