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It should hurt

It should hurt

1 John 4:4-6     You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. 6 We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

John is really trying to help his readers to be able to discern the differences in the truth and the false teachings that had infected early Christianity. Just as today there were teachers who picked apart the Word of God; they selected only the parts that appealed, and twisted their ideals into their own religion. They truths became so twisted you could not determine where one started and ended. This problem still is prevalent today in so many ministries and pulpits. They bring just enough of Christ to tickle your ears, then their paths become soft, and their doctrines have no spine. They only preach heaven, but never preach hell. The realization of one’s soul that is lost in sin, and the damnation of it without Christ, draws that soul to a much deeper appreciation and servant heart and life of a disciple as we are called to be as a result of His sacrifice.

John continually points to Christ’s Holy Spirit that lives inside each believer, and the discernment that comes with His presence there. The “we” in this epistle is referring to the apostles, and the sound doctrines of Christ. The “they” in this epistle is referring to the false teachers of that day, and their twists on Christianity rooted in their own sin. They are of this world, and their views derived from it. People who listen to them are lost in that same self centered, worldly, materialistic viewpoints from which it was bred. 1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. It would be very easy to take all the positives of Christianity and twist it to fit ones own ideals; it would roll into the benefits of self, and not the convictions of sin.

Do you listen only to the soft preaching? Do you only want to hear what makes you feel good because you have enough bad to deal with in your life? That is understandable only to a point. There is eternal salvation and paradise found in Jesus Christ alone; hope for an eternity with Him and the unimaginable pleasures of heaven with Him. But their is also a call to the conviction, repentance of sin, and a life focused on serving Him for our short time here. We are not called to a life of ease here; we are called to become a slave to Him who died for us and to seek to spread the hope that lies within us. Romans 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Find a pastor that preaches the whole truth from the Word of God, and let His Spirit inside you work out those convictions of sin, to let Him mold you into the image of His Son.

 
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Posted by on March 20, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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NOTW – Not of this World

NOTW – Not of this World

1 John 1:1-4    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life– 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us– 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

As I read the epistle of 1 John this morning, you can’t help but feel the spine of his writing in love as you do in the gospel of John also. In the gospel of John he speaks much of Christ’s deity; of how Christ is God. Here in this epistle he is re-intreating that fact to refute all of the false teachings that had arisen. John is one whom spent three and a half years of his life with Christ; he is an eyewitness to all of these accounts. He can attest to all the miracles, death, resurrection and ascension of Him. He was simply putting his foot down and saying “No, that is not true. I was there!” There were many “isms” that had began to divide the church; many false teachings that divided God, and even divided Christ; Gnosticism was a leading heresy.

This epistle points to the love that must abide in us as a believer. This love that covers a multitude of our own sins, must also overlook the sins of others against us. It speaks of how we cannot hold something against one another and truly worship our King. 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. This world preaches self; Christ preaches sacrifice. We cannot have a heart for God and have hate in our heart. This world will give us many opportunities to hold grudges or hatred for those who have wronged us. We either fall into Satan’s trap in them, or we rise above them in showing compassion and the forgiveness as we have been forgiven. John points out the sacrifice of Christ, and with it the level of love that God has shown us. 1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

John points out that as Christians we will be different; we will be hated by those that love the world. 1 John 3:13 Do not marvel, my brethren if the world hates you. Those that love the world, and live their lives in pursuit of the rewards of it, will not understand what you possess eternally that goes against their selfish pursuits. The evidences are all around us today of a world captured int the damnation of selfishness; of no absolute truth, and the moral decline as a result of that belief. If you present yourself as one who loves all as Christ loved us first, and hold to the moral standards and truths He has given us, you will be hated by the world that lives by the adaptable truths that fit their self seeking motives. 1 John 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

 
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Posted by on March 18, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Accepts and assists

