John 3:16

 

John 3:16

a prayer

 I did not create this prayer but I am most certainly going to share it. Someone once said that our prayers never die - they live on long after we are gone. God is so good to us.

sin

 

This picture was posted by Boldness for Christ on Facebook on March 1, 2024. 

They had posted a series of other graphics talking about sin. Together they made my little pea brain go 'Maybe you should look into this'. 

Have you ever noticed that when you are reading scripture you hear a voice in your head saying things like 'That sounds like you' or 'Haven't you done that? And aren't you still doing that?' 

Anyway, I'm going to do a Bible study on the verses they used in this graphic. I've only gotten through two of them and I realized quickly just how important sin is to watch out for and how it hurts us so badly.

1 John 5:18 (don’t practice sin)

We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. KJV

We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him]. AMPC

1 John 3:3-10 (practice righteousness)

And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. 6 Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. 7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. 1 John 3:3-10 KJV

And everyone who has this hope [resting] on Him cleanses (purifies) himself just as He is pure (chaste, undefiled, guiltless).

4 Everyone who commits (practices) sin is guilty of lawlessness; for [that is what] sin is, lawlessness (the breaking, violating of God's law by transgression or neglect–being unrestrained and unregulated by His commands and His will).

5 You know that He appeared in visible form and became Man to take away [upon Himself] sins, and in Him there is no sin [essentially and forever].

6 No one who abides in Him [who lives and remains in communion with and in obedience to Him–deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] commits (practices) sin. No one who [habitually] sins has either seen or known Him [recognized, perceived, or understood Him, or has had an experiential acquaintance with Him].

7 Boys (lads), let no one deceive and lead you astray. He who practices righteousness [who is upright, conforming to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action, living a consistently conscientious life] is righteous, even as He is righteous.

8 [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest (visible) was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil [has done].

9 No one born (begotten) of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, for God's nature abides in him [His principle of life, the divine sperm, remains permanently within him]; and he cannot practice sinning because he is born (begotten) of God.

10 By this it is made clear who take their nature from God and are His children and who take their nature from the devil and are his children: no one who does not practice righteousness [who does not conform to God's will in purpose, thought, and action] is of God; neither is anyone who does not love his brother (his fellow believer in Christ). 1 John 3:3-10 AMPC

Romans 6:1-2 & 10-14 (not ruled by sin)

'What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? 'Romans 6:1-2 KJV

'For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.' Romans 6:10-14 KJV

1 WHAT SHALL we say [to all this]? Are we to remain in sin in order that God's grace (favor and mercy) may multiply and overflow?

2 Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? Romans 6:1-2 AMPC

10 For by the death He died, He died to sin [ending His relation to it] once for all; and the life that He lives, He is living to God [in unbroken fellowship with Him].

11 Even so consider yourselves also dead to sin and your relation to it broken, but alive to God [living in unbroken fellowship with Him] in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not sin therefore rule as king in your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies, to make you yield to its cravings and be subject to its lusts and evil passions.

13 Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer and yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness.

14 For sin shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God's favor and mercy]. Romans 6:10-14 AMPC

Romans 6:23 & Ephesians 5:5 (we know what sin does)

'For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' Romans 6:23 KJV

' For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]–for he [in effect] is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.' Ephesians 5:5 KJV

23 For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23 AMPC

5 For be sure of this: that no person practicing sexual vice or impurity in thought or in life, or one who is covetous [who has lustful desire for the property of others and is greedy for gain]–for he [in effect] is an idolater–has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Ephesians 5:5 AMPC

1 John 5:18 (we guard ourselves)

'We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not. '1 John 5:18 KJV

18 We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ's divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him]. 1 John 5:18 AMPC

1 Corinthians 9:27 (discipline)

'but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.' 1 Corinthians 9:27 KJV

27 But [like a boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit]. 1 Corinthians 9:27 AMPC

I like to first look at the King James Version and then look at other versions if I don’t quite understand the wording. AMPC does a great job of explaining what the passage is saying. NLT is my go-to version if I’m just needing to read scripture for comfort or as a quick reference.

So, sin, it shouldn’t be part of a Christian’s life. We are supposed to guard our body, our mind, our soul, and keep Christ safe. We are to be holy set apart for God.

It seems that in our day and age we shrug off sin because ‘they say’ it doesn’t have a hold on us. Well, that is not what scripture says.  

 

 

sin

 Bless Every Home sends out a prayer every morning that contains a scripture. I just love their prayers. 

Today's prayer: 

Father, I praise and thank You for the Spirit's power in us to restore others in a spirit of gentleness. Thank You for Your sanctifying work in us and through us to share Christ's love with others in restoring those caught in any sin.

Galatians 6:1

That last word set a light bulb off in my mind. In today's world, there is no such thing as sin. I mean think about it for a minute. What is considered a sin today? Certainly not having sex (any kind you want). Certainly not killing someone (think abortion or euthanasia).  I could go on with examples of sin but as you see pretty much anything God labels as sin would not be considered such by a vast majority of people - even Christians. Those last two words are the shocking part. 

That the world thinks nothing is a sin makes sense. But for Christians to not consider sin a bad thing - that is wrong in every single way possible. Those people who go around saying that Christians can't sin are liars. 

When people see Christians committing sins or lauding them as being no big deal - then it gives license to those who might have stopped, might even want to stop, so that they could look to Jesus. 

