Our View of Sin

Many years ago I used to attend a home fellowship group and we were having this discussion about sin. A guy in the group was talking about a hobby he used to have, fixing up old cars and how God had directed him to give that up. He said that for him to continue to indulge in that hobby would be sin.

I remember thinking at the time, as I was a pretty new Christian, how strange that he would call something like fixing up old cars a sin. I didn’t really understand the correlation. To me sin was about the obvious stuff—murder, lying, adultery, and so on.
So how could an innocent hobby be sin?

But he had also mentioned at the time that he put that hobby before God. In other words, it had become an idol in his life. Anything we put before God can become an idol in our life, therefore it is sin.

Yet I am thinking about how Christians get so wrapped up in pointing out sin. We look at someone standing outside the church building smoking and we think, “They’re in sin.” We see a pregnant teenager, so we cluck our tongues and say, “She sinned.” We see a mother harshly grab her toddler by the arm and drag him away and we think, “What a sinner.”

Yet some of us have sin that is behind closed doors. Our sins may not be as obvious. In fact, we may be engaging in an activity, such as fixing up old cars and God has told us to stop, yet we continue.

Or we may be in the comfort of our own home, late at night and we are watching something on television that we know we shouldn’t be. We are married and yet we are chatting online with a person of the opposite sex. No, others can’t see what we are doing so we tend to think we are safe. At least our sin isn’t as obvious as the smoker, the pregnant teen or the mean mother.

We don’t always know the whole story behind a situation. We don’t know that the man who is smoking has been trying for a decade to kick the habit but it has a vice-like grip on him. He doesn’t want to smoke and he has tried to stop but it pulls him in.

We don’t know if the teen girl allowed a moment of weakness (as we all have them) to overtake her. Now she carries a new life and she has determined to get right with God and raise this child to love the Lord.

We don’t know if the angry mother was raised in an abusive home and although she hates the way she blows up so easily, she has been trying so hard to stop. She cries out to God every morning to help her make it through the day without losing it.

You see, we only look at the obvious. We don’t know what goes on in the heart. We don’t know about the tears, the pleading to God or even what the real story may be.

A few years ago my husband told me that we had been walking through the church’s foyer when someone in front of me dropped her pack of cigarettes on the floor. Because I was directly behind this person, to another person it looked like those were my cigarettes. So this other person who thought I was the one who dropped the cigarettes gave me a nasty look. How nice.

She had no clue that first of all, they weren’t even mine. But secondly, what was the nasty look for? When for all I know she could have gone home right after church and given her a husband a tongue-lashing. Yet I wasn’t there to see her “sin” as she thought she had seen mine.

I think we have to be really careful about the way we view people. We don’t know everything about a situation and even though someone else’s sin may appear to be obvious, we need to remember that we have our own issues. As I was reminded this past Wednesday in Bible study, judgment is not for us…that is God’s job.

Keys to Overcoming Temptation

It seems like temptations are always there. It’s almost as if you can never get away from them. They are like the old school bully, lurking around the corner…waiting…ready to pounce on you.

Overcoming temptation—whether it is guarding what comes out of my mouth, turning the television off when there is something on I shouldn’t watch, or even saying no to an extra helping of food—can feel like a constant battle.

I used to wish that the temptations wouldn’t be there. “It would be so much easier God, if You would make them all vanish.” While that is certainly true, it would do nothing for my spiritual walk. I could never learn how to mature in Christ. I would never understand what real dependence upon God means.

Now I see temptation differently. I view it as an opportunity to be more like Jesus. I am reminded of the time that Jesus stood in the face of temptation. There is something really powerful, yet quite simple about the way He handled temptation.

Remember that Jesus was taken into the wilderness and was tested. I used to think this was all about Satan’s attempt to deceive and trick Jesus. But it isn’t. Matthew 4:1 tells us that “Jesus was led by the Spirit” into the wilderness (NIV).

The Spirit was the One leading. He wasn’t being led by the devil. The devil didn’t have any control over Jesus. He was not alone and He had the help of the Holy Spirit. We are never led into temptation by the devil. He doesn’t have that kind of power over our lives. He makes himself to be more than he is and so we give more credit to him than is due.

He might dangle a carrot in front of us (or a piece of chocolate cake or that need to set someone straight) but the Spirit is over us. We have the ability to take the help the Holy Spirit offers us. This is the first key to overcoming temptation, remembering that no matter what we face, we are being led by the Holy Spirit.

The second key to overcoming temptation is to understand when we are most vulnerable to give in to temptation. In “The Message” version it says that “the Devil took advantage of” Jesus’ extreme hunger. Jesus was in a vulnerable position when the devil offered Him the opportunity to turn stones into loaves of bread.

