'sin' Tagged Posts
Humility At The Jordan
In II Kings 5:9-14, Naaman, a friend of the king of Syria, arrives in Israel seeking a cure for his leprosy. His journey brings him to the home of a prophet of the Lord named Elisha, who tells Naaman that he must wash seven times in the Jordan River to be cured. Through their dialogue with one another, not only does it become apparent that Naaman’s pride is perhaps his most destructive disease, but also we all learn lessons of…
Symptomatic
The law of “Cause & Effect” is one that we as humans are keenly aware of. The idea that certain actions or events will inevitably lead to certain effects is something we become familiar with at an extremely young age. As we grow and mature the reality of just how prevalent this law is in every aspect of our lives (health, finances, social, relationships, etc.) only become clearer. A good example of how we recognize this pattern can be seen…
MISSING THE MARK
At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the United States’ best marksman was a man named Matthew Emmons. He won a gold medal in the men’s 50 meter rifle prone position competition, and was on the precipice of winning another gold medal in the men’s 50 meter rifle three position competition. With one shot remaining, he was in the lead and only needed to hit the target in order to secure another victory. Normally, the shot he made would have received…
WHAT IS BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT?
On one occasion, Jesus cast out a demon then was accused by the Pharisees of being able to do so because He was empowered by Satan (Matthew 12:24). Jesus responded to their accusation by attributing His miraculous abilities to the “Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28). What is interesting about this particular story is that it led to one of the most sobering statements that Jesus ever made. In Matthew 12:31, Jesus said, “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people,…
Father Walks Out On Sinning
As I was running on the treadmill this morning, I saw a news story on one of the televisions entitled, “Mom Walks Out on Signing.” It caught my attention, so I watched it for a few minutes. Jacob Copeland is a four-star wide receiver from Pensacola, FL, and he was recently faced with the difficult choice between Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama on National Signing Day. When he revealed his commitment to the Gators by putting on the Florida hat, his…
WHY DID MY SAVIOR COME TO EARTH? (PART 2)
The Roman playwright Horace, who lived and wrote in the days of Julius Caesar, criticized the other poets and playwrights of his day because every time they presented a problem, in the plot line of their stories, they utilized one of the many Roman gods to resolve it. In regards to their propensity to interject such gods, Horace said, ”Do not bring a god onto the stage unless the problem is one that deserves a god to solve it.” Horace’s…
THE ME IN BLASPHEMY
In Colossians 3:8 Paul identified blasphemy as one of the sinful behaviors that Christians are to “put off.” It is identified in a list that included anger, wrath, malice, and filthy language. These latter behaviors are familiar to us, but blasphemy is a behavior that is somewhat foreign to our twenty-first century culture since the term is rarely used. So, what is blasphemy and how might we commit it? The word blasphemy is an Anglicanized form of the Greek noun blasphemia,…