Sin is not always obvious. Some sins are, however, such as murder, adultery, and stealing. But others are more subtle like pride, selfishness, and gossip. Sometimes we will sin in ignorance or presumption. That is why David prayed,
“Who can discern his errors? Forgive me from hidden errors. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins. Let them not have dominion over me. Then I will be upright I will be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Lord, my rock, and my redeemer” -Psalm 19:11-14
The Bible talks about sins of the flesh and sins of the spirit. Paul pointed out in 2 Corinthians 7:1,
“Therefore, having these promises, dear beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfection holiness in the fear of God.”
When we sin against the spirit, we knowingly go against what is true. We talk about some sins being worse than others. But it may not be the sins that we think.
My pastor always says, “I’m glad you’re not out there robbing banks and stealing.” But there may be sin in your spirit we may have that needs to be dealt with.
Jesus said to Pontius Pilate,
“You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” -John 19:11
Jesus was talking about either Caiaphas or Judas. Caiaphas was the high priest who had a hand in putting Jesus up on false charges and then sent Him to the Romans to do his dirty work and crucify Him. Then there was Judas, who betrayed Him.
Either way, it’s the same. Judas was one of the hand-picked disciples of Christ who betrayed Jesus, and Caiaphas, the high priest, should have known better. The point is when you have been schooled in the scriptures like Caiaphas or exposed to the truth and the power of God like Judas, you are without excuse. With knowledge comes responsibility.
I take pride in raising successful children. It’s difficult to raise children there is no doubt that it takes hard work and patience.
As a mother, you have to create a loving and supportive environment. Let your children know that you are there for them no matter what the good and the bad.
Discipline lets them know that bad choices have consequences. The good choices have rewards
Setting high expectations for them. Encourage them to aim high, and set ambitious goals for them.
It was my job as a parent to get them ready to survive in a dog-eat-dog world without me and have them be successful in doing so.
The hardest part of being a parent is knowing your children don’t need you anymore. But it’s also a sign that you have done your job.
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Isaiah. It not only warns us, it gives us hope.
I thought I would give you a brief rundown of what Isaiah teaches us;
God’s Mercy:
God calls people to return to Him, even after they have sinned, and offers to cleanse, heal, and forgive them.
Trusting God:
Isaiah 7:13-14 says that if people trust in the Lord, He will be their security.
God’s Judgement:
God’s judgment can be harsh, but He always gives people the chance to obey and follow Him.
God’s promises:
God’s promises bring peace. This peace will keep our hearts and minds safe as we trust in Him.
The coming Messiah:
Isaiah offers a message of hope about the coming Messiah who will establish God’s Kingdom on earth.
The consequences of sin:
When we sin we bring on ourselves the justice of God. Sin tears apart marriages, families, friendships, and communities. The justice of God is a soul-shaking, pride-scattering justice.
The importance of repentance:
God is always ready and willing to extend and mercy and forgive sin if people repent.
The consequences of trusting in our own strength:
Trusting in our own strength can lead to sin and destruction. When we trust in God’s strength instead of our own we will have His peace and no anxiety. He will never leave us alone in our struggles.
In the book of Isaiah, we see that Israel was in a state of deep moral confusion. Kind of the place America is today. In Isaiah 5:20 it says,
“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who puts darkness to light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.”
God’s Word should be the standard for truth. God defines what is good and evil. Apart from God, our entire value system will be upside down. We will be confused as to what is good and what is evil. But God’s Word is light.
No matter what happens God is still on the throne. No matter what happens in our world. No matter who is ruling, which nation, which country, which King, which President. No matter if there is sickness, earthquakes, or war.
Jesus is still on His throne and He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
I have a few things I’ve been working on. One is trying to eat better and stop drinking brown sugar water, aka Soda. It’s the hardest thing I am dealing with.
I’ve also been trying to get a few things organized for Christmas. I have a few things for my gift baskets. I like living in a small town but come the holidays, trying to get things for Christmas is slim pickings. And I don’t like to order online because I like to physically look at the product I’m buying.
We’ve all been there our minds spinning into a downward spiral of self-defeating thoughts. No matter the circumstances our mind tells us we are destined for failure. Self-defeating thoughts can be powerful and take a minor toll on our emotional and physical well-being.
Fortunately, there is a little secret tool that can be used to literally change the way you think and it’s called reframing. It’s how I changed my life, from doom and gloom into something positive and life-giving. Simply put refrain is changing how you see something and then expressing it differently.
It’s a psychological paradigm shift that replaces your old way of thinking with a new and improved mindset. Reframing not only changes the way you see, think, and respond to situations, but it can also keep your thoughts from sliding down a slippery slope of impending doom.