Recognize your most vulnerable times—that “time of the month,” when your schedule is overloaded, you haven’t been getting enough sleep, the kids are driving you crazy—and know that this is when the devil will try to come in and get you to fall for his tricks.

How did Jesus respond to this test? He responded with the Word. You can’t respond with the Word unless you know it. So read it daily and get it down deep inside of you.

The third key to overcoming temptation is to counter with the truth of God’s Word when the devil tries to twist things. The devil knows Scripture and he tried to use it but he twisted the truth of it. Jesus brought it all back to reality when He countered with the undeniable truth.

One of the last ways that the devil tried to tempt Jesus was to tempt Him with the things of this world. Now we know that He really holds the world in His hands but for a time, the devil has been allowed free reign. He had a tempting offer for Jesus. Don’t we just bask in the possibility of fame, fortune and power?

When you are tempted with the things of this world, the last key to overcoming temptation is the way Jesus responded. He rebuked the devil…put him in his place and then once again, used the Word to speak truth.

I love the way this all ends in “The Message” Bible. “The test was over. The Devil left.” That was it. No more testing. Jesus had done all He needed to do. Simple, yet powerful. The real key is in the Word of Life.

When Spirituality Neglects Humanness

A blog I wrote last weekend, “Let God Do His Work in Suffering” seemed to strike a nerve in a few people. Comments and emails that I received showed this was a pretty important topic.

Why? Because I think it touched a raw nerve. It touched something that we don’t talk about much.

Sometimes our goal in life is to be so spiritual that we forget to be human. I’m so glad that being a believer means Christ is refining me and that I am being transformed in so many ways. But I am still a person with normal feelings and emotions. What I got through the responses was that you feel the same.

I remember one time a few years ago when I was sitting in a Sunday school class. I won’t say what the topic was or who was teaching. It really wasn’t about that anyway. But we were watching a video on something that I had absolutely no interest in.

Someone turned to me and said, “Isn’t this the most amazing thing you have ever seen?” I in my honesty and humanness replied, “Not really.” She looked absolutely shocked and I’m sure she thought I was being blasphemous. It was just really how I felt. I couldn’t spiritualize what I was watching because in my humanness it really wasn’t interesting.

One of the things that really seemed to connect to others was the use of “Christianese language.” We can’t let our comments, statements and reactions be built on a need to sound spiritual. We can be genuine and point people back to God when they are going through a difficult time but we can also be so spiritual that it does the very opposite.

One example I was given is how many Christians will use “God will provide.” This person was expressing to me how of course they know God WILL provide. They are believers. They know this but at the time God isn’t providing and so they want to feel just a little bit human.

Now you might be thinking we have to guard everything we say. I don’t think that is the case but I do think we need to guard the way we try to encourage others. Encouraging someone is supposed to make them feel better, not worse. Lending a listening ear, being empathetic to their situation and remembering that we have all felt very human at one time or another might help.

Don’t let the need to be so spiritual neglect the reality that we are still human.

Connecting Others to the Heart of God

One of the first times I spoke in front of other women was to share the story of how God had saved my marriage. There was something very frightening yet freeing about sharing such a personal story. There is a vulnerability to exposing your weaknesses, your faults and your sins before others. Yet I have also discovered that by doing so, we are helping others to connect to the heart of God.

You see, my marriage wasn’t saved because of anything we did. Left to our own devices the marriage would have ended long before we had our three children. But when God intervened, there was no doubt that He became the God of the impossible.

The story of how God came into the mess we had created and turned it into something much more beautiful is not meant to be kept to ourselves. In fact, it is out of our greatest messes that we can most connect others to the heart of God. We already know what He has done in our life but we need to share that with others.

Our testimony gives others hope. Our story encourages and inspires others to trust God. It isn’t always easy to bare our souls but it is always worth it.

This has been what drives me as a writer. It’s not just to share a story for the sake of doing it but to point others toward the only One who can create a beautiful story.

This is why my heart’s desire is to be part of this year’s She Speaks Conference and why I am seeking a scholarship opportunity. It is where women connect the hearts of women to the heart of our Father God. It is where my heart longs to be, to better learn how to serve Him and His daughters through the ministry of writing.

Let God Do His Work in Suffering

What role should suffering play in the life of a believer? Some think that suffering shouldn’t be a part of our lives. If we are truly walking with God, we won’t experience the same hurts, tragedies and trials that the rest of the world does.

Sometimes people convey this message without even realizing it. We come across someone who has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition and we tell them how to “fix” it or what they could have done to avoid it.

We find out that someone has just lost their job so we speak the typical Christianese language of, “God will provide” and we move on, expecting them to be able to rejoice in their trial.

