Sin Fascinates And Then Assassinates

A sign at a nearby church read, “Sin fascinates. Then it assassinates.”

     As I look back over the events in the lives of the people in the Bible and the choices I have made in my own life I realize that when we know what is right but choose to do the opposite in our lives we pay the price. 

     I imagine when Adam and Eve looked at the fruit of the tree in the midst of the Garden of Eden they saw a ripe, mouth-watering fruit; one that, if eaten, would be so much better than all those other selections which had been given to them.  They were told not to eat of it, but they chose it anyway.  When they took of that fruit, they allowed “sin to fascinate.” In the end, "it assassinated."  The Garden of Eden was not only closed to them forever, but henceforth, man was required to labor.
    When David feasted upon Bathsheba and desired to have her for his own, he had her husband killed.  David knew his lust for another man’s wife was wrong, but he devised a plan to have her anyway.  Because of this, God was angry with David, and their first child died.   “Sin fascinated.  Then it assassinated.” 
     Judas, one of Jesus’ own disciples, betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of gold.  That money enticed Judas; it worked on his self-greed.  He must have thought it would buy him wealth.  In the end he could not live with his guilt, and he went out and hanged himself.  “Sin fascinated.  Then it assassinated.”     
      How many times in our lives have we looked at what appears to be “greener pastures” and made choices that did not follow along with what we knew to be the right thing to do?  How many times have we taken the easy route rather than work on the right thing to do?  How many times have we let instant gratification overcome the fear of the certainty we knew could result?  In the end, did we find that “sin fascinated, and then it assassinated?”   What price have we paid for our decisions? 
     The price could be anything: The loss of a family, the loss of respect, the burden of unnecessary  bills, addictions, job loss, physical injury, guilt, loss of financial success; just to name a few, all because we failed to weigh the outcome. 
     Yet God gives us hope.  For those of us who have "paid the price" because we chose sin, and it caused a great loss in our lives, we may have to live with the results, but we can persevere, although it does not come easy.  To make a correction we can no longer take the easy road.  We must learn from our experience, and not allow sin to continue to assassinate our lives. 
     I am so glad I have a God who loves me enough to allow "assassination" to happen in my life in order to keep me on the right track.  I am so glad I have a God who was willing to pay the price for my human weakness; a God who will forgive me even when others won't; One who will give me hope; One who will help me overcome  my failures; One who chose to pay the price for my salvation. 

Romans 5:3-5 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. 

Bluebirds

     I enjoy watching the bluebirds feed their young and have had the opportunity to watch a rare and long-awaited moment when the newborns leave their nest.  For those who wait and watch long enough, you know that it only takes one flight and, in just a few short minutes, they are gone. 

     The baby birds depend upon their parents to cover them with the warmth of their feathers as they snuggle in their nest.  They rely upon  them to stay busy gathering worms throughout the raising season in order to provide them with food and nourishment. 
     Some of the newborns fly out of their nest with strong wills and rapidly disappear among the tree tops.  Some take a little coaxing and fly weakly to the ground only to be encouraged to spread their wings and take flight.
     Most of us find refuge and protection, much the same way,  in the comfort of our homes as we grow into adulthood.  Our parents cuddle, love, feed, and protect us.     Families are bonded together because of that love
     God tells us that He will do the same.  When our souls dwell in God we are secure.  “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty,…He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler….  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day: …Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation… For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.”  Psalms 91:1,4,5,9,11
     My parents are no longer around to protect me and advise me, but I take comfort in the fact that I was adopted into God’s arms of protection and His family when I accepted His plan of salvation.  I take comfort in the security of knowing He has placed His angels in charge over me.  If I should spread my wings in my own strong self-will, I will still have a God who will continue to love and protect me if I will only call upon Him. “He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:  I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him. With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.”  Psalms 91:15-16.  

Financial Independence

     Being financially independent goes a long way in how you feel about yourself and in the way you live.  It is never too early to plan for your future or to teach your children about money.  If I had a child just graduating from college and getting ready to live on their own here are a few suggestions I would make: 

Pray about your financial decisions.

