James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured [drawn away] and enticed [entrapped] by his own desire [longing, lust (overwhelming desire or craving)]. Then, desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

Genesis 4:3-7

                     In the course of time, Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the first born of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering He had no regard. So, Cain was very angry and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, “why are you angry and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 

1. Cain made an offering to the Lord.
2. The Lord did not accept the offering – Cain was lured away from the Lord by his own desire.
3. Cain got angry – that desire led to sin.
4. The Lord communicated, explained things, and warned Cain – God provided the way of escape.
5. Cain was unresponsive to the Lord and killed his brother – sin continued to grow and wrought death.

II Samuel 11

                     David’s sin with Bathsheba. His men were out fighting. He stayed home. Idle. Saw Bathsheba bathing. Wanted her. Sent for her. Raped her. Impregnated her. Tried to cover it by having Uriah come home from battle and sleep with his wife. He would not. So, David ordered him to the front lines, where the fighting was the most intense. Uriah died in battle. David brought Bathsheba to his house and married her. She gave birth to a son that died.

II Samuel 12

                     The prophet Nathan is sent to David with a message from God: “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had very many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 

Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah. And if this were too little, I would add to you as much more. Why have you despised the word of the LORD, to do what is evil in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and have taken his wife to be your wife and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ Thus says the LORD, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house. And I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.’” 

David’s response? David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

                     Psalm 51 “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from blood guiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem; then will you delight in right sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then bulls will be offered on your altar.” 

1. David lusted after another man’s wife – he was lured away from God by his own desire.
2. David must have felt shame for shame hides; he sought to cover/hide his sin – sin grew.
3. David continued to try to “hide” and justify his error; had a man killed, married his widow – sin grew.
4. The Lord communicated with David through the prophet Nathan – God provided the way of escape.
5. David repented. A child died – sin ended in death.

I Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide The Way of Escape, that you may be able to endure it. (emphasis mine)

Breaking the Cycle of Sin

The good news, here, is that God provides The Way of Escape for us. He has made a way to break the cycle of sin. Jesus said to him, “I am The Way, the Truth, and The Life.” John 14:6 (emphasis mine)

Hebrews 12:5 – 11 “And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children? “My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every child whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as children. For what child is there whom the father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not legitimate children. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” 

The words ‘disciple’ and ‘chastises’ in these verses are the same Greek word: G3809 paideia “tutorage; that is education or training”. This is so important to understand, because too many have this negative connotation that discipline means harsh punishment. That is not God’s way. His is the way of teaching and training. Look at some of the highlights of this text…

                     “The Lord disciples (educates, trains) the one He loves”

                     “He disciplines us for OUR good”

                     “Later it (discipline) yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness”

In conclusion, it is God’s conviction, His discipline, that becomes The Way of Escape out of our temptation and being lured away from Him. This is why it is imperative that we learn His voice.

John 16:8 And when He (Holy Ghost) comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement.

John 10:3-5 [paraphrased] The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out… for they know His voice, a stranger they will not follow.

Is it possible that the “knowledge of good and evil” was the beginning of our sin conscience? Prior to that man and woman had no knowledge or understanding of sin, I daresay, no creative, in-born sin nature. Is it possible the “fruit” of the tree created sin in them and made sin genetic? Like a disease.

Genesis 2:16-17 – And the Lord God commanded man saying, “you shall surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

Romans 5:12-21 [paraphrasing] – Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. …for if many died through one man’s trespass… for the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation… because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man… as one trespass led to condemnation for all men… by one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners… now the law came in to increase the trespass, where sin increased… sin reigned in death [sin ruled by means of death].

Romans 7:5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.

Romans 7:8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead.

Romans 7:11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

Romans 7:13 Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure.

Romans 7:17 So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

Romans 7:23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.

Beginning with Eve, to Adam, to Cain, down through the generations, to this very day, humankind has had an innate understanding of good and evil. That is why sin is most simply defined in James 4:17 – “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” This is what makes sin both subjective and difficult to characterize. If I have the knowledge of what is right and don’t act accordingly, whatever action involved is therefore categorically sin. However, if I have no knowledge or even prompting of conscience of what is right, then the actions are not sin to me.

I would also postulate that sin is anything that is contradictory to God and His ways.

Matthew 22:35-40 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” 

Eve was lured away from God by the tempting unknown: fruit. Adam was lured away from God by the temptation of Eve (to be like her, to join her, to partake as well).

Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 

James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured [drawn away] and enticed [entrapped] by his own desire [longing, lust (overwhelming desire or craving)]. Then, desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

Notice the individualization in James, “each person” “own desire”. Again, this is what makes sin both subjective and not universally categorized. A certain music choice may lure someone away from God. The very same song could enhance one’s relationship with God.

Here are the Hebrew, Greek, and Merriam-Webster online dictionary definitions of “sin”.