We learn of a son or daughter who has walked away from the Lord and we tell our friend that we aren’t surprised, if they had only learned how to parent better. Okay, we don’t always come right out and say that but we certainly think it. We offer our opinion because well, our children seem to be doing okay so we certainly must have the market on parenting.

What it comes down to is that we think suffering shouldn’t be a part of a believer’s life. There shouldn’t be sickness and losses. So we either try to fix other people’s problems, we judge them or we give them pat Christian answers.

I used to wonder if I was the only one who found it frustrating that when I was going through a trial, everyone around me seemed to have “the answer.” I have seen this played out time and time again throughout the years. But then I read something in “The Message” Bible that gave me a sigh of relief.

Right before the book of Job there is a preface from the author. It says: “The book of Job is not only a witness to the dignity of suffering and God’s presence in our suffering but is also our primary biblical protest against religion that has been reduced to explanations or ‘answers.’ Many of the answers that Job’s so-called friends give him are technically true. But it is the ‘technical’ part that ruins them.”

I like how the author describes “the dignity of suffering.” This gives a new perspective to the idea of suffering. There is dignity in it. Instead, we try to act as if there is something wrong with suffering, which is why we try to come up with the answers or throw Scripture around.

Most of the time people aren’t looking for us to give an answer when they are suffering. They simply want a listening ear and someone who will offer to pray. Many times we really don’t want to hear the Scripture verses because quite honestly, we already know them. We just want to be human for a moment in time and learn how to get through what we are going through.

There is dignity in suffering. There is nothing really wrong with suffering because as the author later says, “When these people go through suffering, their lives are often transformed, deepened, marked with beauty and holiness, in remarkable ways that could never have been anticipated before the suffering.”

Let God do His work in suffering.

Wait on God!

Have you ever noticed that when God begins to speak something into your life, it first has to take root before it makes its way out? It’s kind of like the empty vessel that we are to be for the Lord. We have to be empty of self and this world before He can begin to fill it with the things He has in mind.

When God speaks something into our life it is never for our self. Everything is to be turned around and used in the life of another. It could be for your immediate family, your neighbors, a long-lost relative or even the person you haven’t talked to in 20 years.

Yet even though what He speaks to us is to impact others, we can’t begin to take those first steps unless we let what He is doing really sink in. If we don’t allow it to sink in and take root, we will begin to step out on our own and attempt to do things in our own strength.

I am learning through these past few years of serving the Lord that I have to walk in God’s timing. I get so excited for things He does in my life and I tend to want to rush out there and share it…do something. But there is a timing for everything.

Remember when Jesus healed the man with leprosy (Matthew 8:1-4)? Whenever I have read that story I am always so focused on the lesson of how the man said, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” But there is more to this story. Jesus was willing and did make him clean. He was cured of his leprosy.

But then Jesus gave him some instructions that I think we often overlook, “See that you don’t tell anyone.” It might be a little confusing. Why wouldn’t this guy want to go out and declare to the Lord what He has done? It was all about timing.

I don’t know what this means to you…if anything. But to me it means that while I need to step out in faith, I also need to do it according to His timing and in the way He directs me. Don’t let your flesh rule the way this plays out…wait on God.

What's Really Important

I’ve been thinking lately about how much importance we…okay, maybe it’s just me…put on things that really don’t matter. I mean, in the very moment we are experiencing our “crisis” we think everything else doesn’t matter.

Sometimes my focus is so much on getting somewhere on time, following my schedule or checking off the things on my to-do-list that I lose sight of the truly important stuff.

Yesterday (Friday) I hardly got any work done. I tried to keep the coverage of what was happening in Japan in the background while I worked but I couldn’t. I kept stopping to turn the volume up so I could hear what they were saying. My eyes watered when I saw the complete devastation. My heart pounded as I waited for the tsunami to make its way to the United States. And I prayed.

So much devastation, so much chaos in the world and it’s happening not just far away but right here in my own state. It’s so easy to lose sight of the truly important stuff.

When my little world gets turned upside down because traffic isn’t moving fast enough, the kids aren’t responding the way I would like, the meat isn’t thawed or I didn’t get my 8 hours of sleep last night…wow, amazing how in the very moment it seems so important.

I’m reminded of James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” Think about it. Every moment in our lives is really just that, a vapor. Here one moment, gone the next.

I have to ask myself…and perhaps you need to ask yourself…are the things I get worked up about or I consider to be a “crisis” really just that? Or is every moment, every inconvenience, every interruption, every messed up plan I have really nothing more than just a vapor…here one moment and gone the next?

We don’t know how many years, months, days or even hours we have left here on earth. We don’t know what the future holds or what tomorrow will bring. But I do know this, I need to focus on the truly important stuff and let go of the rest.