I Mean What I Say; My Words Have Not Changed
Psalm 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
Mark 9:23 Everything is possible for all who believe.
Luke 11:28 But He said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
Romans 3:23-24 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.
Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?”
Romans 6:12-14 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”
Romans 6:23 Sin leads to death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Galatians 5:17-21 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we go one sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of the fire that will consume the adversaries.
James 1:6-8 The one who doubts is like the surf of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
1 John 3:4 “Sin is the transgression of the law.”
1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.
It sometimes surprises me how fickle the Israelites were in the Wilderness. I mean after all, they lived to leave Egypt because they sprinkled the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, stayed inside and ate the lamb and bitter herbs, they lost none of their first born. Yet, listened to the wails of grief as the Egyptians saw and experienced the death of the eldest of their children and their animals.
As they fled, fearful, still doubtful, they came to the Red Sea, and they witnessed God parting the water, which stood tall and upright while they crossed from one side to the other, separating them from the oncoming Egyptians. They witnessed the waters coming fully down on the Egyptians and their horses, drowning all in pursuit.
When thirsty in the desert, they cried for water, a bed of water was found, but it was rancid. God instructed Moses to throw a large stick in, and that made the water sweet and clean. Again, later, while roaming the desert, water was scarce, the people were still complaining and whining after all the provisions God had given them. God led them to a large rock, instructed Moses to strike the rock once and water would appear. (In his anger, Moses struck the rock twice, and then suffered a severe punishment).
They had manna delivered to them each morning, and quail later in the day. And yet, they doubted the power and steadfastness of God. They had seen the fire which led them during the nights safely across the desert floor, and then while surrounded by a cloud, they had days of rest, and setting up camp
God gave Moses specific instructions, and Moses would tell the million plus people what the Lord said. (No AV equipment, loudspeakers, microphones. . . I keep thinking of that game we played as children when someone would whisper a secret to the other person on one side, then each would whisper to the next until it got back to the original speaker. With maybe 8-12 of us playing, we would NOT get it perfect. How did the correct message pass along with that many?)
God had already issued the order to have NO other gods other than Him. When God called Moses to the mountaintop and he was gone several days, the people, including Aaron, his brother, who was beside him during each of the miracles God performed, yet Aaron was easily talked into collecting golMad, melting it and throwing it into a pot—and a calf came out.
What about NO other gods before Me? They lived these miracles—Red Sea standing on end to allow the millions to cross, water out of rock, spoiled water made fresh with a branch thrown in, food dropping down from heaven; and yet in a few days, they crumped and grossly back-slid, with the second-in-charge seeming to overseeing it.
How did this happen? Did they have no faith without Moses? He was not God; God spoke to him, and he passed the messages to them. And they would swear their allegiance to God.
It amazes me how fast they seemed to fall away. BUT, then it dawned on me—don’t I doubt and whine and question at times? “Is this really You, Lord? Does this mean. . . ?” And I can become unsure of what I believe He has told me. Then fear and anxiety try to squirm in. . .but 1 John 4:18
Thankfully, because I have the entire book, I know we are still supposed to march forward on the last thing we know God directed us to do. In His time (which is almost always not the same as mine) He will tell me time to move ahead. But I am not sure that I would not be impatient and go my own way without all I have – Bibles, commentaries, teachings – that enforce being PATIENT, STEADFAST, to following Him. I could easily swing away, and I toll have experienced many blessings. I have not seen any body of water stay upright to allow me to pass on dry ground, but still I have received miracles.
Sins are often considered selfish because they stem from being self-centered and loving self more than God, and lacking empathy. Self is immediate, and one wants what one wants, and sometimes does not want to wait. Being self-centered leads to other sins such as envy, impatience, jealousy, and arrogance, and shows only love for self, not love for others. (I am indeed selfish!)
Selfishness is the opposite of love as it focuses primarily on oneself, and that is not showing or even thinking of love toward others. The Bible says any thought or action that against God’s will is sin.
Thankfully, I have the Book in several versions and have learned to develop some patience, seeking His will, and thrusting off Satan’s attempts to make me disobey, be tempted, and so forth. . (I am not always good at resisting temptation and may mentally pull at my “bridle” but have learned it IS in my best interest to do as God wishes and not as Kathy wishes.)
God’s Words have never changed over the years to fit changes in cultural times. We, us sinners, have tried to manipulate His word to change to fit our lifestyle, our selfishness, our sin and justify. But He has not changed His mind about what is sin, what is the path He wants each to follow. His Word stands. (Matthew 24:35)
I am still a work in progress, and when tempted may still try to justify why doing “something” this once is okay — buying a shirt I do not NEED, or pants, shoes, a meal, food, jewelry. I know I am selfish, but it is harder for me to talk myself into disobedience now. I know the price my Savior paid, and I do not want to be disobedient. I am more apt to walk away, and within moments feel good. I spent no money on something I didn’t need, I do not have to argue in my head “oh, but it’s so cute.” versus “but you truly do not need it. It was a wasteful expense.” Then I don’t like it and after a couple months if I have disobeyed and purchased something like that, I donate it. But still I have gone against the guidance of the Holy Spirit, therefore I have sinned. I certainly am NO different than those who disobeyed while in the Wilderness—have chosen idol over God’s direction, and so forth.
God means what He says. He warns us, warns us, and finally punishment is due. In the Old Testament, He sent countries to come and conquer Israel and take them prisoner. He sent out many prophets warning the Israelites that IF they CHOSE to not to back to Him, and make Him first in their lives, they would be conquered and pay a price.
I need to keep in mind how easily I have disobeyed and sinned. It is not just the Israelites who habitually sinned—we still struggle with our sinful natures. God made us all with the blessing of choice—but we do not always make the best choices. Hence, we sin.
Thank You for Your patience and love and most especially for the blessing of Your Son coming and then willingly becoming our sin atonement. Thank You, God for guiding me to become more cautious about my choices and sinning; You have patiently led me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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