Holiness

Jim Laffoon has written an excellent devotion on his blog about seeing the consequences of sin and using those examples to create in himself a fear of God and a hatred of sin. It is a most worthy read. Here is an excerpt:

In my own life, God has allowed me to be involved in spiritual autopsies more times than I care to count.

Every time I have to face the horrible consequences of rebellion and sin in the life of a person I love, it makes me fear God and hate sin all the more. Whether it is the horrors and pain of sexual immorality, or the pride and insecurity keeping a man or woman of God from confessing the sinful habits which would later destroy them, these close encounters with God’s judgments have helped to make me a wiser man today.

May your heart be filled with the fear of the Lord and a hunger for holiness as you consider the message of this story.

- Jim Laffoon @ Our Daily Blog

We must be careful to not trample underfoot the grace of God or to take sin lightly. The wages of sin have always been death and will remain so, but Christ's sacrifice gives us the power to live holy lives through the Holy Spirit.

Are You On Double Secret Probation?

I got this devotional thought from our brother, Rick, and thought it should be shared here. Please don't see it as an endorsement of the movie, Animal House. Neither Conspiracy of Kindness nor our brother would recommend that you watch it. It simply isn't edifying.
- Cephas

"We must constantly remind ourselves that Satan's thumb isn't bigger than God's. Try as he might to put it on us, our comfort is that God's is on him." - Rick

1PE 5:8-9
"8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings."

Lessons from Animal House:

"Sometimes life can feel like its lived under a double secret probation... like a big thumb hovering over our every move waiting to squash us at every little mistake. It seemingly follows us all our days making us wonder if there is any real hope of freedom, eternity, an assured relationship with God. We think it causes our stumbling, suffering and pains, and that it be the thumb of God. But when we receive Christ we find that the thumb is Satan seeking to destroy what life Christ has given us.

When we feel this stalker, our skin crawls, our heart quickens, our breathing becomes more shallow. Aha! Because of Christ we are now aware of what we could not know before. We keep ourself under control by letting God be in control. Satan says "you're not going to get away with it this time, smart guy" but God replies to him that his accusations are groundless because Jesus Christ went to that eternal detention on our behalf. This sets us free from the fear of Satan's looming thumb because it looms no more.

We must constantly remind ourselves that Satan's thumb isn't bigger than God's. Try as he might to put it on us, our comfort is that God's is on him." Rick

Havin' Church

Tonight we had our second installment of the Church Incognito. It was so pleasant. We had my sister's family, two other couples, and myself.

The night started with supper. It was pretty good too. I made shepherd's pie, Penny made an awesome salad, and Sara made chocolate chip cookies with a hint of orange. My sister provided the sweet tea!

After we had cleaned up from supper we got some coffee and headed to the living room where we sang a couple songs and then we talked about the passage in 1 Corinthians 14:26-33. I would love to say that I was better prepared, but I hadn't looked at the passage today. Justin really did a great job talking about this passage and had some really great insights to share.

One of the things that Justin talked about was a book that he read in college about spiritual disciplines. (I need to get the title from him, because it sounded like one I would like to read.) But as he was talking about the book it became clear to me that I have been lacking in the area of meditation and listening to God.

Lately I have been so harried by my situation and by all of the things going on around me that it has been hard for me to pray or hear God at all. I have to be able to come back to my base and hear what God is saying to me and bask in the peace of His presence. I have spent far too much time lately quite literally raging in the storm. The Word tells us that rage is a fruit of the flesh. If I am producing fleshly fruit, I must have gotten detached from the correct vine.

From a practical perspective I have to say that the singing section and the Word section were a little bumpier than I would have liked, but still it went OK. A little more preparation and some prayer towards this meeting should make things go a lot better. And as you can see from what I wrote in the paragraph above, there was fruit from this time.

By far my favorite time of the night was when we gathered together to pray. What a sweet time. We went for close to an hour and the presence of God was so tangible. It helped me to realize just how far I had been from His presence lately. God is so good to meet us, broken as we are.

Anyway, it was a great meeting and I will look forward to seeing how things continue to go. What will God do with our little group? I have no idea, but I am certainly looking forward to finding out!

Missing The Point

As I have been reading in Genesis lately I have noticed something that I never did before: when Adam and Eve sinned they weren't afraid because they had broken their covenant with God. They were afraid because they were naked.

1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

4 “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Genesis 3:1-7 New Living Translation (emphasis mine)

Even when God Himself showed up for His regular walk with them they STILL were distracted by the wrong thing.

8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. 9 Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

Genesis 3:8-10 New Living Translation (emphasis mine)

They totally didn't get the point. It is pretty clear that we're no different today - we're blaming ourselves for things like "Global Warming" when what we're really guilty of is worshiping something other than the one, true God. In the religion of secular humanism, that god is man.

Another thing that I have learned in my recent reading is that sin has a predictable life cycle in a society. From the time that sin takes root in the society to the point that it bears its full fruit of death can take hundreds of years, but, just as surely as a dropped object will fall earthward, sin will bear that fruit if repentance does not come.

In Genesis 15:16 it says:

"After four generations your (Abraham's) descendants will return here to this land, when the sin of the Amorites has run its course. (emphasis mine)

I frankly believe that all of this talk about "Global Warming" is hogwash. However, if any of their data proves true, I believe that we are merely witnessing the ripening of the fruit of our sin - not the fruit of driving to work.

The enemy loves to distract us from the true issue. It has been happening since our forefather Adam and it continues today. If the enemy can get us to feel shame for something other than our sin then he can prevent us from taking the antidote to that sin - repentance. Humble repentance before God can undo much sin.

