Is laziness and lack of faith why there is so much sickness?

I have always been intrigued by John 9:1-4. In fact, I have preached a sermon at church based on that scripture. Until the last year or so my preferred Bible translation was KJV or NIV. They both read very similarly for this text:

1As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me."

This week I have been reading it in the NLT and I have been stirred and convicted.  It reads like this:

1As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth.2 “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

3 “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. 4 We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us."

Verse 4 is what is getting me. In this translation Jesus seems to be saying that this guy is blind so that God can get the glory from his healing AND we must quickly heal him. Is the "tasks assigned us by the one who sent us" referring to healing the sick as well as other works. 

I would love to help heal all the sick people I know but the truth is that I don't have the faith or boldness to tell some body "be healed". Jesus tells us: 1) if we had faith the size of 1 small mustard seed we could move mountains (Matt 17:20) and 2) we have all been given "the measure of faith" (Rom 12:3). If the Bible tells me this, why don't I act? The sad fact is that I must not truly believe this, otherwise I would act.

Or maybe the problem is that I don't truly love. When dad was diagnosed with cancer, I fasted and prayed for 3 weeks. At the end of the fast, I went to his house and with no emotions or tears I prayed a short prayer of faith and told dad he was healed.  Every test after that showed no signs of cancer. He died 9 months later as a result of a fall but when he died he was cancer free. 

I loved dad so much that I was willing to step out in faith. Do I just not lover others? I thought I did. I'm in the middle of another fast, praying for a number of things. One of them being that God will teach me how to exercise the faith that he has given me.

My hope is that this post will stir you to prayer so that you will learn to exercise your faith too.

God loves you and I do too!

John

The One Who Sins Will Die!! What??

As unexciting as it may be, I've been reading almost completely out of the Old Testament for the past few months.  You can't beat the Gospel in the New Testament but I love going back to the stories that I learned in Sunday School as a little boy.  Most of them came from the Old Testament.  Many scriptures are jumping out at me as I read but the ones that are really resonating with me seem to be those of redemption and forgiveness.  

Today, I was eating lunch and reading Ezekiel, when I got to chapter 18 the heading said "The One Who Sins Will Die".  

Now I don't know about you but that got my attention...real quick!  It's funny how the editors of the different Bible editions know exactly how to catch someone's attention.  It's funny because that really isn't the important message, it isn't what Ezekiel 18 is about at all.  Yes, Ezekiel 18 spends a good deal of time focusing on a sinner.  But it also focuses on the righteous and, more importantly to me, the the repentant sinner.

For some reason lately, I've really had repentance and forgiveness on my mind when I've been reading the Bible.  Partly, I'm sure, because of Prison Ministry.  So anytime I get to read a verse that backs up what I believe, I think it's awesome.  Maybe I'm the only person that the devil still tells during those tired times that "you aren't saved".  Or "none of this would have happened if you were really saved".  Of course I know better but that still doesn't mean that the devil doesn't come at me with that crap.  Ez. 18:21 (NIV) says;

 "But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die".


That verse really excites me.  When I read it I just said to myself "that's me".  I was a wicked person but I turned away from all the sins that I committed and I keep the decrees of the lord.  I do what is right and just.  I have repented.  That's me!

Is it you?  Are you the new man in Ez. 18:21 or are you the man depicted in Ez. 18:24in which God says;

"But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live?  None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered.  Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die".

The great thing about God is that he always makes provisions.  If you happen to be the person described in Ez. 18:24 (righteous turned wicked), God sent His son Jesus to die for your sins.  Simply turn from sin and do good and seek forgiveness from Christ and you will be the person described in Ez. 18:21.  As for me, I've been wishy-washy like the Ez. 18:24 man in the past but my commitment to God is to never be like that again.  Our walk with Christ and our eternal fate is much to important to ever turn back on God.

If you live for Christ today then tomorrow, you won't regret what you did yesterday.
God loves you and I do too!

It's never too late

A few weeks ago, pastor Brad used Jeremiah 18:1-4 in a message series that he preached.  Since then, that scripture has been echoing in my mind.  The NLT version reads like this:

The Lord gave another message to Jeremiah. He said, 2 “Go down to the potter’s shop, and I will speak to you there.” 3 So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel.4 But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over.

Verse 4 is what resonates with me.  God specifically was telling Jeremiah that Israel had not turned out as he intended, so like a potter does clay, he was going to crush Israel and start over.  This verse makes me think about my personal life and testimony.  I can see myself on the Potter's wheel and things are spinning and He is molding me as planned.  But then a flaw comes out of the clay that messes up the pot.  As long as I am willing to accept being crushed, the Potter takes me back to a form he can work with and starts again.

Sometimes, the Potter has to completely crush me because the flaw is so big that I just have to go back to the beginning.  Sometimes, he just has to use a tool to dig out an imperfection.  This may leave a scar but that will become part of my testimony.

Obviously, I use this verse when I do prison ministry because everyone knows that a felon needs to start over.  But how about us?  How willing are we to let God crush us into a lump of clay so he can start over with us?  Too often, I'm afraid, we tell God "not yet, let me finish here and then you can have me".  Or just as bad, we see other flawed jars and we tell God that our flaw isn't so bad, especially compared to our neighbor.

Probably the saddest situation is the person that thinks that their flaws are too bad for God to want to fix.  Or maybe they think they aren't important enough for God to fix.  I know this sounds crazy but after talking to the people that I have over the years, you should never be surprised how someone may think or feel.  I have met so many people that just didn't feel worthy to be saved or "fixed".  There are so many hurting people that don't realize that what they have done just doesn't matter to God.  All He cares about is whether you are a willing vessel that is willing to let Him mold you.  Are you?

God loves people, period!  He may hate sin but he loves people.  He loves drunks, drug addicts, child molesters, adulterers, homosexuals, murderers, and liars...to name a few.  He will forgive sins and THEN put you on the Potter's wheel for him to mold.  God is ready to forgive sins and accept you as you are, we just have to be willing vessels.

God loves you and I do too!