Doing it is pretty tricky. Logic doesn’t jive with emotions and emotions frequently trump logic. This happens way more often than we’d like to admit. Trying to get the logical and the emotional self in sync is a real challenge but not impossible. It begins with changing your perspective. You just have to put on those rose-colored glasses.
If we see the glass as half-empty rather than half-full or think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence then perhaps you could use a little reframing.
5 Steps to reframing your thoughts
Ride the wave. Thoughts are just a bunch of concepts produced by your brain. They have no emotion or inherent meaning. You are the author of them and you assign them meaning by how you interpret and respond to them. Just like waves in an ocean, some thoughts are strong and others are weak. Teach yourself to recognize that your thoughts are separate from who you are and allow them to freely come and go. Don’t try and hold on the unhelpful or negative thoughts, and don’t try and fight them because they can take up under. The next time a colossal thought comes crashing toward you, don’t let it pull you out to sea. Choose to ride that wave. Not only will the view be better but it may help you see the big picture (why am I having these thoughts?)”
Look at the situation from the outside looking in approach. Remove yourself from the situation by looking at the circumstances from the outside. This allows you to observe what’s happening from different angles. You might even ask yourself, “What advice would I give someone else in this situation?” Sometimes looking fro the outside in can help you put some distance between the circumstance and the emotion, all while helping you look for the best possible solution.
Put on your detective hat. Ask yourself “What are the facts about the situation and what are my feelings? Do they match up or are my thoughts magnifying the situation?” Emotions can easily steal the limelight from reality. They can make a mountain out of a molehill. By keeping your eyes on the supporting evidence, you may be able to crack your case and move on to the next mystery.
Hold your horses. When your internal dialogue is screaming out pessimistic negativity, it’s time to mediate the situation. Rather than jumping on the bandwagon and going along with whatever your thoughts tells you. Stop! Hold your horses. Often emotions can run wild, and when they do, you can end up making reckless, impulsive decisions. It’s best to slow down and consider all of the options before hastily acting out or jumping to conclusions. Think “Am I reacting or responding?”
Sift through the dirt to find the gold. Challenge yourself to look beyond the doom and gloom to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Just like a gold miner, you may have to sift through a lot of dirt to get to that priceless nugget. Don’t let unhelpful negative thoughts make you miss a golden opportunity.
Reframing is one skill that can truly change the way you think.
I’ve been thinking and praying about what’s going on in the world. As I’m sure many people have.
History seems to be hurtling toward the Last Days, as we find ourselves trying to navigate through an increasingly hostile world.
Politics are dividing our country and even our churches. People are becoming more cold-hearted, selfish, and angry. We are experiencing a breakdown that feels irreversible. While these problems do not have simple solutions, there is guidance in scripture.
America was originally founded on Christian principles, but this foundation seems to have started eroding after World War II. These days it seems the downward trend in building faster.
The government, the educational system, the entertainment industry, and the media no longer share these values, which means Christians are becoming alienated from the dominant forces in society. To have good, decent values means being demonized, ridiculed, and marginalized.
Persecution is what is happening to Christians in America. To be presented for righteousness sake means that we are hated or opposed for solely following Jesus and living for God.
We are experiencing religious suppression, stereotyping, threats, intimidation, and litigation. I think America is a long way away from persecution that involves the torture and death that took place in the New Testament and occur in other countries today. But who knows what lurks around the corner? I never in my wildest dreams thought following Jesus would be under fire as it is now in the United States.
I think about how early Christians suffered more severe persecution than anything we currently face, and we never find them responding in anger. Instead, they found that suffering had positive benefits.
They discovered suffering promoted character. In Romans 5:3-5 we find that it promoted courage. Acts 4:19-20, Acts 4:19-20 proved godliness, and 2 Peter 5:10 produced joy. there are more scriptures I’m sure).
There are three decisions we must make during these times, to stand for truth, draw support from each other, and derive our security from the Lord.
When we view the current political climate in light of God’s eternal plan, there are decisions and steps we must make in advance in order to prepare ourselves for that moment when persecution comes.
How do we prepare ourselves:
Be determined to stand for truth. It is imperative that fear of rejection, criticism, and loss does not cower us into hiding the truth. We must be prepared to stand for God’s truth without bending.
“Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” – 2 Corinthians 16:13-14
2. Draw support from one another. We cannot be believers alone. We need the company of others like ourselves who we can share encouragement, struggles, and victories. It’s easy to feel alone and discouraged, but the fellowship of others who have your beliefs will draw strength, discipline, knowledge, encouragement, support and love. It’s important to have a “church family.” A courageous example can spur any one of us to say, “If they can do it, by God’s grace so can I.”
