Doubts

There are going to be times when each of us has our doubts about our faith. Just like any other day, some are good and some...not so good. We are human, not perfect like God and therefore will slip every once in a while. The key is to not let our downward slide go on for too long.

One of the definitions behind the sin of Sloth is laziness. And as I've stated in my prior posting on Sloth, this laziness is physically, mentally, and spiritually. Let me repeat - it is a spiritual laziness toward the Lord. Think about why we were put on this earth. Was it for our pleasure or God's? God created man to obtain joy and pleasure through our obedience to Him. Our job is to glorify His name every day through our actions or our inactions.

When I listen to the versus in the Bible, I can't help but think about how divinely wise the Lord is in His teachings. There is no way that these verses could have been crafted by the hands of men. The scriptures were guided by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The devil wants us to doubt. He loves it when we start "thinking" about how the earth was created or how ridiculous it seems that the earth was so vastly populated by just two human beings. He plants the seeds of doubt within us in the hope that we will loose faith and slip.

I'd argue that staying spiritually strong is tougher than anything a person can do. Why? Because it is not easy to carry ones cross. It is not easy to follow the path of the Lord. But, if we stay faithful and obediently follow his words, we will be rewarded.

Stay strong in your faith my friends. For it's not how many times you slip in your faith...it's how many times you're willing to get back up and keep fighting.

14For many are called, but few are chosen.

Matthew 22:14

Final Thoughts -

Even some of the men closest to Jesus Christ had their doubts. Even after witnessing countless miracles, some of Jesus' Apostles still may not have fully been convinced that he was the Lord. And do not doubt that the devil was working overtime to turn them - and in fact did turn the one named Judas of Iscariot (for this was God's will).

I leave you with this passage from the Holy Gospel according to John:

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"

But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!"

27Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

28Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"

29Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

John 20:24-29

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Repercussions of sin

Have you ever done a good deed, but held a little something back? Our actions might fool those on this earth, but the Lord knows what stirs in our hearts and He cannot be deceived.

Let’s be honest – we are human and it’s difficult to constantly do the right thing. Many times we sin and may not even consciously realize it. The devil is always looking for an opportunity to sneak into our hearts and minds…no one is perfect and even in the times that we do slip, its important for us to reflect at the end of the day and ask God for forgiveness for the things that we did, as well as for the things that we failed to do.

Below are two passages from the Acts of the Apostles. This was around the time when the Apostles were spreading the word of Jesus Christ and building up followers. They roamed from country to country and city to city gathering more disciples and spreading the word of truth.

The passage below shows that there might be some actions that we think aren’t that big of a deal. However, in the eyes of God this might be a different story all together. A part of the second passage is a bit shocking, but I think it is worth sharing in order to remember the consequences of sin.

The Believers Share Their Possessions

32All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.

33With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.

34There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales

35and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

36Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),

37sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

Acts 4:32-37

Ananias and Sapphira

1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.

3Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

4Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."

5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price."

9Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."

10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

Acts 5

I think everyone that reads this passage takes something a little different away from it. Think about the times that you should have done the right thing and did not. And then pray to the Lord for forgiveness…I know that I will.

God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

The Rainbow

For the longest time I’ve wanted to download a copy of the Old Testament and listen to it on my iPod. I finally got around to downloading it other day and started off listening to Genesis. Eventually, I had to stop right around the part where God told Noah that he would never again destroy all life on earth by a flood.

As the verse continued, God went on to say that he would set his rainbow in the clouds to act a reminder of this covenant (promise) between himself and man. I became very interested in this passage, mostly because I had never before realized the significance of the rainbow. But there’s much more to this story…

But first, here’s the passage I’m referring to:

11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."

12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come:

13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds,

15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life.

16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth."

17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth."

Genesis 9:11-17

I listened to this on Saturday morning and I’m not kidding when I say that this passage was on my mind all day long. That evening we decided to go to church, which is uncommon for us to do on a Saturday. Anyhow, while in church we got to the point where it became time for the gospel readings. Usually, there are a series of three readings that occur one after the other. The very first reading was from Genesis chapter 9…and yes…it told the story of God’s covenant with man and the significance of the rainbow. I sat there both amazed and delighted as my eyes watered up.