Love and Babe Ruth

I ripped off Dennis Rainey yesterday so I thought I would do it again today.  Here is something that I read last month and it has resonated with me ever since.  One of my favorite scriptures is 1 Pet 4:8 "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins".  I know in my life and my marriage, I have counted on the love of others toward me to cover my sins to offer forgiveness so I try to be careful to do the same.  The story below from Mr. Rainey is a great example of what Jesus was talking about when he said we must accept the Kingdom of Heaven like a child (Matt 18:2-5).
 
I can’t attribute this story to its source, but a number of years ago I read a story about Babe Ruth. At the end of his legendary baseball career, the Babe had become obviously overweight. During one of his final contests, he bungled several fly balls in the outfield and struck out weakly with every plate appearance. Fans who had seen or heard about his once-proud exploits were now quick with catcalls, mocking this man who had hit twice as many home runs as anyone else in baseball.

But as the jeering got louder and louder, a little boy leaped over the railing and onto the playing field. With tears streaming down his face, he ran to the Babe and threw his arms around the legs of the fading athlete. Babe Ruth reached down, picked up the boy and hugged him tight. Then setting him down and patting him on the head, they walked hand in hand toward the dugout, while the jeers turned to cheers. Hardly an eye remained dry in the whole place.

The crowd had been correct in their assessment, of course. The Babe had let much of his athletic prowess go to seed. Yet a little boy had remembered him for who he was . . . and had covered over his errors with love.

This is not unlike what marriage was established to be -- two people saying to each other, "I know you've failed me and disappointed me at times (as I have you), but I'm still going to put my arm around you and tell you, 'I love you.'  i'm on this journey with you one way or the other."

Love covers a multitude of sins...Period!  It isn't pride and it isn't something you earn.  God is Love (1 John 4:8) and this love allows us to forgive.  Love allows us to over look someones mistakes and see them for who God sees them.  God's love is what allows me to see my kids and my wife the way that Jesus sees them.  Like I said to Kassi yesterday, my nature is for everything to be black and white, no gray area.  It is God's love working in me that helps me to get past my human nature and see my family the way God sees them.  It's God's love that lets me know that God has laid hold of (apprehended) them for a reason (Phil 3:12) and I should always do the same.

Judge not lest ye be judged (Matt 7:1)

I love you and God does too!

Thank you God!!

If you are close to my family, you will know that the last few months have been VERY hard for us.  We have been presented with situations that we never dreamed we would be in.    We have been scared.  I know that we aren't supposed to be but the fact is that as God closed doors and opened others, we were scared.   We questioned God along the way, not much but we did.  

We saw God close a door in May and we knew it but we kept pressing until we thought it was opening again.  In June, we tried to open it again and it seemed like it was opening but once again, God closed it.  At the end of July, we tried once again to open it and much to our dismay, God closed it.  We knew what God wanted us to do based on this door staying closed but going through the open door was going to be hard, so hard.  As we were going through the open door, we tried one last time this past Saturday to open the closed door.  We did EVERYTHING we could to get this door open because it was the easy way out but for the last time, God closed it.

As we continue down this new path that God has set before us, we have to walk by faith.  We have to lean on God that he will always provide.  The thing that keeps us going is God's face and not His hand.  We do our best to have the attitude of Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo "Our God will deliver us, but even if He doesn't, we will not bow".  We trust in God to provide for our needs, but even if he doesn't, we will continue to serve Him.  

Thank you God for loving my family so much that you guide us to where you want us to be.  Thank you for not giving in to our selfish wants and providing us with what we need.  Thank you for giving me the most awesome wife in the world who trusts me as the spiritual leader in our house.  Thank you God for giving me children that trust their parents with future changing decisions.  Thank you God for sending your son Jesus to die on the cross as the eternal sacrifice for my sins.  Lead us God and we will follow.

We so often confuse God's voice with the voice in our head.  Sometimes God's voice isn't a voice at all, it's biblical truths, it's honesty, it's integrity.  I challenge you this week to hear God's voice.

I love you and God does too!

YOU can do something great!

There is something that our pastor (Brad) has been mentioning a lot at church lately and that is many of our biblical heroes were just regular people.  This is a tough concept to grasp for me.  All of my life, I have looked at men like David, Gideon, Nehemiah, Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednigo as extraordinary men of God.  In reality, these men were just as normal as I am before they did something extraordinary. 

David killed Goliath but before that he was tending sheep.  Then he was just taking his brothers lunch when he heard how Goliath was slandering God and Israel.  We know what happened next.  Then he became a great king but he fell into an adulterous affair and committed murder.  God restored him.

Gideon was a normal guy sitting under a tree when the angel of God called him a warrior.  Gideon basically told the angel "you've got the wrong guy, I'm no warrior".  He obeyed God and led Israel to great victories...with 300 men.

Nehemiah was the cup bearer to the king.  The cup bearer is the guy who tastes the kings wine to see if it is poisoned.  If it isn't, great.  If it is, well the king will have to find another cup bearer.  Nehemiah was expendable.  He heard that Jerusalem was in disarray and the walls were tore down and he simply stepped up.  He wasn't a leader or a builder but with God's help, he led a great building project.

Shadrach, Meshack, and Abednego were just young men.  They had never done anything.  All they did was the right thing.  They didn't bow to an idle.  Most importantly, they trusted God.  They told Nebuchadnezzar "Our God will deliver us, but if he doesn't, we still will not bow".  We know how that ended.

And then there is us.  We're just normal people.  We are sitting back waiting on someone else to do something great.  I generally try to put things in the context of sports when I'm trying to explain something.  Think basketball.  Every team has got their leading scorer and then there is the supporting cast.  What happens when the leading scorer is hurt or just isn't performing?  Someone has to step up.  If everyone else just goes through the motions waiting for someone to score, that team will get beat.  They need someone to step up as the go-to player.  Someone has to come out of their shell and shoot the ball even if they are more comfortable passing. 