Bear One Another’s Burdens

1Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual [that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit] are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness [not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness], keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well. Galations 6:1 AMP

 

I'm going to do it even harder

 Being told that what I'm doing (posting scripture) is worthless and is helping no one - with a few other helpful things said like "Only speak about love." "Don't talk about people dangling over hell's edge." "You might as well stop because what you are doing is ridiculous." 

I mean, the only things that my mind could think of while sitting there listening to his diatribe was how sad I was for the man and speechless, that in his position, he could feel that way.

Today, when I thought about the experience, the only thing that came to my mind was a comedy sketch from the television show The Office where the guy says 'Now I'm going to do that even harder!'

Scripture pictures, pure scripture, that can be shared by people is not wasting my time!  I know, using a meme from a television show might not be in the best taste. But it does make me giggle.  

forgiveness

 

One thousand eight hundred dollars

 My grandson told me to stay in the house. He would handle everything. I decided to honor his wish and stayed in the house. 

Wyatt and his grandfather Terry had made a deal where they would trade vehicles with $1000 extra to Wyatt since his truck was worth more than the Jeep Terry had. When the day came to trade and they were standing in the garage trading keys Terry asked Wyatt for the $1000. Wyatt said that this was not what the agreement was. Terry's 4th wife Kay stepped in and said to not fight about it just let the trade happen and they left. 

Who does that to their own grandchild? The same kind of person who disregarded their own children would be my answer. 

I can't really get into the fray because I have tons of hard feelings toward him and I wouldn't be able to focus on this latest episode. I know, the judgmental people reading this will say, 'But, aren't you a Christian? Shouldn't you have forgiven him and be forgiving yet again?'  The answer to that would be yes. I should have forgiven him and I am supposed to forgive him again. When I tried to pray for him I couldn't come up with any good words. I held to the scripture where we are told that the Holy Spirit prays for us. I tried. I've tried to forgive what he has done to my children. But it makes me sick to be in the same room with him. I'm not perfect - not even close. I am a very very very flawed person. 'Vengence is mine says the Lord' and I hold on to that. Probably tighter than I should. As a matter of fact, I should probably go study that verse. I'm probably misinterpreting it just like the 'don't judge' people misinterpret their go-to verse. 

Anyway, if anyone has any idea on how to handle this situation please feel free to get with me. If you are thinking that Terry was just misunderstanding the deal . . . well, the discussions he had with his children would say otherwise. They all told him what the deal was before it even happened. So he can't squirm out of this one. 

I asked my son if he was going to do anything and he said he didn't know what he could do. He said Wy shouldn't have made the trade. 

After the trade was made and Terry and his wife had left Wyatt and I tried saying that it didn't matter. That was on Terry for being such a bad person. Wy would just enjoy the jeep. Well, we went to get it inspected yesterday and it is $800 for an exhaust manifold. This 18-year-old wasn't expecting something like that. He traded a truck that he had done a tuneup and an oil change on. He had installed a new front window. There wasn't anything that needed to be done to his knowledge. For a jeep that he thought he was getting an extra thousand for and instead ended up with a new bill for almost $800. 

But hey, Terry saved himself $1800. Did he lose his family over his latest escapade? Who knows. Only time will tell.

Wy and I were talking about how cool it is to be driving around in his great-grandmother's Jeep. The Jeep has been through Norma, Robbin, Lindsay, and Terry and now it is being driven by Wyatt. Pretty cool. Maybe the rest of us can rise up and help Wyatt fix the Jeep? Cover for Terry once again? 

When do you stop and say enough is enough? In the grand scheme of things, we should forget this and keep on just like we always have. But how does that help Terry to stop and realize what he is doing to himself? Was cheating your grandson over money really worth it in the long run? 

I found this about the vengeance scripture: https://www.gotquestions.org/vengeance-is-mine.html 

   

icy morning

 This morning we woke up to ice glazing everything. I was worried for my son and my son-in-law because I knew that they would make that drive to work. I didn't want to message them because I wasn't sure when they would be on the road. I finally did message our family group and found out that one was sick and asleep and the other had tried but came home after a Tahoe pulled out in front of him and they skidded straight across the road and into the ditch.  So they are home with their families. 

Not a fan of winter. 

50 years of working for the man

 I thought it was a catchy phrase - what I put as the title of this post. Just as I finished typing it though a thought hit me. I wasn't supposed to be working for the man. I was supposed to be working for God. 

Don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean that I was meant to be a missionary. I could have worked for God in any job. And that's what I should have been doing the entire time.

I just meant that I'm no longer a slave to a wage. Still slave to a budget but at least I'm not tied to a chair anymore. Now instead of living at work, I get to live and discover what I want to work at. So many options. 

God is so good. 

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

November 26, 2023

 This blog post has fallen by the wayside. I just realized that I should post something here so that it isn't archived or whatever it is that happens to blogs that haven't been utilized in a long time. 

We had our first snow of the season starting yesterday. This morning there is snow on the ground and it is so cold. I'm typing away while sneaking peeks outside to watch the birds in the birdfeeders. I tried to entice a kitten into my home. That's been a work in progress for quite a while. Wyatt is sleeping and so are Maybellene and Jackie. I'm drinking coffee and working on scripture art. 

For a picture, I'm attaching a screenshot that is a favorite of mine right now. I don't know who created it but I do know that it has helped me many times after the last few days.