A Pinch of Sin

Scripture: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3

How do we measure sin? I think we do it by judging others. O how easy it is to look at someone else’s sin and make ourselves feel better about our own sin. I mean after all we are not cheating on “our” husband. I have not “intentionally” cheated on our taxes. I have never “killed” anyone for goodness sake. Never mind the fact that I judged all the people who have done these things either in private or in public by just a quick wave of the pen.

The beauty shops are full of sinners, just dying to tell what they just heard from their last cut and color. Does that make them awful? Yes! But then again we are awful. The bible says even our best is like filthy rags for goodness sake!

So how do we stop passing judgment and carrying it into gossip? First of all we must recognize that being able to simply see and identify sin itself is a gift from God. Without divine grace we aren’t capable of even knowing what is right and what is wrong. If you haven’t watch MTV since they played videos, you should try it sometime. The youth of today have no idea what is sin. Because everything is acceptable! If you know that the things you see going on around you are sinful, then the first thing you should do is stop and thank God for eyes to see right from wrong.

Secondly, you should purge your own heart. Begin to search your heart to find if you have committed that sin either in your mind or in an act against God or someone else. Lastly you should not talk to anyone else about that “fact.” Go to God on behalf of this person you believe is sinning and ask God to have mercy on them and turn them from darkness to light.

Spiritual sight is a gift. It is called discernment and should be used to build others up and set them free. If we use it like a salve to make us feel better about ourselves, then we have turned what God meant for good into a distorted tool that covers up sin instead of exposing it to bring healing.

Am I guilty? You better believe it! Lord have mercy on us all, sinners everyone!

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, before we were sorry you died for our sin. Give us eyes to see sin and turn from it. We want to lead others to the Savior. Amen!

Prayer Tip: Never exit a prayer time without asking God to reveal your sin and set you free.

The Queen of Denial

Scripture: 25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” 26b Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove? 27 Again peter denied it. At that moment a rooster began to crow. John 18

Holy Week always brings me to a place of self-examination. I like to reflect on the sacrifice Christ made for me personally. Also Easter kind of spot lights the characters for me. I try to put myself in the place of one of them and look at my own life in relation to theirs. How did they behave? How am I behaving?

Peter is an obvious choice. He is the beloved disciple. He is the one that Christ is said to have loved the greatest. He is a passionate dude. He got to walk on water. He cut off the guy’s ear in the garden when Jesus was arrested. He is also the one highlighted as the ultimate coward. He denied Christ not once, not twice, but three times in less than 12 hours!

I have looked at him closely on more than one occasion. I have wondered how someone could walk down the dusty roads of Jerusalem with Jesus and see with his own eyes the miracles, then be so afraid that he could be left powerless enough to deny ever knowing Christ.

This week as I asked these questions and looked closely at Peter’s life, I went to the bank to make a deposit. As I started to pull away from the window the kind clerk told me she had written my balance on the envelope. After the deposit, I still had a negative balance! O gosh! I had obviously miscalculated. I panicked! I did not have time to rush home and find the grave error, but I had kept out some cash to get me through the week. I gave her back the cash in hopes to get it all straightened out soon.

As I drove away from the bank I was so frustrated with the constant strain of everyday life that I began to cry. I started asking myself questions: How will I get this problem solved? When I do, will it just come up again? Do I need to change my plans and just go get a “real” job? I felt hopeless and afraid for my future. I called my husband and flew into him like he could solve the crisis with the wave of his hand.

Almost immediately I realized that I had reacted just like Peter. In the face of crisis I had gotten afraid. I had denied the power of God and lost hope for my future. Believe me, I have done that more than three times over my finances alone. I should be different standing on the other end 2000 years later. I know Jesus rose from the dead, Peter did not, yet I still responded the same way. I was afraid, frustrated, and hopeless. How many more times have I denied the power of God at work in my life? Way more than Peter, no doubt.

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for dying for my sin of unbelief even before I had the chance to let you down. Help me overcome my unbelief. Amen

Prayer Tip: Pick any bible character and repent for the sins you find them committing during your prayer time. We are all guilty of most every sin.