Are you ready to step up and be God's go-to player?  God is ready to use you for something great, you just have to step up.  When God's angel calls you a warrior, you can't ignore it even though you've never fought a battle.  We must be like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednigo and just believe God.  God gave them an open door but it was up to them to walk through.  Will you?  God will open a door for you if he hasn't already.  Some of you may be looking through that door right now but you're scared to death to walk through.  Maybe you want to walk through but you are waiting for someone else to walk through first.  Be like Nehemiah.  He didn't wait on someone else to build the walls, he did it.  Remember, he wasn't a builder or a leader.  He stepped WAY out of his comfort zone.  Are you ready?

Tell God you are ready to be his go-to player and see what happens.

God loves you and I do too!

He ain't tired yet

My God is awesome. I was just thinking about Him a few minutes ago when He brought this verse to my memory. There is no one like our God. We need to remember that every day. It's so easy for some people to walk through their day-to-day and forget that God is God. He is our almighty and our strenth and our joy.

(Isaiah 40:25-31 NASB)
"To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,

He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD,
And the justice due me escapes the notice of my God"? Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,

Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.

Get ready, the 3rd day is coming!

I've been reading Exodus lately and its funny how much I have forgotten since the last time I read it. There are some great stories there and I encourage you to read it the next time you aren't sure what to read.

The bible is amazing to me. The bible, from Geneses to Revelations, was written over a span of over 2000 years and yet the whole thing points to one event; the resurrection of Jesus. Our faith is worthless if Jesus didn't raise Himself from the dead. In the garden, God told the devil that Eve's seed would bruise the devils head (Gen 3:15). He prophesied that Jesus would come to step on the devil and the crucifixion would be no more to Jesus than a bruise on his heel compared to what Jesus would do to the devil. I'll never understand how people doubt the validity and inspiration of the bible when you know how it was written, by whom it was written, and over the long time span.

In Exodus 19 God was speaking to Moses telling him that He would come to Mount Sinai and visit with Moses and the people could watch. But before the people could be in the presence of God, they had to prepare themselves. They had to be consecrated by Moses and then they had to wash their clothes so they would be ceremonially clean. Then in verse 11 God says "and be ready by the third day, because on that day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people".

Obviously, this was symbolic and prophetic regarding the coming of Christ. I believe it was also symbolic toward us today. We know that Jesus came as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and that our sins have been washed in His blood. Nevertheless, the 3rd day is coming. God wants to come to our Mount Sinai but before He does, we must be ready. We need to wash our symbolic clothes and consecrate ourselves. To consecrate means to set aside as sacred, to consecrate yourself means that you have declared that you are God's and God's alone. Not only that, you are presentable to God because you are sacred.

Are you presentable to God as sacred? Are your spiritual clothes clean? God wants to meet you on your Mount Sinai but first, you have to be ready to meet Him. I'm not saying that you have to clean up before you get saved, heavens no! What I am saying is that if you are saved, its time to set yourself aside as a sacred presentation to God. When you do, He is faithful and will present Himself to you.

I encourage you to be a peculiar people (1 Pet 2:9), set apart for God so that you can have a deeper relationship with Him.

I love you and God does too!

Where are you God?

In several of my past posts I've talked about spiritual troughs, those are the times in your life that God seems to remove the ability from us to be able to feel Him. Recently, Kim and I had the misfortune of going through a spiritual trough. This was really tough for us. Since we both were going through it, we didn't recognize subtle changes that were taking place until last week we knew something wasn't right. Nothing was wrong, we weren't fighting, but something just wasn't right. When Kim pointed out to me that we weren't the same, I knew immediately what was going on. We talked quite a bit about it and we talked about what to do.

During this time of test you will have one of three reactions; 1) Recognize what's going on and continue to seek God, 2) Run from God because you are upset, or 3) You don't recognize it until damage is done. For Kim and me, I think we recognized what was going on and we began to seek God.

During our talks about this, Kim asked how to get out of the funk that we were in. It really felt like we were going through the valley of dry bones. I told Kim the only thing we could do is to continue seeking after God, read our bibles, and pray. That is what we did. Kim and I have an awesome marriage, I don't know another couple that loves each other like we do. I'm not saying that we're perfect because we aren't, but we sure do love each other. So when we recognized that each of us was in a spiritual trough, we prayed for each other. Because our marriage revolves around God, if we aren't growing closer to Him, it feels like we aren't growing closer to each other. God is so good to us and we give Him the glory for everything. We put our marriage and our kids in His hands and He has always been faithful to us. My hope is that we are as faithful to Him.

If you follow my blog then you know that I love music and God ministers to me through music. I heard a song that is a couple of years old today by Thousand Foot Krutch called "Breathe you in". There is a line in the song that says "Through the highs and lows, there's one truth I know and its you". This one statement is what should carry us through any spiritual trough that we go through. Life is easy during the highs. During the low parts of our life, and there will be low points if you're a Christian, if we just remember that the one truth in life is Christ we will be OK. One truth? He is the one thing that we can always count on. He is the one God that will always be faithful to you.

I encourage you to recognize the low points; whether it is a test from God or whether you have just slipped. Recognize them and fight to get back to feeling God.

I love you and God does too!

Crucifixion Outline

I spoke at RIO 180 last night. Here is the outline that I used. I don't have time to fill in the details but this is a very good summary for you to go on to understand what our savior did for us.


1) Jesus was betrayed by Judas

2) He prayed until his sweat became as great drops of blood

3) Abandoned by all of his friends

4) Walked 2.5 miles during a sleepless night

5) He had many people bearing false witness on him yet he did not defend himself

6) He was beaten on the face and mocked at Caiaphas’ house

7) He was beaten by the cat-of-nine tails (according to Roman custom), 39 lashes (Deut 25:3)…Describe what that does

8) He was robed…but when de-robed later, the pain would have been horrific.

9) He was crowned with a crown of thorns

10) He had to carry the top part of his cross

11) The nails were 8 – 10 inches long and they went in his wrists, not hands…explain the tearing

12) One nail was used for his feet

13) When the cross dropped into the ground, his shoulders and elbows would have dislocated (Psalm 22)

14) He was crucified naked (Roman custom), they cast lots for his clothes.

