Covetousness

 

Covetousness

Mak 7:21-23

“Covetousness comes from within and defiles a man.”

Covetousness means a strong desire for worldly possessions, wealth or gain.

It is the desire for what someone else has to the point of doing anything to get it. A biblical example would be David and Bathsheba, Cain and Abel. Achan coveted a robe, silver and gold and stole them which led to the death of many of his relatives.

The sin of covetousness can lead to other sins such as theft, murder and adultery.

Exodus 20:17, the tenth commandment forbids coveting anything that belongs to a neighbor.

The rule of thumb that our parents taught us or should have taught us is not to touch anything that does not belong to you. What isn’t yours, you pay for or ask for. Never take it assuming the other person won’t care. Or that you will get away with it. God is watching always.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Conscious of sin

 

Conscious of Sin

Proverbs 28:13

“He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.”

Galatians 5:19 gives us the works of the flesh (the sins we are to avoid): Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries... of those who practice such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Who amongst us has not done at least one of these sins? The fact is, that we are all sinners and will never be perfect, but our goal is to be as Christ-like as possible. To do that we must confess our sins and repent (change our ways) so that we will not do them anymore.

If we practice the fruits of the Spirit, it will be so much easier to strive toward the goal of Christlikeness.

The Fruits of the spirit are Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Let us put away our sins and follow Jesus.

 

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Conceit

 

Conceit

Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee exalted himself and bragged about all that he had done and praised himself for not being like the tax collector.

The tax collector humbled himself and asked God for mercy. He professed to be a sinner.

“We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

There is nothing we do that God does not equip us to do. Everything we do should be done in a manner pleasing to God and to be done to glorify God. We should not boast that everything we do is done by our own power.

Our reward for all that we do is not so great a reward on earth as it will be in heaven.

Let us humble ourselves in our service to Him and to others In that we can’t do anything without God.  All glory goes to God. Honor him, praise Him and live for Him in all that we do.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Bitter-Critical

 

Bitter- Critical

I Corinthians 1

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God.” I Cor. 1:1-4

There was a time Paul was so burdened that he lost his strength and despaired of his life. I Cor. 1:8. He put his trust in God to be delivered by God.

Without God, we can become so bitter or critical of our circumstances that we can become depressed. God is always present in our life. We need to lay down our bitterness at Jesus’ feet and allow Him to turn our circumstance around. Focus on God, not on self or the circumstance.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Bereaved

 

Bereaved

Matthew 5:4, 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

Jesus reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 that we do not have to sorrow as those who do not hope. We as believers have the ultimate assurance that Jesus died and rose again, ascended and is coming again. We also believe that He will bring with Him those that have died. One day, all believers will be reunited in the grandest reunion ever seen!

God is there and we can always hold onto Him for courage and strength.

Ultimately when someone dies, it is not entirely about them but about those who are left behind to mourn the loss of a loved one. Will it draw us closer to God or will we move further away from God? If we want to reunite with those who have gone to heaven, we must draw closer to God.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

 

Backsliding

 

Backsliding

“If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:6-9

There may come a time in our life where we decide to do things our way. We think we can do it alone and will come out alright. We may think that being a Christian is too hard and has become a struggle to do things God’s way. This may go on for years and things may go smoothly for a while. Then one day, when things start falling apart, we may look back and realize we had been spinning our wheels and had not grown one bit in our spiritual walk with God. There is a reason God tells us to fellowship with one another. We need each other to grow and encourage each other. We had back slidden and then we realize that it is easier to be in God’s light than to live on our own in the darkness of the world by our own efforts. Then we turn to Psalm 51 and pray this prayer to God. It is a prayer of repentance. God bless all those who have returned to the fold and once again fellowship with God and one another.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.

Anxious

 

Anxious

Psalm 46, Matthew 6:19-34, Philippians 4:6, I Peter 5:6,7

“God is a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

Being anxious is a waste of time. “Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?” Matthew 6:27

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6

“Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” I Peter 5:6,7

“The Lord shall fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” How many times have we prayed to God to fix a problem for us, just to take it back and try to solve the problem ourselves? I for one am good at that, especially when it comes to my children. I have found that taking matters into my own hands messes things up more than before. God promises to fight our fight for us. He in return expects us to be quiet and let Him handle it the way He sees fit. I am extremely glad that God always has my best interest at heart and especially those of my loved ones. God is all-knowing. He sees how the problem started, why it happened and already knows the ending. We needn’t worry about how things are going to turn out when we hand our problems over to God. He promises that “all things turn out to the good for those who love the Lord.” Romans 8:28. I trust God to guide all my children to truth and understanding and in the end to everlasting life.

Please read the scriptures listed, study them, apply them to your life and grow in the saving relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior.

For more posts like this, go to: https://sherrysouthard.blogspot.com.