Overcoming the Power of Sin

The Bible highlights the faithfulness of God as one of His many attributes. From the very beginning, God is revealed as being faithful. In creation, first He said it, “Let there be light…,” and then He did it, “…and there was light.”  Genesis 1:3. God is faithful; what He says, He does; every time and always. God can be trusted to do what He says.

When a person hears a word from God and believes that God will do what He says, God is pleased with that person and fulfills the word He has spoken in that person. God begins to work in, with, and through that individual, according to His own word. He accomplishes His word, but not without that person joining Him in that good work. God is the power for the working out of His word. Your obedience simply joins Him in His own work because you believe that He will do it. And He is glorified when you do and when He does it. He gets the glory and you get the joy at having seen and joined God in what only God can do! AMEN!

After Adam and Eve sinned, God provided the first sacrifice when He clothed them with animal skins to cover their shame, Genesis 3:21. Sacrifice became the only way to be in God’s presence, in a relationship with Him. Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s first sons, learned this form of worship from their parents and regularly brought their sacrifices to God. Cain was a farmer and brought the fruit of the ground as his sacrifice, Genesis 4:3. Abel took care of livestock and brought the first brought the first born of his flock with their fat portions and sacrificed to the Lord, 4:4.

The Bible says that God had regard for Abel’s sacrifice but not for Cain’s. The word “regard” is the Hebrew word sha-ah, which means to gaze at, to stare at, to see with amazement. The Hebrew phrase lo sha-ah, is the opposite, translated “no regard,” and is used in other places in the Old Testament for blindness. It literally means to turn away from with disgusts. God could see something in Abel’s sacrifice that amazed Him, but in Cain’s something was missing that caused God to shut His eyes and turn away. And Cain knew it, “…but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.”

The phrase “his face fell” is descriptive of someone who has turned away from God. The word for “face” is the Hebrew word paneh, which means to face someone, face-to-face. It is used to describe someone’s presence. The word “fell” is the Hebrew word naphal, which is a verb meaning to fall down, to be distorted, to rot. Get the picture? Cain was going through the motions of worship but was angry and was not seeking God’s presence. He was not worshiping. Maybe he was mad about having to give the sacrifice. People today get mad when the pastor preaches on tithing.  Or maybe he was angry because Abel seemed to enjoy God’s presence so much. When God is being glorified in someone, they have joy and cannot hide it.

The book of Hebrews reveals that Abel had faith and Cain did not, Hebrews 11:4. Faith pleases God because He sees Himself in it. God is faithful and He rewards faithfulness with Himself. Abel believed God’s instruction for worship and was commended by God with His presence; Cain did not.

The next verses are definitive, “The LORD said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you but you must rule over it.” 4:6 – 7. The word “sin” is singular. God was addressing a particular sin in Cain with an invitation for things to change and be different for him. But there was also a warning of what would happen if he did not trust God’s word. This is called being convicted by God’s word. Conviction is a gift from God for something that He wants to correct in your life, according to His word. Sin is not outside your life waiting to leap in; sin is in your life waiting for a crack in the door to jump out! When it does it overpowers you making you its slave.

But God wants to overpower the sin in your life with His word, but only if you trust His word that He will do it. First He says it, then, He does it. More on this tomorrow as you discover the overcoming power of the word of God and how Cain missed it.

When Honey Turns to Wormwood

The book of Proverbs continually holds up two choices; the word of the world and the word of God. Everything starts with a word. Creation started with a word (Genesis 1:3). The ministry of Jesus began with a word, “Repent,” (Matthew 4:17). Lazarus came out of the grave with a word, “Lazarus, come forth,” (John 11:43). The last word of Jesus from the cross was an announcement of the perfection of salvation, “It is finished!” (John 19:30) Believers will be caught up together with the word, a shout of victory like a trumpet blast (1 Thessalonians 4:16).

Likewise, temptation begins with a word, “My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.” Proverbs 5:1 – 4. You are continually faced with which word you will believe and follow. Both have set outcomes, predetermined outcomes. Once you begin following, you cannot change the outcome; they are already determined, predetermined by God. You can change direction, either for better or for bitter, but you cannot change the outcomes. Choosing wisely is the message of Proverbs.

