Month: July 2025

 

Luk 8:26-39  Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Jas 2:19  You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

The Bible teaches that we are both body and spirit. But the point is that the spirit world is very real, and it impacts our lives every day.

One account in the Bible shows the characteristics of demons better than any other passage. In Luke 8:26–39, Jesus met a man who was tormented by many demons. Notice the characteristics of demons that we can derive from this passage.

Demons have intellect. When the demons saw Jesus, they said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” (v. 28). They immediately recognized Jesus. Demons are theologically orthodox. They believe Jesus is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for the sins of the world. But believing the right things about Jesus is not what gets you into heaven. James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” Believing in Jesus does not mean believing a set of facts about Jesus; it means trusting in Him and Him alone to save you from eternal death. No demon has done that.

Demons have emotions. They feel things. In Luke 8, the demons begged Jesus not to send them into the abyss (v. 31). Scholars disagree about what the abyss is, but we know it is such a horrible place that the demons begged Jesus not to send them there.

Demons have a will. The demons in Luke 8 proposed an alternative. Verse 32 says, “There was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons implored Him to permit them to enter the swine.” Jesus agreed to that, and He sent the demons into the swine.

Demons have names. The chief demon identified himself in verse 30 as “Legion,” a military term for a group of six thousand soldiers. Apparently, he had authority over a group of demons.

Demons are real beings, and people who ignore the reality of demons do so to their own hurt. Understanding the reality of demons is necessary for gaining spiritual victory in your life. (Jeffress)

 

 

 

Psalm 84:12    O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man who trusts in You!

Psa 1:1  Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

Psa 65:4  Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Psa 32:2  Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Psa 84:5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

A cynic once defined Christians as people who live in fear of someone, somewhere, being happy. That is, the cynic had the impression that God wants to make life burdensome and difficult. A person who believes that has never read the Bible. Thirteen times in the Old Testament we find the phrase, “Blessed is the man who.”

What does blessed mean in Scripture? In modern English translations it is often translated as “happy” or “joyful.” In other words, God wants us to be happy and joyful in life and gives us instructions on how to achieve that goal. We are blessed when we walk in God’s ways (Psalm 1:1), when we trust in God (Psalm 84:12), when our sins are forgiven (Psalm 32:2), when we dwell in God’s presence (Psalm 65:4), when we rely on God’s strength (Psalm 84:5), and more. God would not have provided ways for us to be happy and joyful if He did not intend for us to be so.

Meditate on these and other verses which promise blessedness. It is there for the receiving for all who seek it God’s way. (Jeremiah)

Seek for happiness and you will never find it. Seek righteousness and you will discover you are happy.

 

 

Then Israel said to Joseph, “Behold, I am dying, but God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers.” (Genesis 48:21)

When Israel (Jacob) told Joseph, Behold, I am dying, he understood a transition was underway. The torch Israel held for so long was now given to Joseph and his brothers. Israel was the last of the three great patriarchs to walk the earth, but God’s work would continue.

Charles Spurgeon, the great preacher of Victorian England, understood this principle. “If Abraham dies, there is Isaac; and if Isaac dies, there is Jacob; and if Jacob dies, there is Joseph; and if Joseph dies, Ephraim and Manasseh survive. The Lord shall never lack a champion to bear his standard high among the sons of men…. God will keep up the apostolic succession, never fear of that. When Stephen is dying, Paul is not far off. When Elijah is taken up, he leaves his mantle behind him.”

It’s true. Sometimes when we see great men and women of God die, we despair. Who will carry on God’s work? The answer is simple: God will carry on His work. He will choose, call, and train His servants as it pleases Him.

Israel gave Joseph hope for the future, planted in a valuable promise: God will be with you and bring you back to the land of your fathers. If the patriarchs no longer walked the earth, God would still be with His people. God would also keep His promise to give the land of Canaan (the land of your fathers) to the descendants of Israel.

Israel’s declaration, God will be with you and bring you completes a collection of phrases connected to his life that illustrate the believer in various stages of spiritual maturity.

The phrase, I am with you (Genesis 28:15) was God’s promise to be with young Jacob (Israel) in the present moment, the “right now.” This shows that God gives the young believer every possible assurance of His presence and grace.

The phrase, I will be with you (Genesis 31:3) was God’s promise to Jacob of His future faithfulness, to be seen in coming days. This shows that God expects the growing believer to trust He will be near, even when he only has the promise of His presence.

The phrase, God…has been with me from Genesis 31:5 was Jacob’s wonderful testimony that God had fulfilled the promises of His presence. This is something a mature believer will declare. The mature believer can tell others how God has been with him, even in difficult and testing times.

