The Ways of the Sinner

Eve saw that the tree was good for food, and she coveted the wisdom it would bring her. She took and ate of its fruit, offering it to her husband also. She and Adam realized their naked state and attempted to hide it from God. Genesis 3:6-8

Cain saw that the Lord respected Abel’s offering and coveted that respect. Cain took his brother, Abel’s life, and attempted to hide his sin from God. Genesis 4:4-9

Joseph’s brothers saw that he was favored by their father and by the Lord (Genesis 37:4-8) and coveted that favor (Genesis 37:11). They attempted to take away that favor by selling him to Ishmaelite travelers. They killed a goat, dipping Joseph’s tunic in the blood in order to hide their sin from their father.

Achan, of the tribe of Judah, sinned before the Lord, bringing defeat and death upon the Israelites. He saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, coveted them, took them, and hid them. Joshua 7:21

David saw Bathsheba, (a married woman), bathing on the roof of her house, and he coveted her beauty. He sent messengers to take her and then slept with her, resulting in an unexpected pregnancy. He attempted to hide his sin by orchestrating the murder of her husband and marrying her himself. 2Samuel 11

Are you seeing a pattern here? In each situation, the individual/s saw, coveted, took, and hid.

It doesn’t appear that sin is something we ‘fall’ into, but rather a series of conscious choices. It is an action that we have several opportunities to change, and the first opportunity presents itself the moment we lay eyes upon it. This is when we face two options: look upon it a little longer, or turn the other way and get out of dodge! Should we choose to linger, covetousness sets in and we must make a vital choice: give in to this desire and take what we know is not ours, or flee the temptation and head in the opposite direction (1 Timothy 6:11). If we give into desire, there remains a way of escape: bring it into the light by confessing our sin. However, when we allow sin to go this far, we begin to sear our conscience, and when our conscience is seared, hiding sin becomes oh so easy and logical (1 Timothy 4:2).

Not only does sin involve seeing, coveting, taking, and hiding, but also enticing others to sin with us (Genesis 3:6- She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate), casting blame for our sin rather than taking responsibility for our action (Genesis 3:12,13- “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate” and “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”), and flat out lying about our sin when confronted (Genesis 4:9 “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”).

We all choose sin and we all fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). However, God offers grace to those who repent (Psalm 32:5). Unlike Adam and Eve, who were merely afraid of being naked and found out by God (Genesis 3:10), we must have a heart of true repentance, confessing our sin the moment we are convicted by it, receiving forgiveness, and choosing righteousness.

“If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”  Genesis 4:7

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The Grass is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” –John 16:33

In the world you will have tribulation. This is a promise. This is a guarantee. We live in a world full of sin and ruled by Satan (2 Cor 4:4, Eph 2:2), and tribulation is always right around the corner. Sometimes it slams us in the face, sometimes it slowly creeps into our lives, and other times we willingly, knowingly, persistently walk right into it.

The Israelites walked into 40 years of it when they refused to enter the land of Promise because of fear and unbelief (Num 14:26-38). The prodigal son didn’t think twice before he irrationally forsook the peace and protection of his father’s home and found himself in a place of loneliness, hunger, and need (Lk 15:11-32). King David made a rash decision to not only take another man’s wife, but also premeditate the murder of that man in an attempt to cover his own sin (2 Sam 11).

Why is it that we refuse to trust God in the simplest things? When God says “take over Jericho,” we say, “No, Lord, there are giants there.” When He offers protection and peace, we throw it back in His face and sprint for a world that hands us trouble and heartache. He’s given us all we need in the place He has put us, yet we see what’s on the other side of the fence and decide that what we have is simply not enough.

God has made real to me these things lately as I grow in frustration, disappointment, and anger at my dog. Yes, he is just a dog, but we love him as a part of our family. However, he refuses to stay in the yard. For the past few months he has continually done everything possible to escape and run loose. He even had to spend an entire day and night in doggy jail, and I felt horrible. That is until we received a warning that we would be cited the next time he was loose and ‘obstructing traffic,’ then I was just mad. When his night in jail taught him nothing, we were forced to keep him tied up, rather than let him run free in his yard and risk the chance of another escape. However, day after day I would sit and listen to him bark and whine for hours and hours. I felt so bad! I complained to my hubby that our dog was as annoying as a pack of Israelites, complaining even though God had already given them everything they needed! Why can’t he just learn his lesson already?!

My hubby spent this last weekend digging holes, pouring concrete, and building a fence strong enough and tall enough to keep him in. What a relief to finally be able to let him off the leash and know he is secure and safe. Well, that’s what we thought until I came home to signs of his successful attempt to escape the safety of his yard. He had dug a hole under the new fence, and broken through, leaving bits of fur behind.  I imagine that was painful.

Yes, he’s purposefully put himself and others at risk. He is gone, out of my protection, thinking he is wise enough to make it on his own. He looks through that fence and thinks "the grass is greener over there!" Little does he know, the grass is ALWAYS greener over the septic tank! If I could speak ‘dog,’ I would tell him that I know what’s best for him! I would say that I’ve provided everything he needs for peace, protection, and happiness, but he chooses what’s out in the world and puts himself in danger. If I could become a K9 and clearly explain myself to my dog, I could show him that our discipline is for his good, for the protection of him and of others.

Our Lord has done everything possible to make his message clear to us. He became a man in the flesh so that we could know him personally! He’s written an entire book, just for us, in a way that we can comprehend. He tells us that yes, this world is full of troubles, but take heart, I have overcome the world, and I give you peace! All we need to do is stay in that yard, in the place of protection, and not wander out into a world that will harm us. Tribulation is a promise and a guarantee, but God also promises His peace. I just have to trust Him.

The grass is always greener, over the septic tank. -unknown

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Make a Decision to Make Decisions

God created each of us with freewill. He voluntarily bestowed upon us choices to make. He granted us passions, desires, aspirations, and wishes. He fashioned our brains to think logically and make reasonable choices.  Most days I'm thankful for this and appreciate the opportunity to be my own person. Other days I prefer He turn me into a robot and manipulate my every move so I don’t have to think and risk making a wrong decision. Do you ever have these days? Do you ever wish He would just take control and make your life perfect?

Since there are few things God forces upon us (two things we really have no say in are our birth and death), we must make a decision to make decisions! Day after day we must decide on

little things (what to eat, what to wear, to brush our teeth, how fast or slow to drive, to exercise) and big things (where to work, what school to attend, where to live, how to treat our family members, whether or not to read our bible). Many of us spend much time contemplating these issues, assuring we make the best possible decisions. However, the biggest decisions we will ever have to make are in answering these two critical questions:

1.       Who is Jesus Christ?

      2.       What will I do with Him?

I put them in that order simply because we cannot possibly answer the second question until we have carefully answered the first. And once we have answered the first, we have no choice but to address the second.

I know this is a short post; probably my shortest post ever! However, I feel it necessary to ensure that you have taken the time to prayerfully and purposefully consider and answer these questions before you move into eternity. Because for all we know, we could find ourselves there next week, or tomorrow, or even today! And if we make a million wrong decisions in this life, we need to be assured that our answers to these questions are not one of them.

So now’s the time! Make a decision to make decisions! Leave your answers to these two questions in the comments below. If you are uncomfortable doing that publicly, you can send me a personal email at thefingerprintofgod@yahoo.com. I will offer some scriptures that may help to answer them in another post, but I truly hope you take time to answer them yourself first!

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter

answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”

-Mark 8:29

I can’t wait to read your responses J

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