Sin:             H2403 offense

                   H2401 offense

                   H2398 to miss

                   H7686 [sin through ignorance] to stray

                   H817 guilt

                   G266 offense

                   G264 to miss the mark

Merriam-Webster.com

                   Sin – an offense against God’s law

                   Offense – an act of displeasing

The Cycle of Sin – James 1:14-15 But each person is tempted when he is lured [drawn away] and enticed [entrapped] by his own desire [longing, lust (overwhelming desire or craving)]. Then, desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

I have no doubt there are many who are contentious with what I’m proposing here today, probably even with your own scripture references to defy mine. I will concede this is a new area of study for me and though I do believe I’m tapping into something, I know I don’t know all the answers. Though, I do believe this aligns with what I’ve learned of God’s character throughout my many years of study. God is a personal God. We each need to hear and know His voice for ourselves. Otherwise, we’re too easily led astray by someone else’s thoughts and opinions.

Romans 7:11 For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 

Philippians 2:12b-13 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 

John 10:3-5 [paraphrased] The sheep hear His voice, and He calls His own sheep by name and leads them out… for they know His voice, a stranger they will not follow.

This may seem a gloomy subject. Stayed tuned for part 2!

Genesis 2:15 The Garden: “to dress it and keep it”

Dress – to work, to serve, to take care of Keep – hedge about, guard, protect

Genesis 3:17  The Curse: “in sorrow shalt thou eat of it”

Sorrow – labor, pain, toil

John 21:16 The Calling: He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “tend my sheep.”

Tend – to tend as a shepherd (take care of)

Luke 10:38

Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Are you ‘tending’ your relationship with God or are you ‘toiling’ for Him?

Online definitions:

Tend: to pay attention; apply oneself; to act as an attendant (to serve); to apply oneself to the care of: watch over.

Toil: long strenuous fatiguing labor; to work hard and long

Some examples:

–> Toiling over work that to tend to Jesus seems unattainable.

–> Toiling to figure out the solution to a work problem, forgetting to tend to prayer and seeking wisdom/direction.

–> Toiling with anxious thoughts rather than tending to the Word.

–>Toiling over a child’s behavior rather than tending to positive connections.

–>Toiling to provide for the family while they slip away from lack of tending.

–>Toiling at your career forsaking the tending of the marriage.

The list goes one.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 “Each one must give as she has decided in her heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 

All our giving (doing) should be from a cheerful heart. All our giving (doing) should not be reluctantly or because we feel constrained to. 

I believe Jesus is telling us to “tend, don’t toil.” 

I’ve debated on where to start this story. To understand how profound February 21st, 1995 was for me, you’ll need a bit of back story. 

I grew up in a christian-believing, but non-attending home. My parents believed in God and lived a life with godly, biblical values. Until 1995 I had only attended church services a few times. Though I had heard a few Bible stories throughout the years, I really had zero biblical knowledge. 

Another important part of my back story is understanding how I viewed friendship. I loved school during my elementary years (K-4), not just for the academics, but probably more so for the friendships. Though I did not have a lot of close friends, the ones I did have meant the world to me. This is why, I believe, middle school (5 – 8) was so difficult for me. I hated middle school. Again, not so much the academic side of it, but the social aspect was incredibly painful for me. 

By the time I reached high school I had become a bit cynical about friendship and my small circle of friends became even smaller. Also by high school, I had tried enough substances and watched how it destroyed both family and friends to know I did not want to partake. Cigarettes were disgusting to me. All alcohol tasted nasty to me. Thankfully, I had not been successful in inhaling enough marijuana to make it of any appeal to me. And, I definitely had a guilty conscience about stealing or even being a look out for others. Looking back on this, I’m still stunned that by age 13 I had tried enough things to know that was not the life I wanted. Though I did not know it at the time, it had to have been the hand of God. 

This brings my story to 6 months into my freshman year of high school. I had very few friends, I think just 2 that I truly trusted. I was doing fairly well and enjoying my academics and had had a successful soccer season that fall. I was definitely more shy probably than ever before and just “kept my head down” often. As a sidebar note, this is also the year that my confidence and interest as a writer began. 

February 19th – 25th, 1995 was youth week at the Apostolic Church of Rumford where my aunt and cousins attended. I had visited a time or two over the years. Aunt Dalene asked if I would like to attend youth week with her and I agreed. I honestly don’t remember much of what the visiting preacher preached about. But, I do recall that Monday night on the way home the conversation in the car being about the Holy Ghost. 

Tuesday, February 21st, 1995 at the end of his preaching, the preacher invited the youth to the front to respond to the Word. Remember, I had no idea about any of this “stuff” but being a shy and obedient kid, I went up front with the rest. I remember closing my eyes and trying to think of what to say because I had no idea how to pray. I remember saying things like “thank you Jesus” a lot. Anyhow, after I’m not sure how long, something began to stir deep within me. It was hard to explain then and remains difficult to put into words today. All I knew was something felt profoundly different deep inside of me. I felt both light and lighter. Though I could not explain it at the time, I knew I was going home that night very different than when I left home. 