13 At times I (God) might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NLT

Notice that the onus is on God's people to humble themselves, pray, seek His face and turn from their wicked ways. Sadly, we are the ones who stand in need of repentance all too often. How wonderful that God has made a way for us to be made right with Him.

Let's not be distracted by the enemy's misdirection. Let us recognize our sin for what it is and humbly turn away from it so that our land may know the goodness of God.

A New Beginning

Well, it has begun again. January 1 has rolled around, and I finished my One Year Bible about 30 seconds after the gunfire began to erupt around my parents' house. (I live in a rural area where folks still get excited about making loud, booming noises at 12:00 AM on New Year's Day.) I think someone must have had a cannon going off, because I heard a few eruptions that sounded louder than the typical 12-gauge shotgun! In my opinion, New Year's Day is a pretty ridiculous holiday, but, hey, it is a day off, so who's complaining?

Anyway, as I was saying earlier, I finished up reading through the Bible about 30 seconds after midnight on the 1st. Now I am beginning again all over again. Last year I used the New American Standard version. This year I am planning to use the New Living Translation. I like to switch versions each year because it gives me a little different perspective each time - something that is helpful to someone who doesn't read in the original languages yet. Of course, it makes it hard to find verses using concordances sometimes, because I end up grabbing a word here and there from each version that I have read. It gets very annoying when you can't find a verse that you know good and well is in there!

Each year I also concentrate on one theme as I am reading. That isn't to say that I don't notice other things, but it helps to keep me focused as I am reading. It also helps me to get a good feel for what the Bible says about that topic "globally," which is one of the main keys to correct biblical interpretation.

Last year I payed particular attention to what the Bible says about the nature and character of God. How does God describe Himself in the Bible? What sorts of things will He do? What sorts of things won't He do? What is God like? It was a very good theme and I learned a lot - especially as I was reading through the prophets. This year, I plan to pay special attention to the theme of fear. What causes fear? What are we supposed to fear? What are we not supposed to fear? How can fear be defeated?

I am already a little bit behind, because I forgot to take my NLT Bible with me when my family went to celebrate Christmas (on New Year's Day) with my Grandmother, but it really won't be hard to get caught up. Each reading only takes about 15-30 minutes. I have also gotten a little bogged down meditating on the opening chapters of Genesis. I really love reading the Pentateuch. There is so much great stuff in there. But who am I kidding? There is a lot of great stuff in all of the Bible. The Word of God is truly a treasure. I wish I saw it that way even more than I do now.

If you have never managed to read the Bible through from cover to cover, I would heartily recommend it. The One Year Bible is a great resource. I like it because everything is already set up for you. Each day you get an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage, a Psalm, and a Proverb. The good thing about that to me is that when I hit a passage that is dry to me or difficult, I know that it is only a little bit of reading until I get to something where the "fruit" is a little more accessible. Of course, if you can't afford one, there are daily Bible reading schedules that will carry you through the Bible in a year too.

Regardless of what method you use, I hope that you will make it a daily discipline to spend time in the Word of God this year. It will bring great dividends!

Happy reading!

A Useful Tool

Have you ever managed to read the Bible through from cover to cover? It can be a daunting task, especially when you are struggling through the opening chapters of 2 Chronicles! However, to develop the "global picture" of God's Word that is necessary to interpret the Bible correctly, there is no discipline more critical than the regular, repeated reading through the entirety of the Scriptures.

I have found The One Year Bible a valuable aid in achieving that goal. The Bible is broken down into 365 daily readings that include an Old Testament passage, a New Testament passage, a passage from the Psalms and a passage from Proverbs. So when you get to one of those passages that are more difficult you know that you will be gleaning from a different passage before long. It also comes in many different translations. I switch translations every year or so to get a different perspective on the texts. It aids my understanding and helps to keep things fresh.

I have a leather Bible that was given to me for my 21st birthday. I don't write in that Bible. However, I do make notes and write questions in my One Year Bible as thoughts come to me. I started using the One Year Bible 10-years ago, and as a result have managed to actually complete 5 trips through the entire Bible. There are also chronological versions as well although I think a different publisher produces them. I may take that up in the near future. It would probably help to draw better connections between people and events in the different books of the Bible.

Another strategy that I use is that each year I try to pick a theme and look for Scriptures that pertain to that theme as I am reading that year. It is a really helpful exercise. This year I was focusing on the nature of God. It was very enlightening.

So there you go. Something that might help you on the way!

Quote of The Day

Jesus realized that without the refreshing of His Father’s presence and the providence of His Father's words, He would quickly lose His effectiveness.

Have you learned this lesson yet – the lesson that your time with God is the very foundation of success in your life? If you haven’t, the lack of what you could be having is already affecting you more than you even realize.

Until you are experiencing the benefits of seeking God on a regular basis, you won’t even know what you have been missing. If this is where you find yourself today, remember it is never too late to start seeking the God who has always been waiting for you to pursue Him.

It is also crucial for you to realize that devotional consistency will not come without a fight.

Luke tells us when the people found Jesus in prayer, they tried to keep Him from leaving them (Luke 4:22). Like Jesus, you will find that the needs of the people you love the most will pull you away from your time with God, if you do not guard that time arduously.

For some of you, the ringing of the telephone and the busyness of your schedule will become your greatest enemies. Others of you will have to battle to detach your emotions from the stressful pace of life you are forced to endure.

Remember, your time with God is priceless. No matter how early you have to get up in the morning, or how radically you have to adjust your schedule, every precious moment you spend with God translates into hours of strength and faith for your life.

-Jim Laffoon @ Our Daily Blog