Finally, the phrase here in Genesis 48:21, God will be with you shows that God gives the mature believer the opportunity to encourage others with the promise of God’s presence. It was as if Israel could say, “Joseph, God has never forsaken me. God has been with me, and I can confidently say He will be with you.” (Guzik)

Which of these four stages best describes your spiritual condition?

 

 

Haggai 2:4    But now be strong, Zerubbabel,’ declares the Lord. ‘Be strong, Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘and work. For I am with you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.

Jhn 15:5  I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Php 4:13  I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Eph 6:10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Neh 8:10  Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

Zec 8:9  Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets who were present on the day that the foundation of the house of the LORD of hosts was laid, that the temple might be built.

Isa 35:3-4  Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”

Jdg 6:14  And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?”

2Co 4:1  Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

Gal 6:9  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Rom 8:31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1Co 15:57  But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In our lives, we will face many trials and troubles. Some due to; what we intentionally do and should not have, what others have done, and the big mystery of how God allows does these to either test or grow us. 

We live in a sin-filled world with Satan the initiator, author, and tempter of and to every person born. Satan’s cunning, deceptive, and lying ways affect the world in which we live and we will experience the effects of it.  

Arrogance, pride, boastful, greed, selfishness, self-reliance, self-worth, lying, stealing, murder, adultery, envy, jealousy, lovers of pleasure, wicked, conceited, without self-control, brutal, unholy, heartless, ungrateful, disobedient, lovers of money, abusive, scoffing, treacherous, reckless, careless, without love, sexual immorality, idolaters, ungodly lusts of what the world has to offer, power-hungry, denying God, mockers, drunkards, refusing the truth, stiff-necked, harden hearts, deafened ears, selfish gain, etc….. are all born of Satan throughout mankind and will cross our paths and affect our lives. 

Praise be to God we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit from losing heart and growing weary. How these events will be used for our good and God’s purposes is a mystery to me. Throughout God’s Word, we see the effects of sin and sinful acts and how God used these for the good of a person or nation. Still, it is a mystery that is in God’s will and purpose on earth this side of eternity.
Where does my strength come from? It comes from the Lord.

Who is my strength? The Lord. 

How is my hope? The Lord.
Who holds me in His every loving hands? The Lord.

Where should I turn in times of trials and troubles? The Lord.

Can I face these trials and troubles alone? No

Will God ever leave me or forsake me? No

The effects of this sinful world in our lives does have a counter provided by God through Jesus Christ and the infilling Holy Spirit. He is our rock, refuge, fortress, hope, faith, joy, help, strength, power, rest, peace, etc….. We are held in His hands through this life into eternity. No one, (nothing), can separate us from the love of God. He is far greater, more knowing, more powerful, and ever-present than we can imagine. 

 

 

Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
1 Peter 3:8-9

In the church you attend, there are burdened souls staggering under their loads. In the nearby hospital, the sick and their loved ones are facing difficult moments. Down the street, inmates in the jail feel lost. In the nursing homes, lots of lonely people are suffering. And all around the world, there are millions of people who wonder how to deal with their overwhelming problems.

God has called us to minister to a suffering world. We must make a priority of asking God to show us where people are hurting so we can serve them in whatever way we can. We don’t have to go looking for those with needs. They’re all around us. We can’t help everyone, but we can help someone.

Pray today and ask God to lead you to someone you can serve in their time of need. (Jeremiah)

Jesus teaches that human need must always be helped; that there is no greater task than to relieve someone’s pain and distress and that the Christian’s compassion must be like God’s—unceasing.

 

 

He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.

–Psalm 91:11–12

God uses angels to minister to believers. They protect us from physical and spiritual harm. Did you know Satan’s strategy is to cause your premature death? He wants to end your witness for Christ. How does God protect you? Psalm 91:11–12 says, “He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, that you do not strike your foot against a stone.” This passage does not promise that you’ll be protected from all harm. But you’re not going to leave this world until God is finished with His plan for you on earth. God uses angels to protect you from premature death.

God also uses angels to protect us spiritually. As we see in Ephesians 6:12, we’re in a spiritual war. Sometimes the oppression, depression, and temptations in our lives are spiritual attacks. For example, in Daniel 10, Daniel was discouraged and in mourning for three weeks. Finally, an angel appeared and said to him, in essence, “I would have been here earlier, but I was delayed by a demonic force.” I don’t understand all of that, but I do understand that God protects us from demonic warfare through the ministry of angels.