15) His heavenly father turned his back on him...“eloi, eloi, lama sabacthani”…My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? All this because he became our sin. II Cor 5:21

16) His blood began to thicken as water started gathering in his lungs because of the short breathes he was taking. His lungs were working overtime to try to get oxygen from the blood. This is why that blood AND water flowed when his side was punctured. A clear sign of what was happening.


I'm happy to field any questions.


God loves you and I do too!

How to deal with people, part 4 - The Fool

The final negative personality that Proverbs deals with is the fool. One of the reasons for this is that fools are the most dangerous people to be associated with. Proverbs is full of tidbits on how to identify a fool and how to handle them.

It is much easier to identify a fool in terms of what he is not than in terms of what he is. Notice the following characteristics of the fool as the Book of Proverbs describes him. Unless otherwise stated, all quoted verses below are from Proverbs.

1. THE FOOL IS UNRIGHTEOUS. The fool hates what is holy, righteous, and good, and he loves evil.

Desire realized is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil (13:19).

Doing wickedness is like sport to a fool; And so is wisdom to a man of understanding (10:23).

Fools mock at sin, But among the upright there is good will (14:9).

2. THE FOOL IS UNWISE. Throughout Proverbs the fool is the counterpart of the wise. Wisdom is contrasted with folly. The fool does not possess wisdom, cannot obtain wisdom, and would not obtain it if he could.

THE FOOL DOES NOT POSSESS WISDOM;
The lips of the righteous feed many, But fools die for lack of understanding (10:21; cf. 1:20-33).

THE FOOL IS NOT CAPABLE OF OBTAINING WISDOM:
Why is there a price in the hand of a fool to buy wisdom, When he has no sense (17:16).

A scoffer seeks wisdom, and finds none, But knowledge is easy to him who has understanding (14:6).

Wisdom is too high for a fool, He will not open his mouth in the gate (24:7).

The fool has no capacity for wisdom. In the words of 17:16, he has “no heart” for it. He may seem to seek wisdom, but is incapable of recognizing or retaining it.

THE FOOL HAS NO DESIRE FOR WISDOM, AND WOULD REJECT IT EVEN IF HE COULD ACQUIRE IT BECAUSE HE HATES IT:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction (1:7; cf. 1:22).

The mind of the intelligent seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on folly (15:14).

A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind (18:2).

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words (23:9).

The fool is not neutral toward wisdom--he hates it. Wisdom is to the fool what liver is to me: as freely and frequently as it may be offered to me, I will do everything I can to avoid it.

3. THE FOOL IS UNREALISTIC. The fool fails to see things as they are. Reality is distorted by the fool’s distorted outlook on life.

THE FOOL IS UNREALISTIC ABOUT HIMSELF in that he overestimates his knowledge and abilities:
“Proud,” “Haughty,” “Scoffer,” are his names, Who acts with insolent pride (21:24).

THE FOOL IS UNCONCERNED WITH PRESENT REALITIES, and is a wishful thinker. His “ship” is always about to “come in.”
Wisdom is in the presence of the one who has understanding, But the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth (17:24).

4. THE FOOL IS UNDISCIPLINED. The fool looks upon self-control as a needless and useless denial of present pleasure. Because of this, every area of his life lacks discipline.

THE FOOL IS UNDISCIPLINED WITH HIS MONEY AND MATERIAL RESOURCES:
There is precious treasure and oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man swallows it up (21:30).

THE FOOL IS UNDISCIPLINED WITH HIS TEMPER:
A fool’s vexation is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor (12:16).

A fool always loses his temper, But a wise man holds it back (29:11).

THE FOOL IS UNDISCIPLINED WITH HIS MOUTH:
A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims folly (12:23, cf. 10:14).

The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly (15:2; cf. 18:2,7).

It is little wonder that the fool is referred to as a “babbling fool” (literally, the foolish of lips, 10:8,10).

5. THE FOOL IS UNRELIABLE.

HE IS UNRELIABLE IN HIS WORK: The fool is dishonest and evil and cannot be trusted in any area.
He cuts off his own feet, and drinks violence . He sends a message by the hand of a fool (26:6).

Like an archer who wounds everyone, So is he who hires a fool or who hires those who pass by (26:10).

HE IS UNRELIABLE IN HIS WORDS. The words of the fool are always to be questioned. He is a liar, a deceiver, and a slanderer.
He who conceals hatred has lying lips, And he who spreads slander is a fool (10:18).

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, But the folly of fools is deceit (14:8).

Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool (19:1).

Even what the fool believes to be true may be only his worthless opinion. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge acceptable, But the mouth of fools spouts folly (15:2).

The lips of the wise spread knowledge, But the hearts of fools are not so (15:7, cf. v. 14).

6. THE FOOL IS UNTEACHABLE. Try as you like, attempting to teach a fool is frustrating at best, and often painful. Whenever a fool is faced with wisdom and instruction, he will reject it.

Now that we have seen the characteristics of a fool and have learned the root causes of his folly, we must direct our attention to the treatment of a fool. Proverbs has a good deal to say on this subject, and nearly all of its instruction pertains to what we should not do. Our actions with regard to fools are often more negative than positive.

How to deal with a fool

1. WE SHOULD AVOID THE FOOL IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. While wisdom is not contagious to a fool, folly is to the wise; therefore, the wise man should avoid the fool.

Leave the presence of a fool, Or you will not discern words of knowledge (14:7).

In addition, the fool is dangerous and harmful, and we should avoid him like a bear robbed of her cubs (17:12).

2. THE FOOL SHOULD BE DRIVEN OUT. In those cases where we cannot leave the fool, the fool may need to be sent away.

Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease (22:10).

The New Testament teaches that Christians should not fellowship with professing Christians who are living in sin (I Cor. 5:9-13). The church is instructed to put out those who disregard biblical rebuke and correction (Matt. 18:15-17; I Cor. 5:5). The words of Paul to Titus seem closely related to the teaching of Proverbs that we should avoid the fool:

Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned (Titus 3:10-11).