Accepts and assists

Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

The last 36 hours are a blur. I had some sort of illness that resulted in a fever, and almost no sleep the night before. On top of all that my mind was racing with thoughts of my testimony coming up this weekend; I knew this time was different, and I know God is laying the word disciple on my heart. Webster’s dictionary defines a disciple as: one who accepts and assists in the spreading of the doctrines of another. Do you? Are you? Is being a Christian different from being a disciple? It should not be for Christ last commands called us to go forth and spread the Good News that He brought to a dying world (Matthew 28:19-20). Christianity does not mean that you claim the security of Salvation and live a life unchanged after it. There should be such a change in your heart and life that the evidences of His Spirit living inside of you are there for all to see.

Take a real look at yourself; list your top five priorities in life. The true order of the things that matter to you the most. If you are placing your career, success, family, health, security, even your own life at number one, you are not a disciple of Christ. The realization of your eternal damnation as a sinner, and that God himself came to earth for your redemption, should humble your heart to a point of living a life dedicated to Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. The only way to justify sin before a Holy and righteous God is a holy and righteous sacrifice. There was only one that could do that; Jesus Christ came as fully God and fully man. He lived a life that we were originally designed to live, perfect and sinless. He died upon that cross and bore the weight of all sin upon Himself that God might see you righteous through His Son. He paved the way in a free gift of grace, and He will present the invitation to join him to humble, repentant hearts.

There must be a point in your life you realize that scale of your life condemned in sin. With this comes the realization of the need of a Savior; and the means of this which Christ provided for you. GOD sacrificed His Son for you! John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. You have no means by which you are ever to earn it, but you are called to work it out in the acts of being a disciple. You are called to “accept and assist” the ministry of spreading the Gospel. James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. You are to live a life in daily pursuit of God and the things of God. You are to live a life with an eternal focus; a life that sees the struggles in it as temporary, as means to draw you closer to God. You are to place Christ above everything and everyone; He humbled himself to the point of death for you; can’t you die to Him?

 
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Posted by on March 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Fact Check them

Fact Check them

2 Corinthians 11:3 -4   But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted–you may well put up with it!

The apostle Paul was getting slammed by false teachers in Corinth. He had visited there, spread the Good News of Jesus Christ, and the early church was started. He had written an earlier letter to encourage them, strengthen them, and help with necessary disciplinary actions within the church. He had promised to return to Corinth. In his absence, there were those in the church who began to slam Paul and his ministry. The lied about many things, all to discredit Paul’s ministry and hurt the cause of Christ. Satan had infiltrated the church. 13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

We all must come to realize there are most likely more false teachers today; Satan’s captains disguised as angels of light. They flood our airways in all the media outlets, they are with us every Sunday at our churches. They preach soft gospels of prosperity and earthly riches that God wants you to have; to name it and claim it. Christ told the rich young ruler to sell all he had and give it to the poor. Luke 18:22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” When Christ was gathering his disciples, his call was not that of a two week notice; it was one of leaving all you have to follow Him, and reap the eternal reward. Matthew 16:24 24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Nowhere in the Bible does he tell us to grab all we can for our short time here. We are told to live for the hope of eternal paradise. In that hope is the eternal peace that is a treasure the world cannot possess or steal from us.

Paul could have lived a life of exceeding any of today’s rich pastors. He could have used his testimony of Christ visiting him on the Damascus road, to his visit to Christ in heaven, (2 Corinthians 12:1-6), all to draw the attention and glory to himself. His understanding and love for Christ kept him humble and persecuted. This gave him a ministry that only glorified Christ and showed the power of Christ that was so evident in his life. When you hear a pastor speak something that either stirs your heart, or stirs a question in your soul, pray and go to God’s Word to find the answer. 2 Timothy 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. Don’t just blindly take their word for it; let God show you the truth himself in His Word.

 
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Posted by on March 5, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Thank you for 500

Thank you for 500

Matthew 6:33 Seek Ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.