There is a story in Greek mythology that illustrates the two choices. It is found in two epic stories, Homer’s Odyssey and Jason and the Argonauts. In the Odyssey, Ulysses and his men sail around the Aegean Sea with one adventure after another. They had heard about the seductive songs of the Sirens. As sailors would pass by the island of the Sirens, they would hear the most beautiful, seductive, inviting songs, which sounded like the honey and oil of the adulteress in Proverbs five. They would follow its irresistible allure, only to be destroyed on the rocks.

Ulysses knew of the danger and so had his men fill their ears with bee’s wax so they could not hear the seduction. But Ulysses wanted to hear their sensual songs, so he had himself tied fast to the main mast of the ship. He instructed his men that no matter what he did, he was not to be untied. As they passed by the island the songs nearly drove Ulysses mad with lust, but his men had their ears stuffed with wax and could not hear his angry commands, nor the Sirens deceptive invitation.

Jason, who also knew of the legend of the Sirens, had a different method of escape. He brought Orpheus with him on the voyage. Orpheus was known for his beautiful songs and music. They said that no other on earth who could sing and play like Orpheus. His songs had healing powers according to the myth. Jason was betting that the songs of Orpheus would drown out the deceptive and destructive songs of the Sirens.

As Jason and his crew drew near the islands of the Sirens, before the first notes of their seduction began, Orpheus was already playing his songs of peaceful beauty. As the sailors enjoyed the music of their beloved Orpheus, they did not even notice the allure of the Sirens, and escaped while singing with Orpheus and enjoying his music.

The message is clear: God’s word has an eternal beauty and grace that is not of this world. The sweetness of God’s word with the oil of the Holy Spirit makes the rotting slop of the world, the flesh, and the devil go unnoticed. Religion will seek to stuff your ears with bee’s wax or tie you up with restrictive rules. Neither will last very long. According to Colossians 2:23, the rules of religion “…are of no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh.” Something greater is offered in a personal relationship with God, through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. With your eyes on Jesus, and your ear tuned to His word, you will sail past temptation and not even notice it’s deceptive lie, allowing God to satisfy your desires as you enjoy His presence and feast on His word, forever. Hallelujah!!!

Pleasing the Father in Spirit and Truth

The word “pleasing” is the Hebrew word ratson, which means having God’s favor, something that is pleasing, desirable, and being accepted. It is used in describing someone who has followed God’s instructions for worship; they were “accepted” by God. But it is stronger than that; they “please” the Father and give Him great joy and glory. The word ratson is key in learning to worship the Father in spirit and truth.

         The book of Proverbs majors on the wisdom and truth of God’s word and the importance of your words. Many of the proverbs address the power of your speech. Whole chapters in Proverbs are devoted to this subject. The sharp contrast between lying lips and lips that speak the truth are seen throughout the Proverbs. And when you speak the truth, it pleases the Father, “Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight.” Proverbs 12:22.

         The word “abomination” is the Hebrew word toebah, which means to detest, to abhor, to loathe, to turn away. It is used of unclean things in the Old Testament. It is the opposite of ratson. An interesting study is to identify everything that is an abomination and abhorrent to God. One is seen above; lying lips.

         There are different kinds of lies. One kind is when something false is spoken, intentionally. The author asked a group of children at a children’s camp setting, “Why does a person tell a lie?” One little boy spoke up and said, “To stay out of trouble.” We all know the logic of that lie. And then, one little girl said, “To make people feel better.” We have probably all been guilty of that type of encouragement.

Saying something that is not true is lying. This was the sin of the Pharisees and religious leaders in Jesus’ day. He called them hypocrites because they had the right words but the wrong heart. They were play actors with a mask of righteousness, but a heart of deceit. Then there is the lie of saying something, but not doing it. The word spoken is true, but the action is false. Jesus also spoke to the crowds about this kind of lying by the Pharisees when He said, “…so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.” Matthew 23:3. You may have heard the saying, “Practice what you preach.” And again, we have all known the deception of the talk without the walk.