3. WE SHOULD NOT WASTE OUR INSTRUCTION ON FOOLS. In the New Testament Jesus taught that we should not “cast our pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6). In Proverbs, we are told not to attempt to teach fools:

Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words (23:9).

4. WE SHOULD NOT ALLOW THE FOOL TO DRAG US DOWN TO HIS LEVEL. If you don't pay attentionh to anything else, pay attention to this. The fool is exasperating; he is looking for trouble, and he often tempts us to oblige him. Since the fool will spout off and speak his mind, we are tempted to lose our temper with him as well. Proverbs instructs us not to allow him to get the best of us, lest we be lowered to his level.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Lest you be like him (26:4).

5. WE SHOULD NOT DIGNIFY A FOOL BY GIVING HIM UNDUE HONOR, SO THAT HE WILL-BE FLATTERED AND PUFFED UP EVEN FURTHER. The fool is pompous and proud, and he will take any positive strokes as a compliment. We should avoid giving him any honor.

Like snow in summer and rain in harvest, So honor is not fitting for a fool (26:1).

Answer a fool as his folly deserves, Lest he be wise in his own eyes (26:5).

6. WE SHOULD NOT ATTEMPT TO CORRECT THE FOOL, FOR IN SO DOING WE WILL ONLY PUNISH OURSELVES. The fool is never open to rebuke or correction. Any effort to correct a fool by mere verbal rebuke is futile.

He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves a wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you, Reprove a wise man, and he will love you (9:7-8).

When a wise man has a controversy with a foolish man, The foolish man either rages or laughs, and there is no rest (29:9).

7. WE SHOULD NOT MAKE LIFE EASY FOR THE FOOL. While verbal rebuke is not effective with fools, we should not seek to cushion the painful effects of their folly. The “way of the transgressor is hard” (13:15) and so the folly of a fool will bring about many difficulties. These painful consequences of sin may be instrumental in bringing the fool to the end of his folly, but regardless, the painful blows of sin should not be softened.

A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. A fool’s mouth is his ruin, And his lips are the snare of his soul (18:6-7).

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction (1:7).

Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be satiated with their own devices. For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, And the complacency of fools shall destroy them (1:29-32).

Whenever the fool is disciplined, he resists it.

A fool rejects his father’s discipline, But he who regards reproof is prudent (15:5).

He who corrects a scoffer gets dishonor for himself, And he who reproves wicked man gets insults for himself. Do not reprove a scoffer, lest he hate you. Reprove a wise man, and he will love you (9:7-8).

A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise (15:12).

A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding Than a hundred blows into a fool (17:10).

The folly of a fool is deep-seated. No matter how hard one strives to rid the fool of his folly, such efforts end in failure. A fool and his folly are seemingly inseparable.

Though you pound a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, Yet his folly will not depart from him (27:22).

The fool cannot even learn from his own mistakes. Given the opportunity, he will repeat his folly:

Like a dog that returns to its vomit Is a fool who repeats his folly (26:11).

It is ironic, but true, that while the fool refuses to be taught, he is eager to teach others from his abundance of “wisdom.”

A prudent man conceals knowledge, But the heart of fools proclaims folly (12:23).

A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind (18:2).

8. THE FOOL IS UNPLEASANT, UNLIKED, AND UNDESIRABLE. The fool is a menace, a detriment to society. He is a pain to his parents, for he hates them (15:20) and causes them grief (10:1; 17:21,25; 19:23). He is a disaster wherever he goes (10:14; 17:12).He hinders the understanding of others (14:7).His speech is slanderous (10:18). The fool is quarrelsome (20:3), and he stirs up dissension and anger.

A fool’s lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows (18:6).

Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease (22:10).

So far as society is concerned, the fool is an abomination.

The devising of folly is sin, And the scoffer is an abomination to men (24:9).

God loves you and I do too!

Dealing with People part 3 - Scorner

According to Webster, to scorn is to reject or dismiss as unworthy or contemptible.  So a scorner is someone that looks down on people.  No one is good enough for them so we find them criticizing almost anything anyone does.  Do you know anyone like that?  I do.  If I'm not careful and I let the old man out I am a scorner.  When we are saved and are operating in God's will, we lose the traits of the old man, namely; being simple, a scorner, or a fool.  No one wants to be around a scorner.  They are only happy with themselves and they reject everyone elses ideas and opinions.

So it is easy to get in an argument with a scorner.  They are not likable people and they are constantantly looking for an argument.  We want to correct them and show them the error of there ways.  What satisfaction it is to put one of these people in their place.  But what does the bible say?  Prov 9:7 says "He that reproveth a scorner getteth to himself shame".  Prov 9:8 says "Reprove not a scorner, lest he hate thee".  What the bible is saying is to not correct a scorner.  Don't argue with them.  If you do, you will look just as bad as they do AND you will ultimately turn them against you.  If you do that, you will lose any opportunity to win them. 

Proverbs says we should "smite" a scorner and to "cast them out" (Prov 19:25, Prov 22:10).  Now, most of us aren't in a position to smite or cast out.  But what we are in a position to do is to walk away from the argument.  The bible says that if we are good to our enemies it's like heaping hot coals on their head (Prov 25:22).  If we do that to a scorner, that sure does sound like smiting them.  The fact is that Jesus told us to love our neighbor (Lev 19:18, Mat 19:19, Mat 22:39) so don't argue with a scorner.  Don't correct a scorner.  Love a scorner and walk away.

I challenge you to read Proverbs and see if you are walking in the spirit and bearing spiritual fruit or are you being a scorner.

God loves you and I do too!

Dealing with People, Part 2-Simple

Many time, when the bible is talking about a simple person, it is talking about someone in their youth.  But as youth turn to adulthood they reach a crossroads where they will either choose folly or wisdom.  Unfortunately, many of us still have to deal with, work with, and/or associate with those that chose folly over wisdom.  Hopefully, today's blog will help you when dealing with them.

