When You've Been Kicked in the Repenter One Too Many Times

Sometimes, I absolutely say the dumbest things imaginable. Last night was a perfect example. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that James kicked me in the repenter just about every day while I was writing the study. One day, I got kicked so bad, I repented and cried all day, but I kept typing. Now that I'm taking the study I wrote, he's kicking me in the repenter again. 

There comes a point when you're ashamed to blog about repenting even one more time. Obviously, I'm doing it anyway.

Last night, I crawled into bed with my Bible and my laptop. I didn't really think I could do my morning Bible study the night before, but I thought maybe I could write a blog without Bible study. (That never works, so don't worry. I didn't do it.) 

Anyway, I was bone-tired and sick of all the repenter-kicking, so I announced, out loud, to the Lord. "I'm not gonna repent of anything tomorrow." Yes. It still sounds stupid today.

That still small voice whispered in my heart, "Oh, really?"

I deserved a lot worse than that, but those two words cut me to the core. "No, sir. I'll just get started tonight. I'm really sorry for that sassiness." 

As it turns out, refusing to repent for a whole day is a very bad idea. In fact, when we sin, we're suppose to repent on the spot and stop doing the sin. I highly recommend it.

There's nothing better than a clean heart and a right spirit, but you can't have them unless you allow God to get rid of the sin-mess first. Today, let's make an early start at repenting, and keep at it until we're done. 

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 nasb

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 nasb
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ps - photo above was taken at the Lithostrotos, traditional site of Jesus' beating, place where soldiers cast lots, and Pilate delivered Him to the Jews to be crucified. John 19:13.
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post:  Using Grace as a Speech-Seasoning

This ministry of prayer and outreach (digital and in-person) is only possible because of the generosity of your support. If you'd like to help, here's the link to give your tax-deductible donations: Global Outreach Acct 4841

The Dirty Laundry in the Background

I've noticed an odd thing recently. When something the least bit unusual happens, whoever's present says, "You should write a blog about this." As if I can pull a blog post out of the air on any topic imaginable. Maybe it's because I once wrote a story about the toilet paper in the church bathroom. Anyway...

One of the things that delayed the launch of Sam's Project was that I didn't have a good photo of Sam to put on the project page. Rory (our VP of Marketing) emailed me (again) to say he needed a photo, so I pulled one up on my phone and sent it to him. 

After I hit send, I realized that I'd taken the photo with an unsightly background. I rushed to Rory's office, which doesn't take much rushing, since he's just next door.

"You need to photoshop my dirty laundry out of this picture before you put it up."

Rory looked up with the most mischievous grin and said, "I don't think my photoshop skills extend to dirty laundry." 

It was something Ryan Hollis (my son) would've said. I knew how much success I'd have had with Ryan over something like this, since he once named a piece of pottery that was for sale on my website "elephant booger". It was on the website for weeks before I noticed it. 

I was doubtful I could sway Rory, but I had to try one more time. "Please, take the dirty laundry out before you post that photo."

"Nah. You should just write a blog about airing your dirty laundry." He laughed. Guys think this kind of thing is much funnier than I do. 

The photo stayed. 

The dirty laundry on the floor in the background stayed. 

In my defense, I was doing laundry when Sam arrived with his new Hope Church t-shirt. I stopped to take a photo and never noticed the pile of towels waiting to go in the washer in the background.

As I've thought about dirty laundry, I've realized my problem is not usually airing mine in public. The problem I'm more likely to have is to let my emotional "dirty laundry" (aka sinful attitudes) pile up in the background of my life and leave it there. Untouched. Unaddressed. 

To people who know me well, it may be evident on close inspection that there's something wrong. That a little "clean up" is needed.

So it is when we harbor ungodly attitudes. Judgmental, critical spirits. Anger. Bitterness. Unforgiveness. They're always in the background, marring the picture we present to the world. 

If we want a "clean" background in a photo, we need to deal with the dirty towels on the floor. If we want to present a "clean" image to the world, we need to deal with the "dirty laundry" of attitudes and sin that interfere with the picture of Christ we're supposed to present.