This type of lying is what Proverbs 12:22 is addressing, the kind that speaks but does not do as compared to the one who speaks and then faithfully acts, which is like God. First God says it, then, God does it. And that is why God loves this in you because it reminds Him of Himself. God says it, then, He does it, every time, because God is faithful. What He says, He does. God acts faithfully and so when you do, it pleases Him.

This begs the question: So how can I act faithfully? The answer comes with a question: Act faithfully to what word, yours or God’s? A person can act faithfully to his own word and always be doing the wrong thing, always be doing things that are contrary to God’s word. These are the one who are faithful in sinning; they do it every time! But being faithful to God’s word is a different kind of faithfulness. God speaks, you hear and believe, and then God acts in you, with you, through you, as you, before Himself and the watching world around you. And He will do that every time you believe that what He says, He will do.

When you receive the word of God each day in your time with God, His Spirit begins His work in you and with you. And, “…he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6. Trust that God is doing it, but know that He will not do it without you.

One of my earliest memories as a child was watching my father, Dick Stahl, mow our back yard with one of those old turning-blade mowers. No motor, just a turning blade powered by the two wheels. As I watched from the back porch, it looked like so much fun. Suddenly he stopped and motioned me to join him. I jumped off the porch and ran as fast as I could, reached up and took hold of the handles and started mowing with my dad. As the cut grass flew up on my legs it felt so cool. We were mowing the grass. I felt like such a big boy, so good. And daddy was enjoying it too.

So who was mowing? Me? You better believe I was. I had the cut grass on my legs to prove it. Was he? Oh yeah he was. He was doing all the pushing and I was having all the fun. But it was also work for me. Its not easy holding on to those big handles so far above your head. But I didn’t mind, didn’t even notice. I was mowing and I was with the one I loved so much while doing with him what only he could do.

This is what your Father desires. He wants you to see and hear His invitation to join Him in what He is doing. As you do, it pleases Him. He is the one doing the work, but not without you. He gets the glory because only God can do what pleases Him. But you get the joy of being with Him and sharing in the love He has for you, His child. This is what it means to worship the Father in spirit and truth. And it pleases Him when you do.

The Seductive Influence of Unbridled Lust

Yesterday you learned of the influence of God’s word for informing and shaping wise choices and the outcome of those choices, which is worship in your daily life. You also learned from Proverbs 2 that you are constantly bombarded and surrounded by ungodly opportunities and messages in the world. One of those advertisements is to respond to situations with anger, Proverbs 2:12. The perverted speech of anger is an invitation to power and to manipulate with intimidation and fear. The problem is the outcome, which is destructive violence and death, none of which are from God.

Another destructive influence that Proverbs warns against is the seductive power of unbridled sexual lust, 2:16 – 19. This is described as the adulteress who lures men away from God by her seduction and with lies that deceive sexual appetites, “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman, from the adulteress with her smooth words, who forsakes the covenant of her God; for her house sinks down to death, and her paths to the departed, none who go to her come back, nor do they regain the paths of life.” Never underestimate the power of sexual lust.

When the book of Proverbs speaks of the angry man and the adulteress woman it is not warning against particular men or women, but rather the seductive and influential power and destruction of life without God and the life-giving influence of God’s word. The phrase “…who forsakes the covenant of her God…” is key in understanding what happens when a person receives identity from their appetites rather than from their relationship with God.

God created you with many desires, appetites, and lusts. The word “lust” is not a bad word. It sounds bad but the word itself simply identifies an earnest desire. In Luke 22:15, Jesus said, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer.” The Greek word for “earnestly desired” is epithumia. The English word “thermometer” comes from thumia, which means to boil. The word epithumia means to deeply long for something, to desire something with a passion. It is translated in other passages with the word “lust,” but in Luke 22:15 it describes the deep longing, the lust, that Jesus had to institute the Lord’s Supper with His disciples. The word is not necessarily bad.

Lust is not a bad thing until the thing longed for leads you away from and outside the boundaries of God’s word. When it does, idolatry is the result, because at that point the person is deceived into seeing their identity in the desire rather than in relationship with God. You are not your desires. You have desires, (no brainer) but you are more than your appetites. You are a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ, with passions that glorify the Father when placed under His authority, not your authority.