Today is my 500th OneMinuteMinistry devotional. Today is different, it is more of a thank you letter than a devotional. I was headed up I-77 one day when God laid this ministries name on my heart. I shared it with a friend, and God used him to prod me on to start writing. When I searched the domain name it came back available in all domains: .com, .org, .txt. .me, and so on. A direct confirmation from God to me for what he had laid on my heart. It started with a handful of you in a news media fast for 30 days , for a January resolution in 2012. It grew into the blog/website, and an email list, that I now personally send it out to about 1,100 people every morning. I have received news that it has gotten into a very large ministries distribution recently by an incredible God orchestrated event. I stand amazed consistently at how God works.

Many of you ask how I do it; why I do it; when I do it. The answers are all found in Matthew 6:33 above. I get up very early every morning and spend time with God. I reflect on what he has shown me in my life in relation to what he shows me in His Word. I am humbled by how He has revealed Himself to me every morning. You can have it all to; there is nothing special about me. The bottom line of my ministry is to point you to spending daily time with God. We all have come to that point of wanting more, yet we never seek Him with a genuine heart. We flippantly read the Bible or pray, and feel good about going to church for an hour one day. I was that guy for most of my life, buried in the false security of religion, and would have died in it if it were not for Christ stirring my soul. All the answers you desire for your life are found once you seek God with all your heart every day. Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. It will not be easy; He never promises us that; but with it will come eternal security and peace that the world cannot provide. You will gain an understanding that all the trials of life that you face are only temporary. They all can draw you closer to God, and they all will remind you of the eternal paradise that awaits you as a child of His.

Christ last words to us are known as the Great Commission. Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Nowhere in the Bible does he tell us to say a prayer, sign a card, and continue on as we were before. There should be a change in your life, a call to action in your life, you are told by Christ to make disciples. You are to share the hope that you have in Him. You are called to give the bad news of sin, followed by the Good News of Salvation in faith in Christ alone. You are to spend your life in pursuit of Him with all your heart, mind, body, and strength. This brings about a state of abiding; a state of being in Christ. This is the goal of the Father, to make you like his Son, to make you a light in a dark world. What in your life could possibly be holding you back from dedicating your life to the One who created it, sustains it, and restored it for eternity with Him?

 
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Posted by on March 2, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Tell them

Tell them

Ezekiel 3:17-18    “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: 18 When I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.

Ezekiel was experiencing becoming a great prophet called by God. His vision captured in chapter two of Ezekiel are extraordinary; he fell on his face in the presence of God. The Holy Spirit lifted him up and he stood before God, about to become anointed as a prophet. God told him it would be a difficult ministry to a stubborn people; he commanded Ezekiel to eat the scroll of the commands of which God spoke. Ezekiel was filling himself with God’s words, literally, and he described it sweet as honey. God placed a great responsibility on Ezekiel, 17 “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me: God told him that he must speak the words and warnings, no matter what they may be, for he is called to held accountable to God for following these commands.

We may find it easy to share the Good News of Christ. We may find it easy to tell the world of the hope of heaven that lies within us as a child of God. Are we also delivering the bad news; that a sinner who does not know, or does not accept Christ, will spend eternity in hell? There is no good news if you do not accept the bad first. “The present world is the only hell the Christian will ever know, and it is the only heaven the unsaved will experience.” (Dr. Wilmington). We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners. As a child of God you are called to point out that sin; not to judge the sinner, but to tell them in a loving manner of the sin in their lives.