Do not spend more than you earn.

Give God the first 10% of your income.

Give yourself 10% of your income before other expenses. Place it in some type of savings account and allow it to grow.  

Develop a financial plan or goal.    

Credit cards should be paid off every month, if possible 

If you have an unexpected large expense and must use your credit card, do not continue to charge on it until that expense is paid off.

In today’s world, cash is  mostly a word of the past.  In using credit or debit cards monitor those purchases.  Keep a record of what you are spending and will expect to have to pay to clear up those expenses when the monthly bill appears in the mail.

Pay bills timely to avoid needless late fees. 

If your employer offers a matching IRA, contribute at least the amount needed to obtain those matching funds.

If you have a job, value it, even if it is only temporary.  Perform the best work possible.  Be on time and respect your boss.  Remember, this is your livelihood.

Dress for success on the job.  This does not mean to go out and buy clothing beyond your budget.  Do obtain one nice outfit that can easily be mixed and matched to provide an attractive appearance on the job.

Determine what is a necessity versus a desire to stay on budget

 

Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.  Malachi 3:10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humor With A Cool Drink Of Water

     The five year old had just gotten up and was whining.  The mom scolded, “You got up on the wrong side of the bed.  You need to go back to bed.”  The child cried, “But how do I know which side to get up on?”
     The best way to “get up on the right side of the bed” and start any day is with a prayer.  Ask God to direct your path and relinquish your strong self will to His.   When you allow God’s will to carry you through the day you will find that most projected problems simple disappear.  Life becomes less stressful and what you expected to be a big issue simple didn’t happen. 

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     On a positive note, a laugh and seeking God first sets the pace for the day.  My devotional kindle version of "Humor With A Cool Drink of Water" found on Amazon, just a click away on the site above, provides just that.  In it you will find a humorous joke, a short devotional thought for the day, and a scripture verse. 

The Witness

     Last Sunday our pastor talked about how our prayers need to lead to action.  That is so true, yet so many of us miss opportunities because we live such busy lives.  We often miss the quiet nudging from God.  Then other times we feel it but don't take action because we are either too shy, too reserved, or just too afraid of either failure or what others will think. 
     In my own life, I have missed opportunities because I did not know what to say or how to say it, and I have had to live with the guilt of "what if?"  I was weak, lacked courage and, most of all, faith. 
     The questions I used below were found in a column I once read on "How To Share Your Faith."

The Witness

 I passed him on the street-

He was grungy and not at all clean and neat.

I silently wondered, “Do I dare?”

As I smelled the uncleanness in the air.

 

Ashamed, I turned and walked back by,

stopping to say a friendly ”Hi!”

 

Then I asked, “Do you have a spiritual belief?”

He didn’t turn to leave, much to my relief.

I let him talk a while

Listening with a smile.

 

“To you, who is Jesus?” I soon asked.

He said he had heard of him in the past.

So I questioned more,

Hoping to open a long-closed door.

 

 “Do you believe in a Heaven and Hell?”

He needed to know where he would eventually dwell.

I had no response for his yes or no,

As he bowed his head and answered low.

 

A tear fell as I touched his hand.

This was new to me for I had no witness plan.

My courage was fading fast

Until I heard some words at last.

They tumbled out-

I said it softy though I wanted to shout,

“If you died today, where will you go?

If what you believe is not true, would you want to know?”

 

 I felt so helpless standing there.

All was silent; not a breeze stirred the air.

 

I waited, hoping, wanting to tell the story-

Wanting to share God’s glory.

Yet he’d had all he wanted to hear,

And I watched as he walked away and slowly began to disappear.  

 

My tears began to fall;

I felt so small. 

Then I heard a voice say

As I began to pray,

“Don’t have regrets;

  For sharing my words with a stranger you met.

Well done,

My faithful one!”