So how was it that out of all the tens of thousands of verses in the New and Old Testaments that we just happen to read the same passage that had been on my mind all day? Coincidence? I think not.

I personally feel this was the Lord’s way of reminding me to keep listening to His word and to continue down this path. The Lord works in wonderful and mysterious ways and I feel so blessed to have been a part of this experience. This is an experience that will stay with me for the rest of my life. I pray that someday the Lord will touch you as he did me during that Saturday evening.

1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

Psalm 115:1

May God bless you. And this is for His Glory.

I Can

In 1962 Dick Hoyt's son, Rick, developed cerebral palsy at birth after his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck and cut off oxygen to his brain. Doctors recommended to his parents that he be institutionalized. Dick and his wife would have nothing to do with that notion and insisted their son live as normal a life as possible.

Since then, Rick and his father have completed around 1,000 marathons and triathlons, including several Ironman events. Just to give everyone an idea of the distance we are talking about - a marathon is 26.2 miles. An Ironman event consists of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and ends with a 26.2 (marathon) run.

Over the years Rick gained a strong interest in computers and helped Boston College develop a program called "Eagle Eyes", which is a computer system that uses eye and head movements to help him communicate with others.

This is truly one of the most emotionally inspiring videos that you will ever watch. It opens up your mind and heart to God's glory and reminds us that all things are possible through Christ. All you have to do is believe and make an attempt.

Someone once said, "the amazing part isn't that I finished, it's that I had the courage to start."

It's never too late to "start" a new relationship with God. He has always been there and is waiting for us to take the first step.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Philippians 4:13

May God bless you. And this is for His Glory.

Sloth

We make thousands of choices every single day. Some are difficult and others are mindless repetitive acts that we tend to forget about moments later. I believe for the most part everyone has a fundamental “gut” feeling of right versus wrong. However, whether or not we choose to listen to our gut is an entirely different story.

Advances in technology continue to make our lives easier - if not more complex, all at the same time. Universal remote controls, voice recognition software, all in one web browser/cell phone/video and mp3 players, home networks and having access to virtually unlimited amounts of information simply by “Googling”.

I’m not against advances in technology, as a matter of fact its part of what I do on a daily basis. But, I do feel that our lives continue to become easier by the decade. Things were easier in the 90’s than they were in the 80’s, and the 80’s were easier than the 70’s…and so on it goes.

So what does this have to do with the sin of Sloth or God for that matter? Sometimes these advances make our lives so much easier that we become conditioned and even dependent upon them. This causes us to do less, think less, act less, pray less and even care less...because quite frankly, we don’t have to do what people had to 20 or 30 years ago to get by. Things are easier now, whether we like to admit to it or not.

So, what would your life be like if it were fully dependent upon God? Only you can answer that question – but I can tell you that once you turn that corner and give everything you have to Jesus…your life will change. God always hears our prayers and knows our needs and desires before we ask. As we have become so dependent upon TV, DVRs, wireless internet, and cell phones – so should we become dependent upon God. For in the end, this is all that truly matters. Trust me…no ones going to bury you with your cell phone, Blackberry or laptop. At the end of the Age these things will become irrelevant, as these are the things of men, not the things of God.

Okay – with that said, there a lot of different ways to outline the sin of sloth. I’ve given it some thought and decided that the following comments taken from http://www.whitestonejournal.com/ sum it up in terms that most of us can relate to.

Here are Whitestone’s comments…

But I Do Lots of Stuff!

Most people think of sloth as laziness, not doing much of anything, but just sitting around doing nothing. Many people stay busy most of the time but don't do the things they should, putting them off for later. They may be staying busy so they have an excuse.
Sloth (or acedia) is a kind of spiritual laziness (as opposed to mere physical fatigue or depression). It means not making it a priority to do what we should, or change what we should in ourselves. Some people might call it apathy, which means a lack of feeling.

An example might be a parent that always sends their child to bed early so they can have lots of quiet time to play solitaire or watch TV. Perhaps they could let the child stay up a little later and play a game with them or read. Or perhaps they always tell their child "no!" without taking the trouble to explain why...