The first Psalm describes the blessed man as the one “…who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” The progress is subtle and yet very real of first choosing to follow appetites rather than God’s word, then to embrace the desire as your identity, followed by a lifestyle of activities seeking to satisfy the lust. Of course, the lust is never satisfied, which underlines the lie and deception of it, until placed under the authority of God’s word.

Likewise, when you follow the direction and calling of God’s word, choosing to trust the truth and the direction of it, and begin to see and embrace your identity in relationship with God through faith in Christ, followed by the activities and lifestyle of a child of God, your passions find their deepest longing and you are satisfied in Christ. John Piper likes to say it this way; “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in Him.” Today as you pray and read God’s word, experience Him in it and you will find rest and peace for the deepest longings of your soul. AMEN!

Worshiping the Father With Wise Choices

The book of Proverbs is a companion to the book of Psalms. It is a collection of wise statements for practical and godly choices in life. Your will is central in the direction of your life. As you make a decision, a choice, your body carries it out and immediately learns from that choice. The body is a quick learner with a tremendous memory. Once you learn to ride a bicycle, you never forget it. The same is true of learning to drive. Your body can carry out the choices you learned long ago without even thinking about it. But it all begins with the will.

         Your will is a trinity of mind, will, and emotion. Your thoughts inform your will while your emotions move it into action through your body. Those who study the soul (psychologists; from the Greek word psooche, which means the essence of life in terms of thinking, willing, and feeling, and the Greek word logos, which means a collection of words with a single meaning; hence, the study of the mind, will, and emotions) focus on the thoughts, the choices, the feelings of individuals who are seeking to change behavior. You cannot separate these three; the mind, the will, the emotions. They are a trinity.

         God’s word informs with spiritual truth for the purpose of transformation. From the new heart of a believer, the Holy Spirit speaks in perfect communion with you, the new you in Christ. The truth from that communion is then given to your intuition, which informs your conscience with a word of knowledge, which bears witness of the truth to your mind.

This is the process of God working in you, with you, through you, as you, before the Father and the watching world around you. In Philippians 2:12 – 13, the apostle Paul said, “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” God’s will and activity originates in your heart and moves through you, redeeming you from the inside out. Hallelujah!!!

         The book of Proverbs majors on truth for your will; wise choices, which are the will of God for you. One of the choices addressed in Proverbs has to do with choosing the influences in your life. You are surrounded by invitations everyday. These advertisements all have this in common; they invite you to the offer of a lifetime. They appeal to an appetite of some kind in your life with the promise to satisfy. How can you know which one to pursue? God’s word, especially in Proverbs, answers that question. This is why it is important for you to read a portion of Proverbs everyday along with your Psalm for the day.

Proverbs is the Father speaking to you, His child, of wise choices to make each day by the wisdom He imparts from His word. Listen to your heavenly Father as He says, “My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding…then you will understand the fear of the LORD…for the LORD gives wisdom…” Proverbs 2:1 – 6. In this chapter, the writer of Proverbs goes on to say that wisdom from God’s word will deliver you from two very strong, deceptive and destructive influences in life; anger and lust.

Anger is described as a man of perverted speech, 2:12 – 15, whose way is evil, which leads to dark and devious paths. The Hebrew word used in verse twelve for “evil” is the word rah, which is violent wickedness, “…delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech…who rejoice in doing evil…who are devious in their ways.” The word “devious” is the Hebrew word looz, which means to turn away. It describes someone who has turned away from God’s word and the direction He leads.

But notice, it all begins with perverted speech, with a word. The word “perverted” is the Hebrew word tahpookah, which has the meaning of a violent upheaval, as in a volcanic eruption. The picture is of a man who has lost his temper and feels a rush of power as a result. Beware of the intoxication and addiction of anger. Jesus said it is inseparably connected to murder (Matthew 5:21 – 26). Tomorrow, the second powerful influence of lust.

But today, know that God’s word provides a choice and direction vastly different than the perverted speech of anger; the wisdom of God from the word of God. His word will draw you away from and heal you from the destructive curses of angry people who spew hatred from a wounded soul. His word will become in you a fountain of living water, springing up to eternal life. AMEN!