I think the key to standing firm in the face of persecution is to remember who we belong to and where we are going. We belong to Jesus, and He secures us in His hand. Therefore we do not need to fear the danger of losing our reputation, our jobs, our finances, or even our physical lives. Jesus said,
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it” -Matthew 16:25
In Matthew 24 God predicted the future of world history and the end of the age. I think Matthew 24 represents a description of the first half of the tribulation period, but I may be wrong, many have different theories concerning this. But these trends are not going to happen at the speed of light. They are going to increasingly characterize the last days leading up to the rapture of the church, as they vibrate through time.
3. Derive our security in the Lord
It is in God that we find security. Throughout the Bible, there are aspects of God’s character, we find the depth of His goodness, love, hope, and sovereignty during changing and seemingly hopeless circumstances that are more firmly rooted and understood in the hearts of the sufferer. None of us want to suffer if we walk with Jesus, we know it will come. And we need to be prepared for it.
What’s something most people don’t know about you?
I march to the beat of my own drum. Some people say I’m cold, but I like to spend time by myself. I have an energy that makes it hard to make friends, but when I do I am a true friend.
Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?
Lazy days make me feel rested. It has been proven that rest days do wonders for your emotional health, making it easier to keep your cook when you’re sad, angry, or irritable.
Rest days are crucial to resetting our overload button. Too often guilt and self-judgment get in the of taking time off for self-care.
Society has made people think that resting means lazy, which isn’t the case at all. It’s easy to get brainwashed into thinking that we never work enough or that we are slackers. But the human body needs rest to function properly.
Rest helps us think clearly, focus and make good decisions. It also helps us handle our emotions and reduces stress.
Spiritual awareness is being conscious of spiritual ideas or matters. Some think of their soul, a spiritual path, a spiritual leader, a religion, or even unseen forces in the world or their lives.
The Apostle Paul writes a lot about spirit focus and flesh focus throughout the Bible.
The Bible makes it clear that there is a real spiritual realm where activity happens constantly. While most people pay no attention to anything that they can not see physically others cultivate their spiritual awareness through a relationship with God.
Spiritual awareness is precisely explained in Ephesians 6:12,
“For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
There are several ways to see and understand spiritual awareness in scripture. One of the most enlightening ways is when Daniel is trying to understand the truth of God’s will.
While Daniel was speaking and praying, confession his sins and the sins of his people in Israel, God instructed him in 9: 22-23,
“Daniel, I have now come to give you wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your petitions, the commandment went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.”
While Daniel was still in prayer and confessed sin in making his request of God, Gabriel the angel came to him and told him that there was heavenly activity to respond to Daniel’s spiritual activity of prayer.
Just like Daniel, we need to be spiritually aware that God is working behind the scenes when we pray. God pulled back the curtains for Daniel and He can do it for us. This is why prayer is so important.
When we think about the sources of temptation, conflict, and confusion being a result of unseen dark spiritual activity. We begin to live spiritually aware lives, understanding the limited power of people, and the immense need to learn to exert spiritual power if we are going to flourish in this world.
My pastor explained it this way, “there is a spiritual war going on above us. The war that is going on with Isreal and Hamas is what is going on above us right now in the spiritual realm.
When we develop this awareness that the most recent activity taking place at any one time is spiritual, and recognize the insignificance of human action in comparison to the invisible spiritual power at work in the cosmos, we then lose our fear of people and discover what it truly means to be in awe of God.
Spiritual awareness is about seeing the world spiritually, getting beyond the superficial view that human resistance is responsible for our difficulties.
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?
Most people when they think of being successful being rich having a big house, and expensive cars.
When I think of being successful is running the race and finishing it well. Having a vision of victory that awaits me at the end of my life.
Being committed to running the race until the very end. Having integrity until the very end.
Being successful and rich isn’t about money, cars, or mansions. To me, it’s about being honest and having integrity. Living a peaceful, content life. And striving to please the God of the Universe.
What if I told you a had a heart condition? We all have heart conditions.
Our heart condition depends on the things we allow into our hearts. They form from thoughts and attitudes, and ultimately, shape the deepest part of our being. No matter what our circumstances are, if your heart is right, you’re going to be okay.
But if things so wrong in our hearts and go left unattended, they can become deeply rooted and harder to deal with. The quicker you can detect a wrong heart condition and get it straightened out, the better off you are.
We need to guard our hearts at all costs. Because it’s easy to let something creep in, that can hurt us or others.
Proverbs 4:23 tells us,
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
It doesn’t say someone else will guard your heart. It doesn’t say God will guard your heart, or your neighbor will guard your heart, or your partner will guard your heart, or even your pastor. It says you need to guard your heart.
You’re in charge of guarding your own heart. Which is pretty much a full-time job because we don’t know on any given day what’s going to come up. You don’t know what somebody may say to you that may hurt you, disappoint you, or let you down. Then suddenly, there’s a wound in there that needs to be dealt with.