Let's stop for a moment and consider our own lives. Is there something in the background of our lives that mars the image of Christ? Why not deal with it now? Let's show the world a clear picture of the Christ we say we serve, not distract them by our sin.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 esv

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In case you missed the story of Sam's project, here's the link: Sam's Project: Rubber Boots for Barefoot Rwandan Children
If you'd like to give to help buy boots for the barefoot school children of Rwandan, you can go directly to the project page here: Help Sam's Kids
In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: Three Years and 1550 blogs Later...
#dirtylaundry #sin

After Baton Rouge

The flag was lowered on Friday in a demonstration of sorrow and respect for the victims of the Nice terrorist attack. Before it could be raised again, three more law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge were murdered yesterday. 

I shook my head and blinked back tears. One of my first thoughts was, "We can't even lower the flag for them, because it's already lowered." 

Raising and lowering the flag for Blue Springs has done something deep in me. In a way, I am symbolically grieving on behalf of our town, our state, our nation, as I move the flag up and down the pole.

It's something I can do, but I wish there were more.

Today, I'll go to the town hall, raise the flag for a moment, and lower it on behalf of the men who died needlessly yesterday. I know our President hasn't ordered it, but it's the only tangible thing I can think of to do.

Besides pray.

And I'm doing that already.

Baton Rouge followed too quickly on the heels of Dallas. I'm still reeling from the last massacre of law enforcement officers, my heart still in shock. I guess we all are. When I heard the news yesterday, I was filled with sorrow and horror at a world gone wrong.

We are sin-broken and only a sin-fix can help us. 

We all have a sin problem that began in the Garden of Eden and has shown no sign of dissipating since the beginning of time. We are born in sin and we live in sin, but there is hope. 

God loved us so much that He gave His only Son to die and be raised again to pay for our sin. We can live in His power, His grace, His love. We can be different.

Sin is inherent in our nature but it does not have to control us. It does not have to take control and incite us to plow down men and women who have vowed to serve and protect us. 

Murder is sin.

It's not the only sin, but it is sin. Not an act of heroism. Not an honorable act of martyrdom.

There is nothing to celebrate in murder, and those who think there is are deceived, if not criminally insane.

There is hope, but it is not found in more laws, military or civil might, or social fixes. 

The only real hope is found in humility, repentance, renouncing our sin, and seeking God's face. People of God, it's our turn to demonstrate the kind of repentance that brings change.  

Let's do it together.

Almighty God, You alone are righteous. We confess that we are a sinful people and, as a nation and individually, we have not followed you as we ought.

We confess that we have not loved You with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We have loved the things the world offers, and they have become idols to us. 

We have tried to balance with one foot in the world and one foot in faith, and we have failed.

We confess that we have not loved our neighbor as You have loved us, much less as we love ourselves. 

We confess that we have allowed our differences to separate us, whether that be skin pigment or socioeconomic status. 

We have not loved life the way You do. We have not stood for life. 

We have not fought against injustice.

We have loved busyness rather than righteousness.

Oh, God, forgive us and make us different. 

Help us to renounce the sin we love and embrace Your righteousness. Help us to love You and our neighbor. Help us to study Your Word and obey.

As a nation, we are perishing, and we beg You to intervene. We are killing ourselves, slaughtering our unity, and destroying our own hope. 

We beg You to heal our land. Save us, Lord, for we cannot save ourselves.

We ask it in the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14 nasb
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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Blended Fruit 

#BatonRouge #repent #sin #policeshooting #yourlifematterstome

Totally forgiven

I read something this morning that was so beautiful I had to share it.

When you hear the name of King David, you probably think of Goliath the giant, or David as the shepherd boy who became king. If you know his story, you probably also remember the disaster with Bathsheba and Uriah and the terrible mess David made. The consequences of his sin affected him personally, his family, and his entire nation.

It's hard for me to forget that episode in David's life, but it's not hard for God.