We live in a society that has no spine. We live in a society that has lost the understanding of the Absolute Truth of the word of God. We have become so worried to not offend, truth has become pliable to fit into all circumstance. We may see sin, we may feel the conviction of sin, but yet we do not point to the sin for fear of loss of friendship or pleasure of self. James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. This is a sin of disobedience; the sin of “not doing” whatever God may be convicting you of, or showing you in others. How will they know if we do not tell them? 2 Timothy 2:24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

 
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Posted by on February 22, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Yes I can! No, you can’t……

Yes I can! No, you can’t……

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

I am a man who’s testimony is built in pride. I am just like you, I think I can do anything I put my mind to. It starts early in life, with parents breeding that self confidence that helps us to focus and persevere. It grows from youth into adulthood, the idea of the American Dream; you can succeed in this world if you try hard enough. If you don’t it is your own fault; if you do it is of your own self. Only you get the glory for your own success. The disappointments in people and life only bring about more independence and focus; the strive to succeed. This drive may produce success by worldly measure, but that measure is not eternal; and that eternal measure has no tolerance for pride. God showed me this in many ways of my life; He brought me to my knees so that I only could look up; He showed me I had no part in my supposed success; it all was a gift from God.

Pride is at the root of so many religions and false teachings today on how to reach God. Pride is at the root of believing you can do ANYTHING to earn God’s favor on your life; to earn your way into heaven; to do enough good deeds to outnumber the bad. Good deeds are a product of your Salvation, not a means to earn it! If by any means we could earn our salvation, then God sent his Son to die on a cross for nothing. James 2:18 But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” What would that act of grace represent in the ideal that we can do it without that provision? Pride is the root of why Satan was cast out from heaven; he thought he could be God. Pride is at the root of our sin in the Garden of Eden; we thought we could be like God. So our pride steers us to believe we can earn our way to God?

There must come a point in your life that you are humbled before God. There must come a point in your life that you realize your lost without God; without the sacrifice that Christ made for you on the Cross at Calvary. You must realize that the pride of yourself, the religious rituals you practice, the prayers you pray, the feel good feelings of going to church on Sunday; these you will die in and possibly pay for that mistake in eternal punishment for that pride. Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. Pride is the ticket to hell on which Satan smiles with you as his passenger. Pride will keep you from ever receiving the free gift of grace that is available to the humble heart. Swallow your pride, repent of your sins and plea for forgiveness; and let Christ into your heart as the only way to obtain hope of heaven for eternity. Ask God to daily remove the stumbling block of arrogance that Satan has placed in you from the beginning of time.

 
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Posted by on February 19, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Field 4 Sale

Field 4 Sale

Jeremiah 33:2-3   “Thus says the Lord who made it, the Lord who formed it to establish it (the Lord is His name): 3 ‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Jeremiah was a great prophet of God. He was under house arrest at the king Zedekiah’s palace for speaking against the king. He had prophesied to the king of the coming fall of the kingdom, and it was taking place outside at that time. God’s wrath was bearing down on Israel for turning their backs on God; they had lived in idol worship and sin for generations in the land God had promised them. It was time to pay the price for their sin; yet in the middle of this siege God had delivered a promise of restoration to Jeremiah. He had told Jeremiah to purchase a field, and God would use that in the future for the coming restoration of Israel. It made no sense to Jeremiah, but he also know God had told him to do this, and he was obedient to that calling of God.

When God places something on your heart, sin tries to insert logic into the pathway of faith. Logic tries to wrap our minds around what God is telling us. “Buying a field that is about to be captured in war? Throwing money away for something surely to be lost?” Satan takes that little thing called pride, and inserts it into the idea of we may understand what God is showing us. That hinders our step of faith, which in reality the hindrance is disobedience.  Delayed obedience is still disobedience. Jeremiah went to God in prayer; poured out his heart to God, and God gave him a glimpse of His plan. How will we know if we try to reason on our own? How will we know if we don’t step out in faith to see what is the result of that obedience?

When Jeremiah was praying for understanding, God’s first response was simply encompassing: Jeremiah 32:27 “Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh. Is there anything too hard for me?” Logic is halted in the understanding of God’s power in that statement. Our minds simply cannot understand the plans of God; we are not called to understand, we are called to obey. Isaiah 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” My God is placing a call on my life similar to Jeremiah’s. I feel God is telling me to sell my field in a time that the world says not to. My God is telling me to be faithful in what He is showing me; to not try to reason with Him, but to be obedient to Him. In these acts of obedience we will see God at work; God’s plans revealed; God’s loving arms woven throughout our lives in the acts of obedience to what he places on our hearts.