                                               Mary Crisp Jameson    2-14-2014

The Symbolic Cross

     As we all know by now, Christianity is under attack. 
     We continue to hear and see the controversy at Christmas time; people and retailers often have resorted to using “Happy Holidays” or “Seasons Greeting” instead of Christmas because they simply do not want Christ in Christmas, yet without Jesus Christ there would be no Christmas. 
     There is now an ongoing attack over wooden crosses and the placement of crosses in symbols and signs. Those who find the cross offensive say the cross is the most readily and widely identifiable object for religion, and it is a Christian symbol.  They want them removed.  Law suits are going on in various states in an attempt to remove religious symbols.    
     A close friend of mine recently made a statement that he would like to start a movement about the cross. 
     “In what way?” I asked. 
     He replied, “We see crosses everyday just about everywhere we go.  Think about it!  Look up.  Our power lines have crosses.  If everyone recognized them as a symbol of Christ, we would remember and think about Him every day, and I’d like to see someone file a law suit to have those power poles removed.”               

     That really got me to thinking.  You know he is right!  I looked around as I was driving down the highway and right before my eyes were crosses everywhere.  They were all tied together with power lines which hook up and connect all parts of the country.  They provide power needed every day. Without that electrical power businesses couldn’t operate.  All our technology would come to a halt.  We have become a nation that cannot do without electricity.     
     Yet, God’s power is so much greater.  He is the One who can electrically charge this nation.  He is the One who can wake up a declining, “sleeping giant.”  Without Him our nation will fail.  Without Him there will be no prosperity.    
     I must say that I will never be able to look at a row of electrical power poles the same way again.  I will always see the cross and remember God is with me.  He loves me. Because of Him I will be electrically charged to do the work set before me. 

 

             

     Even though God's power transcends all and reaches to the uttermost parts of the world, He gives us choices.  As Jesus hung there on the cross between two thieves, one chose to believe when he said, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom."  Jesus's powerful forgiving answer was, "Today shalt thou be with me in paradise."  The other thief remained among the ones who hear and yet do not chose to believe.  He would have been among those today who hear and yet chose to sue to eliminate religious symbols.  

 

     Looking further at these electrical power poles, I am reminded further of The Great Commission.  Those power lines run in all directions sending electricity around the world.  Isn't that similar to the Great Commission given by Jesus. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always even into the end of the world." 

     We, Christians, are the power lines leading away from that cross, commissioned to take the gospel to all who will listen.  We are to run the race, electrically charged, for Jesus Christ. 

     How can we win the race?  My pastor gave good examples this morning.  It is in the way we live, the way we speak, the way we spend our money, in what we laugh about, in the people we spend time with, how we spend our leisure time, and in what we want and desire. 

     In other words, we need to saturate ourselves, absorb God's word, get to really know God, and run with a powerfully, electrically charged purpose.  "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?  So run that ye may obtain." (1 Corinthians 9:24)

 

      

    

          
 



                                                         

 

God Loves Because He is God

Have you ever pledged or committed to doing better but found yourself doing the same bad habits?  Isn't it wonderful, that as a Christian, we know we have forgiveness of sin? And that God still loves us?

God Loves Because He Is God

God does not love me because I am good;

He loves me because He is God!

 

 

I am chosen,

Although I am broken.

I am stubborn, polished with a lack of concern;

You’d think one day I’d learn.

I’m disobedient,

Stirred with selfishness, as an added ingredient.

 

 

Yet God still loves even me.

He’ll be with me around the world and across the sea.

 

 

His power sustains throughout each season.

Why? Just what is His reason?

I see His miracles across the land;

Yet I continue with what “I” have planned.

Unwilling to listen, I do as I please;

Still, He waits and silently sends the gentle breeze.  

 

 

God does not love me because I’m good.

He loves me because He is God!

I feel His mercy and His grace.

I feel His mighty embrace.

I love His compassion and protection;

Hopefully, someday I’ll follow His direction.

No matter my weakness,

No matter my lack of meekness,

No matter my behavior;

He remains my faithful Saviour. 

 

 

God does not love me because I’m good.

He loves me because He is God!

                                                        Mary Crisp Jameson – 2-2-2014

For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. Romans 7:19

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