Does this mean every Christian has a guardian angel assigned to protect them? Theologians have debated this, but ultimately, whether we each have a guardian angel is not important. As John Calvin said, “If any one does not think it enough to know that all the orders of the heavenly host are perpetually watching for his safety, I do not see what he could gain by knowing that he has one angel as a special guardian.” In other words, the only thing better than having one angel available to us is having a multitude of angels available to us.

Finally, angels minister to us in death. When our time comes, angels usher us into the presence of God. In Luke 16, Jesus told a story about a righteous poor man and an unrighteous rich man. Jesus said, “The poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried” (v. 22). I can give you countless examples of Christians facing death who have talked about seeing angels to welcome them into the presence of Jesus. You do not have to fear dying alone. God’s angels will usher you into His presence. (Jeffress)

 

 

Philippians 4:12.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

 2 Corinthians 6:4-10    but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities,  beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger;  by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love;  by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;  through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true;  as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed;  as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

 2 Corinthians 12:7-10     So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.

 Isaiah 8:11     For the LORD spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people

 Jeremiah 31:19      For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

 Matthew 11:29      Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

It is a special grace to have an equal temper of mind always. And in a low state not to lose our comfort in God, nor distrust his providence, nor take any wrong course for our own supply. In a prosperous condition not to be proud, or secure, or worldly. This is a harder lesson than the other; for the temptations of fulness and prosperity are more than those of affliction and want. The apostle had no design to urge them to give more, but to encourage such kindness as will meet a glorious reward hereafter. Through Christ we have grace to do what is good, and through him we must expect the reward; and as we have all things by him, let us do all things for him, and to his glory. (Henry)

Now, it is in these sudden reverses that grace is most needed, and in these rapid changes of life that it is most difficult to learn the lessons of calm contentment. People get accustomed to an even tenor of life, no matter what it is, and learn to shape their temper and their calculations according to it. But these lessons of philosophy vanish when they pass suddenly from one extreme to another, and find their condition in life suddenly changed. The garment that was adapted to weather of an uniform temperature, whether of heat or cold, fails to be suited to our needs when these transitions rapidly succeed each other. Such changes are constantly occurring in life. God tries his people, not by a steady course of prosperity, or by long-continued and uniform adversity, but by transition from the one to the other; and it often happens that the grace which would have been sufficient for either continued prosperity or adversity, would fail in the transition from the one to the other. (Barnes)

I know both how to be abased,…. Or “humbled”; to be treated with indignity and contempt, to be trampled upon by man, to suffer hardships and distress, to be in a very mean and low condition, to work with his own hands, and minister to his own and the necessities of others in that way; yea, to be in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, and have no certain dwelling place; and he knew how to behave under all this; not to be depressed and cast down, or to fret, repine, and murmur:  I know how to abound; or “to excel”; to be in the esteem of men, and to have an affluence of the things of this world, and how to behave in the midst of plenty; so as not to be lifted up, to be proud and haughty, and injurious to fellow creatures; so as not to abuse the good things of life; and so as to use them to the honour of God, the interest of religion, and the good of fellow creatures, and fellow Christians: (Gill)

“See here the state to which God permitted his chief apostle to be reduced! And see how powerfully the grace of Christ supported him under the whole! How few of those who are called Christian ministers or Christian men have learned this important lesson! When want or affliction comes, their complaints are loud and frequent; and they are soon at the end of their patience.” (Clarke)

Unfortunately, many people take this verse out of context and use it to reinforce a “triumphalist” or “super-Christian” mentality, instead of seeing that the strength of Jesus in Paul’s life was evident in his ability to be content when he did suffer need.

ii. We must always also put this precious statement of faith in connection with John 15:5: for without Me you can do nothing. With Jesus we can do all things, without Him we can’t do anything. (Guzik)

There are numerous verses proclaiming and declaring God will and does supply for our needs. Sometimes our idea of “needs” exceeds what is needed. Likewise our idea of “prosperity” exceeds what is prosperous. These are all in reference to our physical state in this world. Learning contentment is a continual process and if we are lacking or void of desire for God’s Word there is little hope of growing in this mystery from God. 

On the spiritual side, too often, I fear we are to content with our Christian walk. We are content with our current knowledge and understanding of the holiness of God, His grace, mercy, and love, and His Word. Desiring, seeking, and wanting to know how to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions does require an intentional choice in how we think, how we speak, and how we act. We should never be content with our current knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and its application in our (lives) hearts, minds, and souls. There is much in this world to chase after, but little to none of it is beneficial to us. It disguises itself in a cloak of being busy as a means to make us content with our intentional choice of chasing after it rather than desiring wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and application in and of God’s Word. 