First, let's understand the simple person.  The bible says the simple love their simple ways (Prov 1:22) they really aren't interested in change.  Simple people can't see when they are at fault or wrong because the bible says that "the waywardness of the simple will kill them" (Prov 1:32).  If they could see that their actions would lead to death, they would surely stop.  The same goes for their actions that lead to strife, they generally don't have a clue they did anything wrong.  A simple person believes anything (Prov 14:15) and they inherit folly (Prob 14:18).  a Simple person doesn't see danger, they just "keep going" (Prov 27:12).  They are easily persuaded by evil (Prov 7).

A simple person is generally not the leader of the bandwagon but you can be assured that they are right there in the middle of an argument.  When we hear the term simple, we think of someone that is stupid, but that isn't the case.  A simple person is simply someone who lacks wisdom AND has yet to seek it.  That's why they believe anything, much like a small child.  But also like a child, they can learn and correct their ways.  A simple person learns and is corrected by example (Prov 19:25, 21:11) but they have to be shown the example because they don't necessarily pick up on it on their own.  As a simple person grows in the word they begin to put off their simple ways (1 Cor 13:11).

So once you see that you are in a confrontation with a simple person (and my guess is that they won't be alone) you simply need to offer loving correction.  Psalm 19:7 says "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure , making wise the simple."

Of the three negative personalities discussed in Proverbs, the simple person is the easiest to deal with and the easiest to correct.  Now remember, this all assumes that in this discussion or confrontation that you are right. 

Before you begin to assess the type of person that you are dealing with, you need to assess your own life and the situation you are in (Matt 7:3).  After you do that, you will be able to help your neighbor.

God loves you and I do too!

How to deal with people, Part 1

Sorry for the break that I took blogging but between basketball, illness, and a long weekend with Kim, I had to put the blog on the back burner.

Dealing with people in general can be hard. With the advent of texting, facebook, twitter, etc., people tend to say whats on their mind more than they would if they were standing face to face with someone. It's all too easy to get sucked into an on-line argument.

I've always said that you can't argue with a liar and you can't be logical with someone that is crazy. Ron White may have said it best when he said "you can't fix stupid". Now, that is putting it a bit harsh, but the fact is that when you are dealing with someone that is operating in the flesh, we need to know how God want's us to handle it.

The bible speaks specifically about three types of people that operate in the flesh. They are referred to as; simple, scorner, or fool. We have all been one of these types of people before we were saved and when the old man creeps up in us, we can be one of those again. As Christians, God does not intend for us to be any of these. He intends for us to be wise.

In my next three blogs, I will be telling you more about these three types of people AND telling you how to deal with them. God gives us specific instructions on what to do with these types of people. When you can see who you are dealing with in a confontational or difficult situation, it is much easier to handle that situation the way that God wants you to.

God loves you and I do too.

Dangerous Living...

I was talking with uncle George from Indiana last week and he reminded me of a lesson that I taught at church several years ago. The lesson centered around 2 Samuel 14.

In this story, Absalom had been sent away from Jerusalem for a number of years. He wanted to come back so he worked with Joab to get King David (Absalom's father)to allow him to come back to Jerusalem. David reluctantly allowed Absalom to come back but he was not allowed to see the king. After two years of being back in Jerusalem but not being able to see his father, Absalom sent for Joab again to get his help. This time, Joab wouldn't pay attention to Absalom's request. Again, Absalom sent for Joab and again Joab refused. Finally, Absalom told his servants that Joab's field was next to his so he instructed his servants to set fire to Joab's barley field. With his field on fire, Joab came to Absalom and asked him why he had set it on fire. Absalom told him that he needed him to go to the king again for him.

Has God asked you to meet him? Has God asked you to do something? Has God been trying to talk to you but you wouldn't listen? Please don't make him burn your barley field. If God wants your attention He will get it. I have heard countless stories about people finding salvation through a horrible situation in their life. What if God burned their barley field? Had God been trying to draw them before the tragedy? Who knows. All I know is that I never want to put myself in a situation where God has to burn my barley field to get my attention.

I encourage you today to listen to God. If you don't know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior then now is the time. Please email me at johnkn.home@gmail.com and I would be happy to pray with you if you don't have anyone.

God loves you and I do too!

Just for men, Part 2

Last week I made the mistake of telling Kim that for a moment I was feeling selfish and was wanting some "Me" time. Today, she had taken the girls shopping and told me that I had to stay home. I had some things I wanted to do like cutting up a tree that fell during the storms last summer so on the surface this seemed like a good idea. But yesterday, as my "Me" time grew closer, I wasn't liking the idea. We woke up today to rain so I can't do what I had planned on doing. OK, I decided to clean the garage. Well, that hasn't panned out either because I miss Kim so much that I have found myself mopping hoping it will please her.

Men, what do you do with your free time? Is it spent being selfish, glad to have some "time away from her"? I'm no saint and I'm certainly not a perfect husband or father but over the last year I have made God truly #1 in my life. By doing this, I have found a new-found love for Kim. I find myself thinking about her more and more every day. How do you think about your wife? Is she a nag to you? Do you dread time alone with her? Do you find yourself working over at work not so much for the money but just to be away?

It is time that Christian men stand up for what is right in their family and start loving their wives like Christ loves the church (Eph 5:25). Jesus didn't take a day off. If He ever had "Me" time it was to get away and pray for the church (John 17:6-26). How often do you get away just to pray for your wife?

Men, I encourage you today to take a long look at your relationship with your wife. Do you argue with her? Do you stop at nothing to please her? Do you admit you're wrong and say you're sorry even if you know you're right? Men, your marriage goes as you go. If you want a Godly marriage you must be Godly yourself. If you want your children to be Godly, you must be Godly yourself. I'm not saying you have to be perfect, God knows that I am far from it. It is just so important for your wife to see that you are trying to be.

My wife is awesome! She takes care of me better than anyone else could. But in the last year, since she has saw a change in me, I have saw a change in her. She doesn't let me lift a finger around the house anymore. Laundry has been my chore the entire time we have been married. In the last 6 months, I have washed no more than 6 loads because she wants to take care of me. Is that a big deal to me? You bet it is. Kim has always been an awesome wife doing everything imaginable to take care of me. Laundry is the one thing that I did that she didn't do. So it's the one thing that she could take off me.