Another example could be someone active in a political movement. Perhaps they don't bother to read other opinions and so never question whether their group is right or wrong. As a result, they could support some very wrong beliefs, such as racism, because they never tried to find the truth.

In business, some people never check into the laws to see if their practices are illegal. For Christians, we sometimes don't really want to know what the Bible (or our Church) teaches about something, so we put off reading or asking about it. Sloth is quite possibly the main reason why people don't read good spiritual books. They will read Christian fiction or some odd Gnostic gospel instead that "tickles their ears," but never the ones that could call them to action: loving their neighbor, helping the poor, telling the truth.

Lastly, there might be a student who naturally picks everything up with very little effort. Instead of learning more than required, or doing volunteer work, they might just sit around getting high or gossiping. Not because it is fun, but because they just don't care.

It should be noted that vices often are disguised as virtues. So sloth is often disguised as calmness, serenity, keeping a level head, open mindedness, etc... If sloth is the reality, people will get very defensive…or maybe not if the problem is sloth, as it is too much effort to defend it.

"His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?"

Matthew 25:26

Final Thoughts –

To sum things up sloth is just plain laziness - spiritually, mentally and physically. A person like this wants nothing to do with responsibility, in fact, they’ll ignore it and will often place blame on others even when they’ve “dropped the ball”. Typically, where you find sloth, you will also find gluttony not far behind. Sloth fills the heart with actions of deceit, lies, excuses and deceptions.

“Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless man goes hungry.”

Proverbs 19:15

The opposing virtue against sloth is zeal. “Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God’s commands." Have joy and passion in serving not only the Lord, but your fellow man as well.

I'll leave you with this passage from Mark.

Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:42-45

May God bless you. And this is for His Glory!

Gluttony

Just about everyone I know enjoys food…and this blogger is no exception. We tend to eat far more than what we require for survival. Then why do we overindulge? I don’t know the answer to that question. What I can tell you is that it gives a lot of people satisfaction or even pleasure. Food and drink are comforting to our bodies. Food gives us energy, vitality, peace of mind, and allows us to carry on with our day to day activities.

So what exactly is Gluttony? Gluttony is the opposite of temperance. Basically, temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and allows a person’s desires to stay within reasonable balance. Gluttony, however, will take a desire to the next level and will do so in a very excessive manner.

This is what it boils down to - The sin of gluttony is pleasure in excess. It is a great desire for something – very similar to greed, but not necessarily from a materialistic standpoint. Gluttony is more of an addiction.

Also, gluttony doesn’t always simply translate into the realm of food. You can be a glutton in many other ways.

Have you ever heard the term…

“He’s a glutton for work.”

This basically means that someone works all the time and is so engrossed in working that they have no other priorities in life.

Gluttony may also translate to excessive entertainment or the like. An example would be a person that sits in front of the TV all day long. Gluttony is much more than gorging oneself on food or drink. It is desire in excess.

Final thoughts –

I think it’s safe to say that when most people think of a glutton they think of someone that eats or drinks in excess. While this has truth to it, just remember there are far more ways for the sin of gluttony to enter your life than via a fork or straw.

One thing that is important to understand is to never pre-judge someone by their looks. What I mean by this is that just because someone is overweight – does not mean they are a glutton. Everyone knows there are numerous factors that attribute to weight gain and retention. Plus it’s not our responsibility to judge others.

For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Matthew 7:2

I will say this however…

In no part of the bible (that I’m aware of) did Jesus or his disciples eat or drink excessively, in fact, most of the time they were walking around hungry. The bible mentions the act of fasting on more than one occasion and it would be prudent for us to consider fasting every now and again. For Jesus himself fasted for 40 days in the desert while being tempted by Satan.

Being human, we all have our weak moments where we slip. But we must remember that we eat to live – we should not live to eat. Have temperance, show discipline and you will be rewarded.

Before closing, I’ll leave you with this short passage from Proverbs…

19 Listen, my son, and be wise,
and keep your heart on the right path.

20 Do not join those who drink too much wine
or gorge themselves on meat,

21 for drunkards and gluttons become poor,
and drowsiness clothes them in rags.

Proverbs 23:19-21

May God bless you. And this is for His Glory!