Do not confuse physical contentment in plenty and want (which is good) with spiritual contentment. It is bad that we should ever be spiritually content with our current knowledge, understanding, or application of God’s Word. 

 

 

And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NLT

That simple statement—or one like it—may be the single most effective tool for training our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It’s personal, conversational, Scripture-based, and meaningful. We’re to be personally committed to reading God’s Word, and as we uncover its great truths, we should share them with our children, at home or on the road, when getting up or going to bed.

This doesn’t require a Bible college education or a seminary degree. It’s not just for ministers and missionaries. It’s the great privilege of every parent and grandparent to share from the overflow of our hearts and minds.

To return to the Scriptures, we must all take responsibility for our family’s spiritual and emotional health and well-being. Decide today to strengthen your family through the study of God’s Word. (Jeremiah)

 

 

Romans 2:4    Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Psa 78:49  He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.

2Ki 19:35  And that night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.

Act 12:23  Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last.

Mat 13:49-50  So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous  and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Rev 20:12-15  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

2Pe 3:9-10  The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Gen 16:7  The angel of the LORD found her by a spring of water in the wilderness, the spring on the way to Shur.

The primary purpose of angels is to minister to believers. But angels also have a role in the lives of unbelievers. Let me share three ways angels minister to non-Christians.

First of all, angels are ministers of God’s goodness to unbelievers. We are not told that Hagar, the Egyptian handmaid who gave birth to Abraham’s son Ishmael, was a believer. Yet when she was thrown out of Abraham’s household and abandoned in the wilderness, God sent an angel to minister to Hagar (Genesis 16:7–12).

Maybe you’re not yet a Christian, and you question whether you need Jesus Christ in your life. You say, “Things are going pretty well for me. Why do I need God?” Or maybe you’re a Christian, and you wonder why the unbelievers around you seem to be doing so well. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4). Sometimes God sends good things into people’s lives to remind them of their need for Him. Angels are ministers of God’s goodness to unbelievers.

Second, angels are ministers of judgment to unbelievers. Psalm 78:49 says it was angels who unleashed the ten plagues in Egypt. In 2 Kings 19:35, God used an angel to slaughter 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. In Acts 12:23, an angel struck Herod after he refused to give glory to God. God uses angels to deliver His judgment.

Third, angels are ministers of eternal death to unbelievers. In Matthew 13:49–50, Jesus said, “The angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” According to 2 Peter 3:9, God desires that everyone come to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. But those who reject God’s forgiveness are making a default decision to follow Satan, and they will be thrown along with Satan into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15).

Here is the horrific truth Jesus revealed: The angels are the ones who will dispatch every unbeliever to an eternity in the lake of fire. The last face every unbeliever sees before he is cast into hell will be the face of an angel. But everyone who accepts God’s forgiveness through Jesus Christ will spend eternity alongside His holy angels, in the presence of God forever. (Jeffress)

 

 

Psalm 130:3   If You, LORD, should keep an account of our sins and treat us accordingly, O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]

 Psalms 143:2      Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.

 Job 9:2-3      “Truly I know that it is so: But how can a man be in the right before God?

 Job 15:14     What is man, that he can be pure? Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?

 Isaiah 53:6     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.

 Romans 3:20-24    For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.  But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it—  the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

 Isaiah 1:18     “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

 Psa 103:10-12  He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Romans 5:8  but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

1Ti 1:15-16  The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.  But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Luk 15:10  Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Lamentations 3:40-41  Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD! Let us lift up our hearts and hands to God in heaven:“We have transgressed and rebelled, and you have not forgiven.

Sin and its ugliness invade our hearts and minds from birth. It has many ugly attributes: pride, arrogance, boastfulness, fear, worry, anxiousness, greed, self-worth, self-reliance, selfishness, the lust of the flesh, lusting for worldly pleasure, lying, untruthful, ungrateful, hate, anger, unforgiving, evilness, envy, strife, unkindness, self-love, etc….. 

How can we honor and glorify Jesus if we are not obedient?

How can we repent of sin if we do not know?

How can we grow in our understanding and knowledge of God’s grace, mercy, and love?

If we truly want to honor and glorify Jesus Christ in all of our thoughts, words, and actions and desire the Holy Spirit to expose our blind spots to known and unknown sinfulness in our lives, and continually hunger for the Word of God, and seek understanding and wisdom and knowledge, the sinfulness of sin and the holiness of God will converge and we will just begin to scratch the surface of how great God’s grace, mercy, and love are.

One area in our lives in which we do not want to be lukewarm is in the knowledge and understanding of our sinfulness and sins.