Sin

Too Little Too Late

Too Little Too Late

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When you were a kid, do you remember getting caught doing something your parents or someone else in authority over you had told you not to do – or for not doing something they had told you to do? You suddenly realized there were going to be consequences. You weren’t going to be able to do something you had really been looking forward to doing – like going to a party at a friend’s house, or going to a movie with friends, or the like.

You felt really bad! But, in truth, you didn’t feel bad about what you had done; rather, you felt bad about the consequence of your disobedience. And the truth is, that didn’t just happen back when we were kids. It also has happened to us as adults. As a matter of fact, it may have just happened yesterday.

We Can't Bury It Deep Enough

We Can't Bury It Deep Enough

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Have you ever done something that you knew you weren’t supposed to do? But you rationalized it was okay because no one was ever going to know what you had done. And then you took great effort to cover up what you had done just to make sure no one would ever know. The answer to that question for all of us is “yes”. How do i know? Because we are all sinners … and we all have the proclivity to sin. Allow me to introduce a fellow sinner by the name of Achan.

On the morning the walls of Jericho collapsed, Joshua commanded the people of Israel, “Do not take any of the things set apart for destruction, or you yourselves will be completely destroyed, and you will bring trouble on the camp of Israel. Everything made from silver, gold, bronze, or iron is sacred to the LORD and must be brought into His treasury.” Joshua had repeated this instruction multiple times so that everyone would clearly know and remember what they were to do. And every one of the fighting men took that command to heart and obeyed … except one.

The treasures of Jericho were laid bare that day ….

Failure Is An Event, Not A Person

Failure Is An Event, Not A Person

How many of us have failed at something this past week? i know i did! We were blessed to have all of our family home with us for the Thanksgiving holiday. Four households and four generations converging for a special time together. Four households and four generations with different perspectives and different ways of doing things. Viva la difference, right? Well, after a while, i somehow lost all that holiday spirit, got turned sideways by those quirky differences, and my impatience began to grow until it boiled over. Now remember, i’m the proud patriarch of this “quirky” clan, so that’s not supposed to happen to me.  i’m supposed to act like the godly leader of this tribe. After all, i’m the chief “quirk”! So, at that moment, i was faced with three choices:

  1. i could try to justify my “impatience” as righteous indignation and attempt to bully everyone else into submitting to my way, or

  2. i could allow my reaction to define me and resign myself to be a failure as a godly leader and father, and sulk in my condition, or

  3. i could acknowledge that my reaction was wrong, learn from it and make an adjustment in my attitude and actions going forward.

Then on Sunday….