A LEADERSHIP IMPASSE

“I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me.”  (Jeremiah 35:15 NKJV)

There are numerous definitions of sin that have, at best, a partial basis in Scripture. A church that has an incomplete understanding of sin won’t understand sin to be a leadership or kingdom issue. Without the prophets’ perspective on sin as intentional rebellion and disobedience [of God’s leadership], the kingdom message of Jesus doesn’t make sense. And without the kingdom message, repentance doesn’t make sense.

This is where the leadership issue is so clearly visible. If there is something in my life that I feel I must maintain control over, I won’t give the helm of my heart to God. Take, for example, the person who refuses to forgive. Jesus knew that this kind of leadership impasse holds many outside His kingdom. He specifically said, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins“ (Matthew 6:14-15). Refusing to trust God with justice and judgment means that I think I can do a better job of it than He can. 

-- Jan David Hettinga in “Follow Me: Experience the Loving Leadership of Jesus”

#5924

 

AN ANALOGY FOR SIN

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”  (Isaiah 53:6 NKJV)

D. R. Davies provided a helpful analogy when he observed that sin is more like the act of a traitor than the act of a criminal. The rebellion of a criminal against the laws of his country is quite limited. No matter how spectacular his crimes, he breaks only certain specific laws. A traitor, by comparison, commits the far more serious offense of contesting altogether the sovereignty of his country. Analogously, the sinner is distinguished, not so much by the particular laws that he has broken but by the fact that he denies altogether the right of God to rule.  

-- William F. May in “A Catalogue of Sins”

#5227

THE PATH TO THE CROSS

Where did the path to the cross actually begin?

The path began, not in the court of Pilate, but in the halls of heaven. The Father began His journey when He left His home in search of us. Armed with nothing more than a passion to win your heart, he came looking. His desire was singular -- to bring His children home. The Bible has a word for this quest: reconciliation.

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself” (2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV). The Greek word for reconcile means “to render something otherwise.” Reconciliation restiches the unraveled, reverses the rebellion, rekindles the cold passion. Reconciliation touches the shoulder of the wayward and woos him homeward.

The path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.

-- Max Lucado in “He Chose the Nails”

#4832

THE REBELLIOUS WILL OF CHILDREN

Remember, God created two perfect children and raised them in a perfect environment, yet both of them rebelled against the will of God.  But if God had to do it all over again, I believe God would do the same thing.  Why?  Because if and when we do decide to do God's will, and if and when we do choose to love God with all of our hearts and souls and minds (Matthew 22:37), our Creator experiences a joy that infinitely abounds.

At those times when you regret that your children have wills of their own and the power to rebel, consider that without free will they could never really love you.  That's what God wants to teach us.  Don't despair!  Remember, as that Great American philosopher Yogi Berra once said, "It ain't over 'till it's over!"  Even when we think all is lost, it really isn't.

-- Tony Campolo in Following Jesus Without Embarrassing God


#3485

SHOCKED BY SIN

Someone has said that our greatest security against sin is our being shocked by it.  The shock response is hard to come by in our day.  We are fed such a constant "diet of shock" in the media that we're not likely to be shocked by anything so subtle as passing thoughts of evil.  Besides, our culture excuses most conduct, including even the most reprehensible, by shifting the guilt to others. 

-- J. Ellsworth Kalas in If Experience Is Such a Good Teacher Why Do I Keep Repeating the Course?


#3164

THE LAW OF THE LORD

"The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7)

Moral law is more than a test; it is for man's own good. Every law that God has given has been for man's benefit. If man breaks it, he is not only rebelling against God; he is hurting himself.

-- Billy Graham


#3065

SIN SEPARATES

Romans 3:12 says, "All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." Verse 23 explains, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

The Bible says we're sinners. And when we live with someone, there's little we can hide. In marriage, sinful natures surface in one way or another.

Sin is rebellion against God. It's trusting in only yourself. It's a failure to do right and persistence in doing wrong. It shows up first in our thoughts, then it's revealed by words and actions.

Sin separates. It tears us away from God. It messes up our relationships, including our marriages.

-- Janet Chester Bly in When Your Marriage Disappoints You


#2503