When David came to the end of his sin, he was truly heartbroken. He went before the Lord, repented, and was forgiven. Today, I was reminded of how complete that forgiveness truly was. 

During the time of Jeroboam, the kingdom of Israel was split. Jeroboam was king over Israel, and Rehoboam (David's grandson) was king over Judah. Because Jerusalem was in Judah, Jeroboam was afraid the people would want to worship at the temple there, and he would eventually lose his kingdom.

In an attempt to decrease the number of people seeking God in Jerusalem, Jeroboam started a new religion. He evicted the true priests from Israel, built two golden calves, and instituted worship of the idols.

Needless to say, God was not pleased. He eventually sent a message to Jeroboam through one of His prophets that he would destroy him and his lineage. In that conversation, He referenced "My servant David." 

"... you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight;" 1 Kings 14: 8 nasb

When God remembered David, He didn't rehash his mistakes. He didn't recall the mess with Uriah and Bathsheba. He didn't bring up the time he numbered the people and was disciplined for it.

God treasured the sweet days of communion with His servant. When God forgave David, He "remembered it no more". 

When we seek forgiveness with a broken, repentant heart, that's how God views us, as well. He forgives and, ever after, sees our repentance, not our sin.

No matter what we have done in our past, God can forgive. No matter how heinous our sins, God can wash us white as snow and remove them from us forever.

Today, let's take all our mistakes, our failures, our rebellion to the Lord and leave them with Him. Allow Him to forgive and cleanse us with the confidence that He will never remind us of those sins again. 

Forgiven. 

That's how God saw David, and it's how He will see us, as well. 

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: More blessed to give than to receive

Here's an intro video to the Hosea study: The Greatest Love Story

#forgiven #repent #linesfromleanna

Choosing the Dirt

Maggie the Wonder Dog is funny and smart and a little sassy. Well, sometimes she's a lot sassy, and it's not often to her advantage.

A few days ago, Sam and I were sitting outside, talking and taking a break. We called the dogs, and Mamie came running. She jumped into Sam's lap and settled in for some good snuggling. Sam laughed with delight. He loves to snuggle with Mamie.

I called Maggie again, but she didn't come. "Where is that dog?"

Sam pointed toward the lake. "You ain't gonna like it, but she's rolling around in the dirt."

I followed his finger with my eyes, and he was right. Maggie was under the big pecan tree in a bare area of dirt, rolling around. Well, scrubbing around might be a better description. I could see from our vantage point that she was covered in dust and dirt. 

Sam hollered to Maggie. "She's not gonna let you inside like that. You oughta come now before it gets worse."

Maggie didn't care. She kept rolling.

This may be giving a dog too much credit, but I've often thought that, when Maggie knows a bath is inevitable, she gets as dirty as she can right before it.

Maggie loves the intimacy of snuggling. She loves the comfort of sitting in laps. That day, however, she loved the dirt just a little bit more.

We watched her as she played a while, and I finally said. "She's a lot like some people, don't you think?"

"Yep," Sam agreed. "They sure love the dirt."

Sam's right. Maggie could've had snuggles and laps and back scratches and belly rubs. She could've had all the good things that go with obedience. Instead, she chose the isolation and dirt of disobedience.

I think there are times when we're a lot like her, especially when we've already been disobedient. Somehow, despite the sweet intimacy that comes from repentance, we prefer the isolation of further sin just a little bit more. I do that sometimes, and maybe you do, too.

It's never worth it.

This world is a cold and lonely place when we're separated from our Lord. There's no momentary comfort that's worth the isolation sin brings. So, let's get up out of the dirt we're rolling in, whether that be pride, anger, unforgiveness, lust, or greed. We all have our favorite "flavor" of sin, but no matter what it is, it separates us from God. 

Let's stop piling sin upon sin and come back to our Father. The only thing better than the clean feeling of forgiveness is the sweet intimacy of right standing with our Lord. 

One of the last things Jesus said was, "Father, forgive them. They don't know what they're doing." He was right. 

If we understood what our sin cost, maybe we'd choose better. We won't understand, this side of heaven, the full price of sin, but we do know it breaks fellowship with God. That's enough of an understanding for me. 

