Month: September 2020

Tempted? Ah, This Isn’t Anything Bad….

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” James 1:13 NASB

Sin. What is it, anyway? I’m good. I haven’t done anything horrible. It’s just a white lie. Everybody else is going…. doing it. It’s not so bad. It’s nothing compared to so-and-so.

We are so good at justifying our thoughts and behaviors and actions! Mention sin and see how people around you respond. It doesn’t exist. That’s an old fashioned idea; an antiquated thought. Nobody believes in sin anymore. Just be a good person and you’ll be okay. I’m okay, you’re okay, we’re all okay!

“Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.” Deuteronomy 11:16 NASB

Oh people, we have allowed ourselves to be fooled by the enemy. There’s an alphabet soup of aberrant behavior that is not just tolerated, but condoned and celebrated. Whether it is murdering unborn babies, or accepting pedophilia as ‘normal’ behavior; selling your body, living together outside of marriage…. these should be easy for Christians to identify as sin. But what about these? Overeating and gluttony? Abusing the prescription your doctor gave you by not following the instructions? Watching and listening to things that exploit the bodies of young men and/or women; of children. Discrimination, both covert and overt.

Well! I’m certainly not guilty of any of those things!

Oh, but you are. I am. We all are.

“He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.” Proverbs 28:13 NASB

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:8‭-‬9 NASB

Thank God for the gift of the LORD Jesus Christ!

“How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day long.” Psalms 32:1‭-‬3 NASB

“I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’; And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.” Psalms 32:5 NASB

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24 NASB

“And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, JESUS the SON OF GOD, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the Throne of Grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:13‭-‬16 NASB

Friends, draw near to the Throne of Grace! We, the children of the Most High GOD need to be on our knees, praying for our country, our leaders, our communities. It doesn’t matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat or an Independent; man, woman, or child; Baptist, Catholic, Church of whatever. As Christians we are called to prayer. It’s the only way to save our home here.

The LORD said this to Solomon. I believe it is relevant to us, today, too.

“…… and [if] My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14 NASB

ALL, Not Some

First off, consider this.

“ALL Scripture is GOD-Breathed.” 2 Timothy 3:16a NIV

All of it. Every word. Penned by men, but inspired and written by the Almighty God. He tells us that

“…. ALL have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,” Romans 3:23 NASB

We are not ‘good’. We can never be ‘good’. Gandhi was not ‘good’. Mother Teresa was not ‘good’. Moses, Peter, Paul, Joseph, Daniel, Buddha, Mohammed were not ‘good’. Any person you can think of is not ‘good’. No matter how great the person or how much good they may have done in their life, no one is ‘good’. We will all be judged against the same standard; against the standard of the only good man to ever live, the only one who will ever live, the God-man, Jesus Christ.


We are all sinners, saved only by the Grace of God, through His Mercy and through Jesus Christ. You can’t get to heaven by being ‘good enough’. You can’t reach ‘Nirvana’ by your sacrifices or good deeds.

This is so important to know! Do you know Jesus? Are you a friend of the Saviour? With all of the absolute insanity, the rampant evil that is trying to overcome our world, now is the time. Look at God’s Word. Read it. Pray about it. Above all else, acknowledge that you are a sinner and accept the Mercy, the Grace, and the salvation that the LORD is even now offering to you.

I don’t want to see America in the state she is in. The violence and the riots, the absolute idiocy that is happening. It’s time – no, it’s past time, for Christian’s to stand up for the law, to stand up for the unborn, and to stand up for our freedom to worship.

Afraid and Discouraged, or Trust in the LORD?

Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked; Do not promote his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.
Psalms 140:1‭, ‬8 NASB

Trust as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:

  • n. Firm belief in the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing; confidence or reliance.
  • n. The condition and resulting obligation of having confidence placed in one.

Do you trust God? Do you believe in His integrity, His abilities, His character? Do you have confidence in Him? Do you rely on Him? Do you really?Trust is hard. Once trust is broken, it’s difficult to get back. Most of us (truthfully, all of us) have had our trust in someone broken. We’re all human, we are all imperfect and broken; therefore, we will break trust. I have had my trust broken.

I have broken trust. I am imperfect and broken. Sometimes those things weigh on me so much that it feels like there is a literal weight on me, holding me down.Whenever you are reeling from a broken trust, or hurting because you have broken trust, remember this verse. We aren’t perfect because of our sin, and we will never be perfect on this earth, but God, our God, our LORD, sees us differently than the way others see us and the way we see ourselves. In His eyes, we are each His Masterpiece.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Ephesians 2:10 NASB

Say it with me,“I am God’s Masterpiece!”