My daughter works with the public and she gets bombarded with people saying ignorant things to her at any given time. It she’s pretty good a guarding her heart.
We have to constantly work with the Holy Spirit to keep our hearts right.
God gave me a revelation that my real life is the one that inside. There is nothing more important than your life -what’s in your heart.
Life is not our circumstances, the kind of house we live in, the kind of car we drive, or that kind of job you have or even how much money we have. People can have the best of things in life and still be miserable.
Matthew 5:8 says,
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Taking time to keep your heart pure is similar to cleaning out your basement or attic. Once you turn on the lights and start looking around, don’t be surprised to find some things you didn’t expect.
Jesus said some pretty strong things about the heart. “If you see a woman and lust after her, then you have already committed adultery as far as your heart is concerned. (Matthew 5:28). Lust has tremendous effect on the heart, think about how it can destroy the lives of people who look at pornography so easily.
Satan tries to shoot darts into our hearts of hatred. The Bible says if you hate your brother, it’s no different than if you murdered him. Look at all the hate that is taking over today. We have to raise our shields to avoid this to keep our hearts pure.
I have found that I read God’s Word early in the day and continue through my day praying and asking Him to guide me, it’s easier to protect my heart.
Even if I feel like doing the wrong thing and I choose to do the right thing I am growing -and God is pleased.
When we develop self-control, and keep our commitments, keep our word and do what we know Gods wants us to do He is pleased. If He is pleased then He will bless up and show us favor.
I’m not saying that you have to ignore your feelings. We have to take care of our emotions. Tell God how you feel and God will give you strength and power to get through.
Dwelling in God’s presence sounds east. From experience, I can tell you it takes renewing the mind and effort to seek Him continually.
That being said, there are many ways to dwell in God’s presence. Here are a few:
Trust God
Seek forgivness
Study scripture
Pray daily
Practice kindness
Serve others
Express gratitude for all God’s blessings
Fellowship with other believers
The more time you spend dwelling in God’s presence, the more you will experience life and heart-transforming benefits.
The time we spend with God is supposed to be worth it. Every second will increase your joy, peace, and help you grow spiritually.
Ephesind 1:16-17 Paul says,
“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom, and revelation, so that you may know Him better.”
The benefits of being in the presence of God -His glory
The Benefits of dwelling in God’s glory are,
The fullness of joy and delight in the law of the Lord
“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, the eternal pleasures at your right hand” – Psalm 16:11
Being in the presence of the Lord brings joy and knowledge of the path God wants for you.
The Holy Spirit reveals the truth to us, helping us know God, understand scripture, and be convicted by sin (John 16-7-14).
2. God’s perfect peace
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord, the Lord Himself, is the Rock eternal” -Isaiah 26:3-4
During my life I have felt loss, confusion and brokenness. Feeling like I could not trust anyone around me. When I hit rock bottom, I felt like God was my only hope. I would cry out to Him for comfort and peace and He carried me to a much better, safer life.
3.Comfort in difficult times
“The name of the Lord is a fortified tower, the righteous run to it and are safe” -Proverbs 18:10
Because we are human beings we will we will experience countless difficult times. God will not prevent difficulties, but He is always there to help us through them.
I remember times when I was struggling to pay bills and close to having my power shut off. God came through in the nick of time. We received a check out of the blue in the mail for a computer error with our insurance reimbursing us for the overpayment.
God provided comfort with a thought, giving you hope in hard times. His help and comfort come as a feeling when we seek Him in our troubles. Other times, He will use people in your life to take care of our needs as a way to help us. His comfort is beyond our comprehension.
4. A safe, personal, and intimate relationship
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight” -Proverbs 3:5-6
About 10 years ago we were experiencing a very bad drought season in my town. The farmers had trouble getting things to grow and our lawns and plants were drying up. I had been bad for months with no sign of rain in sight.
One day my church decided to get together at a local park and pray. My pastor reached out to other churches to join us to pray for rain. Quite a few showed up. Began holding hands and praying for rain. Within about 20 or 30 minutes. The sky grew dark and it began to rain. We had a huge thunderstorm that day. That ended the drought.
I often think if people could put aside their differences and pray for things to get done, imagine what could be accomplished. It’s a shame what is happening in the world today. There is so much hate and greed we are destroying ourselves to the very core because we refuse to set aside our differences.
5. Spiritual strength
“My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” -Proverbs 73:26
If we stand on our own strength we will fail. Using God’s spiritual strength will allow us to persevere and succeed,
Spending time in God’s Word and talking to God, gains His strength. He gives us strength we need for each task we are working on and seeks to see us through to the end.
When we have the confidence that we are on the right path we can gain the joy and peace that God as to give us.
From Pity to Praise 