So today, let's start with, "Father, forgive me..." and let the sweet times of forgiveness and restoration begin.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God... restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit." Psalm 51:10,12 nasb

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In case you missed it, here's the link to yesterday's post: The Sam Trail

And here's the link to the featured post: Saving America

#repent #disciple #Jesus #MaggietheWonderDog

The Tree That Preached A Sermon

I'm not actually cutting down every tree in my yard, but we did cut down another tree yesterday. It was an old cherry tree. 

I don't know why we called it a cherry tree. It didn't bear fruit, but it did have pretty blossoms in the spring. Until it didn't. 

The tree didn't look sick to me, but it was ugly. Even I, who never want to sacrifice a tree, thought it needed to go.  

The tree had already been cut when I arrived home from lunch with friends. I walked over to look at the stump and was shocked by what I saw. It was no wonder the tree looked spindly. It was so diseased that the center of the trunk was nothing but crumbling dust. The bark slipped off the trunk like wrapping paper from a package.

The preacher who cut down my tree came over to join me in my inspection.

"This looks awful. What caused it to deteriorate like this?"

"That's what sin will do." 

"My tree sinned?"

"Nope. Bugs ate up the tree. But that's what sin does in our lives. We still look fine on the outside, but on the inside, where no one can see, sin just eats us up. If we don't let God deal with it, sin will destroy us from the inside out."

That tree preached me a sermon.

I don't want sin in my life to reap a harvest like this tree got from the bugs gnawing inside. Probably you don't either.

There's only one solution. Keep short accounts and allow Jesus to cleanse us from all our sin and unrighteousness. 

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins 

and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

                                                                        1 John 1:9 nasb

Take another look at the inside of that tree. We don't want that kind of destruction in our lives, but sin gnaws and consumes. It always takes a toll. The pleasure of the moment is never worth the price we'll pay.

We have a choice. Sin or righteousness. We can't choose both, so let's choose righteousness.
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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Blizzard That Was Not,  The Truth That Matters Most: My Redeemer Lives, Truth That Matters: God Sees,  The Importance of Light, A Little Good News: Working Together,  Things I've Learned: There is a God and I'm Not It, and Cutting Down a Tree and Praying for Miracles.

Be sure to check out my new Amazon Author Page. You can follow me on Amazon.

#sin #JesusChrist #righteousness #repent #Christian

Mamie and the Ink Stain

Alas, I fear Mamie the Apprentice Wonder Puppy will never be a Wonder Dog. Mamie is still a puppy at heart, and determined to stay in that cuddly, rowdy state. Maturity would help us both, if she would only embrace it.

I had just returned to my computer after lunch yesterday when I heard a crunching sound. "What is that?" I wondered. The sound continued. My next thought was, "It must be Mamie."  I was right.

Mamie had climbed up on a table (as only a determined puppy can do) and found a blue fountain pen. She had carried it to my red couch and used it as a chew toy. As you can imagine, blue ink went every where in a mad Rorschach pattern. 

My heart sank. Blue ink. All over one cushion of my couch. It looked like a catastrophe.

I jerked the cushion off the couch and raced to the kitchen sink, praying every step of the way. Slipcover off. Rinse the ink. Blot. Spray stain remover. Rinse. Blot. Spray. Rub. Rinse. Spray. On and on it went.

All thoughts of the scene I was writing and the direction I intended to take went right out of my head. The only thing that mattered at that moment was dealing with the stain.

Of course, the dark stain on the blood-red cushion reminded me of the stain of sin on our lives and the only thing that can remove it. The precious blood of Jesus.

I'm shocked, but the stain came out completely. I think it was, at least in part, because I reacted so promptly. The ink didn't have time to soak and dry in the fabric.

Quick action with stains makes a difference, but so does quick action with sin. If we would relent and repent at the beginning of our sin, before the stain has set, what a difference God would make.

Let's do a check of our hearts today and respond with the same urgency as we would if ink were on our couch cushions. 

