A good prayer!

Unmask to me sin's deformity, that I may hate it, abhor it, flee from it... Let me never forget that heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the person sinned against.

A good prayer by the puritans which clearly brings out the seriousness of sin and how much it offends our Holy God! It torments me to think how lightly I view sin. It is my sin that put Christ on the cross. A violent bloody death.

Help me dear God to have your perspective on sin and abhor it greatly!

Grant me never to lose sight of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the exceeding righteousness of salvation, the exceeding glory of Christ, the exceeding beauty of holiness, the exceeding wonder of grace.

Sin

It is always refreshing to read a book again. The one that I am reading is Finally Alive by John Piper where he describes in detail what exactly happens to us when we are regenerated by Christ. As I was reading a section this morning on “Why must we be born again?” he mentions a few points, which convicted and encouraged me at the same time. So  thought I’d put it up on the blog today.

Here are the biblical explanations of our condition apart from the new birth and why it is so necessary.

1. Apart from the new birth, we are dead in trespasses and sins. (Eph 2:1-2)
2. Apart from the new birth, we are by nature children of wrath. (Eph 2:3)
3.  Apart from the new birth, we love darkness and hate the light (John 3:19–20).
4.  Apart from the new birth, our hearts are hard like stone.(Ezek. 36:26; Eph. 4:18).
5.  Apart from the new birth, we are unable to submit to God or please God. (Rom. 8:7–8).
6. Apart from the new birth, we are unable to accept the gospel.(Eph. 4:18; 1 Cor. 2:14).
7. Apart from the new birth, we are unable to come to Christ or embrace him as Lord (John  6:44, 65; 1 Cor. 12:3).
8.  Apart from the new birth, we are slaves to sin (Rom. 6:17).
9.  Apart from the new birth, we are slaves of Satan (Eph. 2:1–2; 2 Tim. 2:24–26).
10. Apart from the new birth, no good thing dwells in us (Rom. 7:18).
    
    
    
    So after reading the above verses, what is your response? Is it of thankfulness unto the lord for His perfect sacrifice or do you still not see the deceitfulness of your own heart…
     

I did it again!! :(

Every time I sin, I make light of God's grace in my life! My actions clearly manifest, lack of trust in the All-Powerful God and reveals the presence of remaining sin in my flesh. What am I thinking when I disobey God?? Is it a sense of over confidence, that quietly seeps into me, when I give in to temptation?? What does God's word say?

"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." James 1:14. The sparks are within me to start a fire!!!!

What more does God's word say? "But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh." Galatians 5:16. A simple command to follow and believe!

"Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, 'Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness." Hebrews 3: 7, 8

Yes!! Listen to what God's word says in regard to temptation. Take a close look at this verse!!!!
"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. " 1 Corinthians 10:13 (emphasis mine!)

And don't forget what it says in Romans 15:4. "For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope."

Do I contribute anything to my salvation?

Before I answer to the title of this post let me just give you some scripture verses:

Genesis 6:5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Ephesians 2:1-2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.

Romans 8:6-8 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one;11 no one understands;no one seeks for God.

After reading these verses the three things that come out are, First-Man is sinful, Second: He does not seek God (in other words, he loves evil) Third: Man is dead in his sin.Therefore to revive a dead person and give him new life there has to be an external source. That external source is our great Lord Jesus Christ. It is because of His death on the cross and His victory over sin that today we are no more slaves to sin.

Ephesians 2:4-9 gives us a clear idea of Christ's work on the cross.

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

He has revived us, redeemed us and made us alive. Praise Be His name!!!!

Why worry?

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?"
Matthew 6:25
One of the biggest struggle of every Christian is worry. No matter how hard we try, worry seems like a formidable foe. But we have much to thank Christ for. He has spoken very clearly in His Word about worry and how to combat it.

Remember that worry is sin. Yes! Worrying is sinful, it is not a small habit picked up while growing. It is a huge indication of where our trust basically lies. What do we worry about? Our daily necessities!! Our Lord commands us not to worry. Period. When we worry we are indicating that our trust in God is weak.

Our God is enough. He is all-sufficient. Help me Lord to remember that!