If you change will you see changes like this? Yes! Your wife will love you so much better when she sees you trying your best to love God and her the best way you know how. And if you don't know how to love her better, ask her. Ask her sincerely what you can do to show your love to her more. 1) If you truly are loving her more, it will come to you and 2) if it doesn't come to you, she will be happy to tell you once she sees you being a better man

I'm not trying to brag or make myself out to be an expert because I'm not. I am only giving you my testimony and my personal experiences. It's up to you whether you want to take my advice. I dare you to ask God his opinion.

God loves you and I do too! and Kim, if you read this, please hurry home :)

Go son, Go!!!

When I was praying this morning, I was just talking to God like he was in front of me. I was commiting the day to Him and I told Him that I want to do something that pleases Him. I told Him that I hoped I could do something that made Him say "that's my boy!". Then my mind immediately took me back to when I was a kid.

When I was a kid I loved making my parents proud, especially my dad. I liked making my mom proud but she always showed me that she was proud. With every A, every time I picked up after myself, or even every time I got along with my brother, my mom told me she was proud. Dad was a little different. He noticed when we didn't make an A or didn't pick up after ourselves or didn't get along and he was quick to let us know. My dad was/is a good man and he was a loving father but he just didn't always show it. But the times when he told me that he was proud made me feel so important. They made me feel special and like I had done something great. My dad's friends have always told me "if you grow up to be half the man your dad is, you'll be a good man" so when dad was proud of me, I knew that I had done something special.

I have a very poor memory, but I have one memory that I will NEVER forget as long as I live. When I was in 8th grade the Monday after a football game, our team was watching the game film. This was after the first game of the season so our coach forgot to turn down the sound on the TV. I was a running back and I had a very good game. We lived in the country where everyone knew everyone so the game announcer knew my family. There was one particular play when I broke through the line, broke three or four tackles, and ran for about 70 yards. During the run I could hear my dad on the tape yell "go son, go!". The announcer (Mr. Campbell, the one with one leg shorter than the other for those of you that knew me at Porter Middle School) said to my dad, and you could hear it on tape, "hey big John, what are you feeding that boy"? You could hear my dad say "beans and taters". And then Mr. Cambell says "that boy runs like a corn-fed mule". You could hear my dad laugh and I could tell he was soooo proud. But all I could hear was "go son, go".

That's the acknowledgement that I seek from God. I pray every day that I can do something that will make Him chear "go son, go!". Just like my dad, I don't seek God's acknowledgement for the sake of acknowledgment. I seek it because I love Him so much, all I want to do is make Him proud. Maybe this is a father/son thing, I don't know. All I know is that at age 40 (yikes!) I still enjoy making my dad proud. I also know that I enjoy making my heavenly dad proud too. I love them both.

I encourage you today and tomorrow to do something that will make God cheer for you.

God loves you and I do too!

The battle is in your mind!

God laid something on Kim's heart that I just had to share with you. After reading this, I told her she should start her own blog. She listens to God's voice soooo well.

Strongholds defined...What if every negative, bitter, angry, unforgiving thought gave the devil power in your life? Would that make a difference in how you thought?

Imagine you begin each day with 1,000 coins. My mental image of these coins are much like the coins the Super Mario Brothers are trying to collect. These coins are used to buy GLORY, but we are not allowed to buy glory for ourselves. We must choose who we want to be glorified by our thoughts. With every thought you must pay one coin. If your thought is a noble, loving, good, or admirable one (Phillipians 4:8) then you give that coin to God to glorify Him. Does God need your coins (thoughts)? Absolutely not, but we all need to give them to Him (Ezekial 11:5). Because if our thought is an unmerciful, bitter, wicked, angry, jealous, unforgiving, or hateful thought then we must give that coin (thought) to the devil.

The devil wishes to have all of our coins because as long as we are giving our thoughts to him we give him power in our lives (Strongholds, Ephesians 6:12) and we do not glorify God.  Wait a minute! Did you just say that I'm giving power to the devil? In MY life??? Does that mean that my thoughts can effect my everyday living, my families lives and all my relationships? Absolutely! (Prov 23:7, Rom 8:5-8) The devil came to kill, steal and destroy our lives (John 10:10). The devil wants us to be bitter, angry, wicked, jealous, unforgiving and merciless people so that he may own us one day (C.S. Lewis says the same thing in the Screw Tape Letters). So please understand that every thought you give the devil, YOU give him MORE power and incentive to wreck your life and to destroy your relationship with God.  He feeds off your unGodly thoughts and will reproduce more unGodly thoughts once you give him the chance. Yes, we control our mind(2 Cor 10:3-6). Take responsibility of your own thoughts. We have the authority to choose to think of Godly thoughts or to dwell on the wicked(Phil 4:4-8).

Why do you think so many hurt people have said that their battle is in their mind?  It's because one angry thought turns into 10 wicked thoughts. I don't know about you but when someone has hurt me I have spent a lot of time dwelling on the subject. The most innocent thought can remind me of a time when I have been hurt by someone. That one thought if left in my mind to dwell, will snowball and eventually cause an avalanche that will ruin the next few hours or even longer time of my life.  All of the sudden I remember more reasons I should be hurt. Now I am not only hurt, I am angry. Jealousy, Rage and Revenge soon come busting in my mind and now I have all the elements for one wicked party. Truly, a wicked party taking place in my mind. Suddenly, I begin to rationalize how I need to hurt this person back....make them feel what I felt.  God's grace and mercy are no where to be found because I didn't allow them to enter my mind.

How many times have you heard, "well, I can forgive but I will never forget". They might as well empty their coin bag into the devils purse because this person is giving the devil power in their life.  The devil wants the battle to be in your mind.  He wants you to never forget the hurt people have caused you. This gives not only power, but more opportunities to take your coins. With the coins, satan purchases strongholds in your life. He uses these strongholds to keep you right where he wants you until he is able to push you further and further away from your first love, God. We think, "well I just thought it, I didn't say it" will make us a better person. It may keep you out of an argument with your spouse or friend but thinking like that makes you a targeted person of Satan and his strongholds.