Is there evidence of the ink-blot stain of sin in our lives? Let's relent and repent. Allow our Lord wash us clean in the precious blood of Jesus. 

Mamie may never reach the maturity of a "Wonder Dog", but we don't have to remain in our foolish, childish state. We can choose to become the mature men and woman God intended us to be. If we will.

"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:

but when I became a man, I put away childish things." 

                                                                     1 Corinthians 12:11 nasdb

Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, 

let us press on to maturity..."      

                                                     Hebrews 6:1 nasb

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Follow me on Twitter for "in the moment" tweets about my writing day. It's fun. @leannahollis
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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links:  The Opportunity in Trials,  The Monarch Migration Badge,  The Sermon Without Words,  A Matter of Perspective, Living in Goshen: God's Best, Embracing Our Personal Gethsemane, and What is the Point of Suffering: Extracting the Precious.

#Mamie #repent #maturity #Christian #disciple #Shoutgotitout

Living Lean

"Hey, Ryan, I have two of these vases. Why don't you take one back to Atlanta. Don't you need a vase for flowers?" I had made the vases during my days as a potter, and I view them as a treasure.

Ryan looked at me in disbelief, but spoke with the patience usually reserved for a child. "Mama, my apartment is really small. I have nine decorative items. If I had even one more thing, it would be cluttered." He was serious.

I looked around my house and saw my "stuff" with new eyes.  "I have more than nine decorations," I said, musing.

"Yeah, and you should consider getting rid of some of them."

Out of the mouths of babes...

I have not only considered getting rid of some things, I've started cleaning out. Much to my surprise, I found a three-piece service for eight of Christmas dishes, twelve goblets with trees for stems, a snowman spoon rest, and a set of snowman salt and pepper shakers, none of which I have used in the last two decades. They had been stashed in a top cabinet so long, I'd forgotten I had them.  

Those Christmas items are only the beginning of the "stuff" I've accumulated over twenty-six years in this house. They will soon be going to a new home. 

I'm cleaning out what I don't need. 

Ryan lives lean and it's so freeing for him that I've decided to try it. Well, I probably won't live as lean as Ryan, but I'm moving in that direction. 

This morning, I considered one of the verses I've memorized.

"...one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions..." Luke 12:15 esv

Life is not about stuff. Life in Christ is about freedom. 

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free..." Galatians 5:1 nasb

That freedom includes the freedom from "stuff", but it is so much more. Christ intended us to be free from the burden of sin, as well. 

As we make preparations for the new year, let's clean out the accumulations of the old and move toward living lean. 

Let's do more than just clean out unneeded possessions, though. The bitterness, anger, unforgiveness, selfishness, and all the other sins we accumulate were not meant to find a welcome home in our hearts. Let's clean out the sin that so easily besets and make our hearts lean and clean as well. 

Today, let's take a fresh look at our hearts and the sin that dwells there. Offer the "clutter" to Jesus and let Him make us fresh and clean. 

If we want to make a fresh start in 2016, we must begin by having a "fresh heart". 

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Need a quick holiday read? Humor mixed with faith? 

Consider my new e-book. The Clay Papers (lessons in being moldable in God's hands, based on a series of pottery lessons) is now available as a 99 cent ebook on Amazon. Click the link to see more. There's a link to give as a gift as well.)

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links:  Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast, Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement, Finding Christmas: The Divine Paradox, and Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter, Finding Christmas: Overcoming, and Finding Christmas: Giving Ourselves,  and The Belated Christmas Letter.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Storm Shelter.
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#livinglean #possessions #timetocleanout #clutter #disciple

Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast

"What are you giving up for lent?" my friend asked more than a decade ago. Lent? I wasn't giving up anything at all. It was a foreign concept to me, as was fasting, but the conversation began a journey I never expected.

In studying about fasting (because if I'm going to do something, I want to do it "right") I found Isaiah 58. The people, God said, were attending church services and doing all the right things. They were fasting and expecting God to answer their prayers, but it wasn't happening. (This is, admittedly, the Leanna Paraphrase... you can read it for yourself in your own Bible.) 

