Tag Archive | sin

All Have

Feb4

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, — Romans 3:23

No exceptions, no excuses.

Yesterday’s devotional referenced Exodus 20, the ten commandments. Did you pass God’s standard? I know you didn’t, just as you can be sure I didn’t either, for “all” have sinned.

Face it. We are all sinners, in the same boat, headed to judgement.

But don’t give up hope. Stay tuned for a choice option that can change your life.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

As It Is Written

Feb3

 as it is written,

“There is none righteous, not even one; — Romans 3:10

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” — Romans 3:18

because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. — Romans 3:20

Take a good look at the ten commandments written in Exodus 20. Have you ever broken any of those commandments? That is God’s standard.

Thank God for His Law that makes us aware that we are unable to meet His standard, revealing that we are sinners. Without the realization of a problem we won’t seek to resolve the problem. Sin is a problem that all flesh is faced with.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Uncommon

Dec6

Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.”  — Acts 10:15

“Unholy” in this verse literally means “make common”. So, if God makes us uncommon what is common?

Common is the state in which we were born. Born into sin, separated from God. Loving the things of this world. Not acknowledging God as our Creator to be worshiped and adored and loved with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Accepting Jesus as our Savior — confessing, repenting (turning from the ways of the world to the ways of God), and surrendering our selfishness to allow Him to transform us into a holy state. That is the uncommon.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light; 1 Peter 2:9

I love the King James version in this verse that says that we are a peculiar people. Peculiar, what the world would consider different, odd, uncommon.

So, if you are cleansed by Christ you are no longer common. You have been set apart for the work of the Lord God Almighty. You are set apart to bring Him glory.

God make us to be uncommon, peculiar people in this world of common people. To You be the glory forever. Amen.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Heart Condition

Dec4

Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” — John 8:12

There is a lot of media from television, radio, Facebook, newspapers, on and on about the color of someone’s skin. The “talk” seems to be focused on the color of your skin igniting anger, resentment, hate that is increasingly growing until it becomes a fire that may take decades to put out.

The problem is not a skin condition but a heart condition. Sin is the disease that needs the healing Light, Jesus Christ. Looking at only the symptom we can misdiagnosis the disease and the needed treatment for the condition.

Jesus loves us. Our prognosis is not dependant on the color of our sin but on the condition of our heart.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Salvation, Healing, Deliverance, Joy

Oct9

Fools, because of their rebellious way,
And because of their iniquities, were afflicted.
Their soul abhorred all kinds of food,
And they drew near to the gates of death.
Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
He saved them out of their distresses.
He sent His word and healed them,
And delivered them from their destructions.
Let them give thanks to the Lord for His lovingkindness,
And for His wonders to the sons of men!
Let them also offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And tell of His works with joyful singing. — Psalm 107:17-22

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Blessedness of Forgiveness

Oct3

[ Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God. ] [ A Psalm of David. A Maskil. ] How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! — Psalm 32:1

Have you experienced the pure blessedness of forgiveness? Have you called out to God and received the forgiveness of Jesus Christ that He freely gave for you on the cross? Do you realize the magnitude of having your sin covered? Freedom from shame, regret, guilt, insecurity, unworthiness.

Ask for forgiveness. Experience the blessing.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Overflowing Hope

Jul6

May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. — Romans 15:13(GW)

Are you lacking hope? Are you missing the source? Do you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. — John 3:16-17 Jesus is our Savior, the giver of eternal life, to everyone who believes in Him.

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, — 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 Belief that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and God raised Him from death.

That belief is faith. Through our continued living faith, God fills us with joy and peace. Is your life filled with joy and peace? Most faces I see and pass by daily don’t show it, so I wonder how many people really are experiencing joy and peace in their lives. That raises two thoughts in my mind. The first, do they know Jesus? Really know Him? Second, am I living out my faith that others can see it?

If we are living our faith out with joy and peace then we should be overflowing with hope by the living power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. What would you say is the level of hope in our world today? Is that overflowing hope present in our lives? Is it impacting our corner of the world? What can we do to bring hope to the hopeless?

Let us evaluate our faith. Let us seek Jesus through faith and experience the joy and peace that will, by the power of the Holy Spirit, overflow our lives with hope for ourselves and others.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

Blessed Is The One Who Is Forgiven

Jun13

How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! — Psalm 32:1

How true a verse this is. Forgiveness of sin brings salvation, eternity in a relationship with Almighty God through Jesus Christ. From forgiveness comes confidence that we can walk our journey not worrying about stumbling because we are already forgiven. Forgiveness brings us boldly to the throne of God because we know He is a compassionate, forgiving God who accepts us.  Forgiveness gives us courage to venture out into faith knowing that when we make a mistake we are forgiven. Knowing we are forgiven lifts the burden of an unintentional sinful act that is weighing us down.

All sin covered by the blood of Jesus. Forgiveness is free for the asking and accepting of the gift of forgiveness.  That is the key. Sometimes we fall short of the glory of God but we don’t accept the forgiveness of God because we can’t forgive ourselves. If God has forgiven then we need to forgive. Why? Because blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Thank God for His tremendous blessing of forgiveness!

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

All My Heart

May8

Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you. — 1 Samuel 12:24

When I consider all the Lord has done for me — relocated from on high to a dark world of sin; endured extreme pain, ridicule, being mocked; experiencing rejection and ultimately on the cross loneliness, shame and sin — how can I not believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ.*

He has given me life worth living filled abundantly with love, peace, joy, contentment and a journey beyond all my expectations. Let me make it clear that I am not perfect and make many mistakes while the Lord conforms me to His will. I still have freewill and that “will” many times has a hard time trusting. But I will continue to return to God with all my heart.«

I choose to fear and serve Him with all my heart. I choose to seek Him, love Him, observe and keep His law, hold fast, walk in His ways giving thanks and doing it with all my heart. The more I practice these the more my trust toward the Lord increases so that I trust Him with all my heart.

As I trust my Lord I rejoice and exult Him with all my heart!»

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

*Acts 8:37
«Joel 2:12
»Zephania 3:14

Lest We Fall

Apr17

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

It’s so easy to sit and critique the actions and sins of others. The Pastor of a big church who had an affair, the President of a Seminary whose power turned to pride and so many other examples that plaster the news way too often. We can open the Old Testament and see example after example of Israel craving evil, being idolators, acting immorally, trying the Lord, and grumbling which was not well-pleasing to God.

I look at my life and try to remember that I myself can be just seconds away from falling into sin. I am not to be wise in my own estimation, to be haughty and to ever think I am above sin. We are constantly being bombarded with choices in our lives and we can so easily fall. Let us not think we are beyond sinning but take heed lest we do fall. Let us heed the examples of the Word of God and learn.

Let us seek the Lord and have empathy for those who have fallen. Let us pray for their restoration and never forget that we could so easily be in the same situation.

Continually seeking Him,

Sharon

 

Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. — Romans 12:16