The Lies We Tell Ourselves

It looks OK to me. –Eve One look won’t hurt. –Lot’s Wife

No one will ever find out. – Bathsheba

It’s just one little lie. –Ananias

After all I’ve done God will make an exception for me- Moses

She looks good to me. –Samson

I’m smart enough to handle them- Solomon

Even if everybody else denies you, I won’t. –Peter

I won’t get greedy. –Judas

Look, I had no other choice. –King Saul

It’s not exactly what God said but I’m sure He won’t mind. – Nadab

You have to keep up with the times.- Ahab

He just asks too much. – Rich Young Ruler

Sound familiar? The lies we tell ourselves to justify our action. Ones we make to get us to feel better about what we are doing. We convince ourselves that the wrong is right. That even though it might be wrong for somebody else, this is the exception.

Those excuses and rationalization didn’t work for them. They don’t work for us either.

1 Corinthians 10:11-12

Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

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Until Midnight

In Acts 20, there is the tragicomic event surrounding a young man by the name of Eutychus. He did what a lot of folks before and after him did, he fell asleep during a sermon. Unfortunately, he was setting in in the third story window at the time. So instead of nodding off and hitting the pew in front of him, he fell to his death. The good news was the apostle Paul was delivering the sermon and had the ability to bring him back. I don’t know, however, if we can judge Eutychus too harshly. The sermon had gone on till midnight. Paul wouldn’t finish it up till daybreak. That’s a long lesson. I know some folks that might want to jump out of a window if I had a lesson that long, yet these Christians wanted to be there to hear Paul. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not pushing for all night sermons but I think we might need to adopt these folks' dedication. They knew that Paul was only in town for a limited time only and they were determined to ...

The Gift You Give Yourself

I always hated buying gifts for my Mom. If I got her something like a new set of pans, it was like saying “Here’s something you can use to go make me something to eat”. A gift for her was seemingly a gift for me. There are however gifts you give that benefit you more than the receiver. For example, forgiveness. When you give it, you are giving it to yourself as much as you are giving it to them. Jesus said that when we forgive others it means God is forgiving us our wrongs (Matthew 6:14-15). I once read: “ Heaven is where everyone's forgiven. Hell is where nobody's forgiven. So, when we forgive we pull heaven down into our lives. When we withhold forgiveness, we pull hell up into our lives ” Give yourself something nice today, Forgive.

Mysterious Ways

William Cowper didn’t see any reason to live. He decided that he’d jump off the bridge over the Thames. So, he called a cab to take him there. But that night in 1763, a thick fog enveloped London. It was so thick the cab driver couldn’t find the bridge and couldn’t even find the way to take William home. In frustration, he ordered the driver to stop and get out to get his bearings. He walked up to the nearest house to read the number and it was William's house. Gone now were William’s thoughts of suicide and instead a new idea came into his head. So, he went in and wrote these words: God moves in mysterious ways His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea And rides upon the storm. You fearful saints, fresh courage take; The clouds you so much dread Are big with mercy and shall break In blessings on your head. I sometimes wish we could see all the ways God watches over us when need it. There are...

Ecclesiastes 12:10

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