"What's up with this, God? You aren't doing anything we ask!" they complained.

"You're just fasting to get your own way. You don't want to have a changed heart. You want to continue in your sin. What's humble and repentant about that?" God countered.

If your prayers are not being answered, the Lord spoke through Isaiah, maybe you need to get the sin out of your life. Maybe the fast you need to do is a sin fast.

God described the fast He chooses:

"To loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke... to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house... When you see the naked, to cover him... Don't hide yourself from your own flesh..." (Isaiah 58:6-7 nasb)

Ouch. I've been there before, and you probably have, too. I've had a heart full of hurt and anger. I've struggled to connect with God. I've been the one holding to so much sin that I couldn't hear God's voice.

The wonderful thing about Isaiah 58 is it's an IF/THEN chapter. I love this because God makes it so simple. 

IF we do what He says, THEN we can be certain He will do what He promises.

IF we live generously and strive for righteousness, if we let go of the anger and bitterness that separates us from our own families, a wonderful thing will happen. Light will flood our lives. Righteous will go before us. The glory of the Lord will be our rear guard.

The best of all, however, is that, when we choose to let go of the sin that binds us up, we can call on God and He will answer us. 

"You will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am'."

IF we remove a judgmental and critical spirit and replace it with a spirit of generosity and giving, THEN He will continually guide us, satisfy us, strengthen us. He will empower us to make a difference that lasts for a lifetime. 

We can't have God's "then" without obeying His "if". 

Our anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, selfishness, and stubbornness have to go. It's as simple as that. I know, because I've been there. Knowing God, hearing His voice finally became more important than the sin to which I was clinging. Letting go was the best decision I ever made because when I obeyed the IF, God kept the promise of the THEN. 

If what we desire this holiday season is to "find" Christmas, to experience it in the way God intended, we will have to "find" it God's way. 

It seems hard, but it's not. Simply let go. Give your sin to God. He will do the rest.

What can  wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

Psalm 51:10 nasb

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: Not Forgotten, Finding Christmas: Sustenance for the Weary, Finding Christmas: Remembering the Stripes,  Finding Christmas: Look to the Rock, Finding Christmas: The Rear Guard, Finding Christmas: Prosperity and Success,  Finding Christmas: Prophecy Fulfilled, and Finding Christmas: The Good Husband.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Good Husband.

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#Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple,#Wordbecameflesh #Repent #sinfast 

Parable of the Fig Tree: The Cost of Hidden Sin

“And He began telling this parable: "A man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vineyard-keeper, 'Behold, for three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?' And he answered and said to him, 'Let it alone, sir, for this year too, until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it down.'"”         Luke 13:6-9 NASB

This is the fifth day in our "fig tree" series, although I've written about fig trees before because mine has been such a problem over the years. If you're just joining us, here are the links to the previous posts in the series: The Fig Tree With No Fruit, Living Like a Barren Fig Tree, Cut It Down, and Removing the Cancer of Hidden Sin, as well as links to other "fig tree" posts: The Come Back Tree, The Lesson of the Fig Tree (One of my fav's), and My Daily Fig. (They'll open in a new tab)

I went to Memphis for my monthly ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) chapter meeting yesterday. This is a great opportunity to connect with other writers and a chance for me to learn more about writing. After I returned home, I changed clothes and headed to the barn. The mostly-cut-down fig tree was, mostly, on the ground, but something caught my eye. Ripe figs. The pathetic little figs that were nothing more than hard green orbs had ripened overnight.

The odd thing about these ripened figs is that they were on branches that had been cut away from the tree. I've pondered this for a while, and, though I am no botanist, I've devised a theory. The sickness in the tree prevented the figs from ripening. There was enough life left in the limbs to allow the figs to ripen once the proximity to the gnawing disease was removed.

As I ate the ripe figs and thought about what the disease had cost the tree in terms of productivity, I wondered what the disease of hidden sin has cost me. How much more fruit could I bear if I allowed God to remove the disease of sin in me? How much more joy could I have? How much more of God's mighty power could I see?