If we choose to take the thought of anger, hatred, bitterness, lust or hurtfulness and immediately change it into a merciful, loving, forgiving, obedient and thankful thought based on God's grace, we glorify God! Through God's power we are able to grow closer to Him and be restored.

Do not take lightly the thoughts of your mind. Just because they are not audible to others does not mean that they are not destructive. Pray that God will help you hold your thoughts captive. Talk to God every hour(1 Thessalonians 5:17), do not eat the bread of idleness when it comes to your prayer life. Think of prayer as your line of defense against Satan. If you want to be angry about something~be angry that the devil is looking to cash in on your thoughts. Take back your coins and give them to God...the One who wants you to not only live, but to live life abundantly (John 10:10).

God loves you and Kim and I do too!

I'm a sell-out!

In Matthew 13:44,45 Jesus gives some parables about the kingdom of Heaven;    

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.    45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

These seem like two very simple parables that when we read them, we say "yeah, I get it, the Kingdom of heaven is worth everything". But do we really understand?

In the both parables, after finding the treasure and the pearl the man and merchant hid them again after he found them. Both knew that what they found was so valuable that the treasure and the pearl just had to be had. But think about the worry that was caused. If they had found them, what made them think that someone else wouldn't find them too? They knew that they must be diligent and hurry to get the money to purchase what they wanted before someone else found them. What a horrible thing it would have been to sell everything you own only to find out that what you so desired was gone. Knowing this risk, these treasures were worth selling out for.

Next, they actually had to not only sell everything they had but they had to get enough money for their possessions that could purchase these treasures. They had to find the right buyer that valued their possessions and had enough money to purchase them. Time was critical but these men couldn't settle for the first offer unless it was generous enough to meet their needs.

Once they found the right buyers, they had to make an offer for their desired treasures. What if the owners wouldn't sell them? They couldn't be concerned with that, they had to trust if they did what they had to, if they sold out, the treasures they so desired would be theirs.

After going through so much to get what they wanted, imagine the great joy and peace that they had when they were able to purchase the field with the treasure and the pearl. It's the same way with the kingdom of Heaven. It's not always easy to attain but if we do everything we have to, it will be ours.

This brings me to the real topic today. So many times, the Gospel of Christ is watered down so we can understand it or accept it. I find this more and more often when it's being presented to youth. So many adults believe that a teenager won't or can't accept Christ on the same terms that an adult can. How sadly mistaken this philosophy is. Teens are rebellious by nature. They don't want to do what is normal.  I believe that teens are looking for something to sell out for. I believe that teens can be the most powerful evangelists we could have. Once they find something to sell out for, they have no shame or fear to try to get others on their bandwagon.

I believe we don't need to water down the gospel when trying to "convince" our teens to be Christians. I don't think we need to convince them of anything. I believe the best way to share the gospel with a teen is to show them these parables, present the gospel, and let them know that the gospel is worth selling out for. As a matter of fact, if you don't sell out you will probably come up short and miss out on the treasure altogether.

Jesus is worth selling out for. Have you sold out? Would you risk everything for your salvation? More than that, would you sell everything for your relationship with Jesus? Think about these things.

I love you and God does too!

Living with the effects of sin

Romans 8:1 says that there is no condemnation for those that are in Christ because we are set free by God (paraphrased).  I don't know about you but I've done things that even though I knew I had been forgiven, I still felt condemnation sometimes.  There are a couple of things that I want to touch on briefly that I hope will help someone.

First, if you don't want the condemnation, you can't stop at Rom 8:1.  You have to get to Romans 8:5 that says "...but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."  As you grow in Christ, you have to realize that you no longer have any rights or ownership of property.  When you mature in Christ, you know that everything we have belongs to Him and you no longer have personal rights because you are a slave to Him.  To grow into that realization you must have your mind not only on God (the Spirit in v.5) but you will also have your mind fixed on what He wants.  When we do this, the condemnation must go away because God has forgiven us, so we don't have the right to feel condemned by sin even though He has forgiven us for it.

Second, let's face it, once you have committed a sin it doesn't go away.  I can be forgiven for murder till the cows come home but that won't bring back the person that I killed.  I know that is an extreme example but the same holds true for all sin.  Sin has an effect.  Whether it is lying, stealing, murder, adultery, fornication, homosexuality, or jealousy, there is always a scar left behind by sin.  David said my sin is against you and you alone (Psalm 51:4), so why is it that someone else felt the pain of my sin?  That's what I mean when I say that sin has an effect.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though we are forgiven of our sins as soon as we ask for forgiveness and repent (turn away from), we still must live down the effects of my sin.

If I steal from my boss, God will forgive me but I will probably still get fired.  If I shoplift from Wal-Mart God will forgive me but I will still go to jail for shoplifting.  If I lie to my friend God will forgive me but it will be a while before my friend trusts me.  Where the devil tries to steal our joy and victory is when he tries to convince us that this act of living down the effect of our sin is condemnation.  If he can do that then he can then begin deceiving you that either A) the bible was wrong, there is condemnation in Christ or B) you really aren't forgiven.

Now comes the hard part; the people that feel the effects of our sin the most (or the one's we have hurt), tend to remind us about our sin even after they have forgiven us.  Ouch!  It can really be hard when other people are effected by our sin because people are the best tools that the devil has to steal our victory and create strongholds.  For that matter, let an old-fashioned church find out about your sin.  You'll never get away from the looks of contempt, you'll never forget your sin.  People are cruel and they forget that they have been forgiven and, like you, they aren't perfect either.

I know I could talk for days about this topic but I shouldn't so I'm gonna sum it up like this; if you have been forgiven you are not condemned.  Others will remind you of your sin but don't let that steal your victory.  Sometimes you just have to grin and bear it.  Help others get past your sin by proving to them that you are worthy of their forgiveness by being Godly.

Let me know if you have an opinion on this or if you would like me to go deeper.

God loves you and I do too!