 
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Posted by on February 16, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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Hold on. Wait a minute!

Hold on. Wait a minute!

Luke 9:57-62   Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” 61 And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

“Hold on, wait a minute. I just gotta ___________” Let me FIRST get a few things done, a few items in order, a few questions answered, a plan assembled; and then I will follow you. “Oh yes Lord, I want to follow you, but first tho…….” When you are a planner by nature, breaking that mold on the seemingly big things is hard to do. When you want everything to be in order, the freedom of it not being in order, is seemingly not a freedom at all. Letting go, and letting God, is a hard thing to do. We speak of our faith, but when our faith is taken outside of our comfort zone, the level of our faith is at question; these things I personally understand.

Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, and this text takes place on a seemingly dirt road through towns where you know Christ attracted attention as he passed through. People were drawn to Him and wanted to be a part of the group. They had no idea of the cost of discipleship. There are many great books out there that speak about this; Christ plainly states the cost of it here; that it demands total commitment and His authority in one’s life. There is nothing that must come before Christ in the heart of a disciple. You say you want to be His disciple, but you cannot command the terms of an agreement to it. It requires great test of the heart and faith. It requires an eternal focus. It requires the denial of self, not the exception; ““Lord, I will follow You, but…” (61)

Living for Christ demands a focus on the future. It demands a heart that is in the now, living in the present for Christ, and not stuck in the past. God has you where he wants you today; for today to live your life for him in that moment. It is not to worry about the things that He has delivered you from in the past; it is for today and the present tense with him. Our past should be looked at as only our testimony; of our life before Christ, and the means of it to share what He can do for others in those same struggles. If you are grabbing ahold of his plow and looking back, the furrow you are digging will be out of the center of His Will for your life. 62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Only by keeping your eyes on Him will you remain in the center of His Will.

 
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Posted by on February 15, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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I will ___________

I will ______________

Matthew 5:37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.

Writing on this passage is extremely difficult; everyone feels the conviction in this scripture, and everyone close to me will take it personally, feeling it is directed at them. We all have friends and people that continually disappoint us. They make commitments and break them. They make make promises that are broken. They are only there when they need something. The list could go on and on with your personal experiences. I too know that I fail seemingly every day. I downsized a business by 90%, and now I simply cannot meet my expectations every time. I make promises to my boys that get pushed further down my list. I fail others just as much as they fail me. This is the evidence of how deep our sin is rooted in how weak our words have become. We continually let down those close to us; our integrity suffers as a result.

This scripture is in the context of concerning oaths, and even more directly an exposition of the third commandment; Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. (Exodus 20:7). There is no gray area here, the line of judgement is clearly stated that God will hold us accountable for how we misuse His name. We will stand before God on judgement day, and they will be seemingly replayed before us in His presence; fearfully humbling for we most likely have all done it. This passage of scripture commands much deeper exposition; but we must clearly understand the reverence and context of every time we invoke God’s name.

The context of this passage is proving the legal and eternal binding of our oaths. But should not our integrity uphold our own word? Should not our “yes” have the weight to carry most necessities? If the subject was of dire importance, our “Yes Yes” should invoke the understanding of it’s critical nature. Christ used the words “Verily, Verily I say unto you”(Gospel of John) when he needed to press the significance of what He was speaking. You are only as good as your word. You integrity is held in the words that are followed by the responses to them. It becomes easier and easier to disappoint those that are close to us. It becomes expected for them to disappoint us, for the patterns are proving themselves. Satan smiles at the continual disappointments, for he knows it is not the evidence of Christ in our lives.

 
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Posted by on February 9, 2013 in Daily Devotions

 

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