How much more effective could the body of Christ be if, corporately, we allowed God to remove our hidden sin? 

I call the sin hidden, but it's not, really. God, of course, sees it all. In an odd way, the world sees our sin, too. They see the ineffectiveness, the lack of joy, the hardness in us, even if they don't "see" our specific sin. The world knows, even when we believe they do not, and it robs us of our validity as disciples.

 When the world hears us speak of freedom in Christ but sees us bound in sin, what are they to think? Can we fault them for thinking that we are either hypocrites or liars? 

If the gnawing sin within us is robbing us, why do we allow it to continue? Do we believe that it is easier to continue in sin than to repent? Do we think that relinquishing our sin will change nothing?

Let's be done with these besetting sins that steal our joy, hamper our witness, hold us back from the fruit God had planned. Once freed, let's embrace the freedom, the joy, the peace, the love God intended for the body of Christ. 

Let's choose freedom and live free.

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Our Father, forgive us our sins, especially the ones we try to hide as we cling to them like precious treasure. Help us to see the price our sins have extracted from us and to be done with them. Help us to repent and embrace the cross and the freedom it brings. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#JesusChrist #disciple #theBible #parableofthefigtree #cancerofhiddensin #repent #costofsin

Perishing: The Peril of Procrastination

image from thesmartpreppers.com

“Now on the same occasion there were some present who reported to Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. And Jesus said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."”       Luke 13:1-5 NASB

We have studied these verses for the last several days. (Links to previous posts in this series are here: Remembering 9 11, Unless You Repent, The Difference Between the Crowd and Disciples, and What Does it Mean to Repent? Click on the link to read)

Our series winds down with a look at apollymi, the word translated as "perish". apollymi comes from two root words meaning separation and destruction. Vine's clarifies this word as "not extinction, but ruin, loss, not of being, but of well-being."

"Perish," then, means our existence as a spiritual being does not end. Instead, we are separated from the God who loves us and our well-being is completely destroyed. We spend eternity in torment. It is an ongoing perishing; not a one-time death.

I don't know about you, but neither separation from God nor eternal torment are appealing to me. Either option alone is enough to make me want to change my ways. 

Our refusal of godly repentance (the kind of repentance that results in changed mind and changed behavior) can only result from one of three things. Either we want eternal torment (which seems unlikely) or we do not believe God is serious about hell or we believe a loving God will give us another chance later.

After three decades as a physician, I can say with absolute certainty that life is fragile and length of days is not promised to us. Our lives can end in an instant, when we least expect it, and any hope of another chance will be gone.  

If there is something I hope to do, a goal I want to accomplish, a relationship I hope to restore, now is the time, for I may not have tomorrow.

If we want to have eternal life,    than eternal perishing, now is the time to repent and turn to God, for we have no assurance of tomorrow's ease. Just as the Galileans in the passage above were unexpectedly killed as they stood in the temple, we, too, can meet death when we least expect it. 

I need to live ready, prepared to meet God at any moment.

The "prepper" movement is very popular right now. In anticipation of a coming collapse of life as we know it, people are preparing with alternate energy sources, stored food and water, and survival gear. Prudent preparation is certainly wise, as the American lifestyle may not be sustainable in the long run, but storage of temporal supplies is not the only preparation we need to make.

How tragic it would be to prepare for earthly survival, but fail to prepare for that which matters most of all - eternal survival.

Stop and consider your spiritual condition. If your life ended today, would you be prepared to step into eternity with our Lord? Are you a part of the crowd or one of His disciples? Is our Lord a word in a book or a friend in a precious relationship?

Today is the day. Stop procrastinating about that which matters most. Make sure you're prepared for eternity. 

Live ready.

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Our Father, forgive us for our procrastination. Help us to repent, changing both our minds and our behavior. Turn us to You and prepare us for eternity. In Jesus' name, Amen.

#disciple #JesusChrist #Bible #procrastination #repent #prepper #eternallife