I think I returned for more services that week and also enjoyed ice skating with the youth group. But, I didn’t return to church until about a month later. My best friend and I were playing tennis and one of my cousins and his friend from church ended up at the same place that Sunday afternoon. We four got to talking and they invited us to church that night. My best friend had never been to such a lively church and couldn’t help but laugh through much of it. But she loved it! We both did. From then on we would ask for rides every Sunday and Thursday. We both fell in love with the people, the worship, and the Bible. We were like sponges. We would listen intently during services and then go home and read all about it in the Bible. We had so many questions. We would read separately or together. Much of our phone conversations revolved around the Word. We were all in!

There’s thousands of small details I could share, but will try to wrap it up with this. When I consider my back story before I met Jesus, I would say friendship was high on my values list. And because I had been so hurt by “friends”, I was desperate for a true friend. Jesus absolutely became that and so much more. When I went into that church that Tuesday night I had no idea what God had in store for me nor how the trajectory of my life would be forever changed. But, God knew. He knew me. He knew I needed Him. He knew I longed for Him. He had been preparing my heart from the very beginning to know Him and had been equipping me for work in His Kingdom. It’s amazing how much we can see Him in the fine details when we’re looking for Him. 

This year marks 28 years. Always at the start of a new year, I look back and remember where I was, where I’ve been, where I am, and where He’s still leading me. I stand in awe of Him and will remain forever thankful. 

In the book of Exodus chapter 3 we read the account of Moses’ encounter with the burning bush. 

“And the angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” (v.2-3)

As far as we know this is the first “face to face” encounter Moses has with God. God instructs Moses that he will be the deliverer of God’s people Israel from their bondage to Egypt. What follows is a dialogue between God and Moses where Moses asks a number of questions. I so appreciate God’s patience and willingness to answer each of Moses’ questions. The one that stands out to me (and the purpose of this post) is: 

“But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of 

Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that 

I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (v.11-12)

We see in the dialogue, Moses questions his identity and ability to carry out the job God was giving him. “Who am I?” God’s response is profound! “I will be with you!” Next, Moses asks for God’s identity. “Who do I say sent me?” This is where we see God identify Himself as the “I AM”. The conversation continues a bit longer and Moses finally requests that God sends someone else. 

Most of us know this story. Moses did in fact go to Pharaoh and demand he let God’s people go. We know that God gave Moses Aaron to help as a speaker. We know God performed miracles, signs, and wonders not only for Pharaoh to behold, but for the Egyptians and Israelites as well. There were ten devastating plagues that followed, the onset of a feast to observe for generations, and a mighty deliverance. The Israelites left bondage with both health and wealth. They miraculously cross the Red Sea on dry ground. They are led through unknown territory with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They are provided with abundant fresh water and daily sustaining meat and bread. Their clothes and shoes never wear out. And yet, they complained. They rebelled. They formed idols. At one point, they accepted and promised to abide by God’s law, but did not want to look at Him. Though the majority of Israelites stumbled in their walk with God at this time, Moses’ faith and trust grew exponentially. We see this in Exodus 33. 

Moses said to the LORD, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let 

me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you 

have also found favor in my sight.” Now therefore, if I have found favor in your sight, please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight. Consider too that this nation is your people.” And he said, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And he said to him, “If your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people? Is it not in your going with us, so that we are distinct, I and your people, from every other people on the face of the earth?” And the LORD said to Moses, “This very thing that you have spoken I will do, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name.” (v. 12-17)

By this time, Moses knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that nothing else mattered. He knew the most important thing was for God to be with them, to go with them. 

So, how does this apply today? How many of us have felt or believed God was calling us to some task? Just like Moses, I am sure we had a list of questions for God, one of them surely being “who am I?” We can look in the mirror, or listen to ourselves speak, or consider our list of lacking credentials. God calling us to a task has very little to do with who we are as individuals and has everything to do with Who He is! 

Moses questioned who he was. God said He would go with him.

Moses asked who is sending me. God answered “I AM”.

Moses said they would not listen or believe him. God asked what was in Moses’ hand.

Moses highlighted his speech impediment. God highlighted His creativity in 

forming the human tongue.

Moses asked God to send someone else. God gave him Aaron as a helper.

We may ask about our identity. The answer is our identity is IN God.

“and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3b

We may ask more about Who is sending us. Allow the Lord to reveal Himself to you.

“how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly…which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.” Ephesians 3:3, 5

We may doubt others’ responses to us. God has already provided what we need to complete His task.

“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence” II Peter 1:3

We may accentuate our faults and failures. God will accentuate His character and ability.

“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable.” 

Isaiah 40:28

We may even ask that someone else do it. God will more than likely provide us a helper. 

“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12

So, the question remains: will you go or not go? The answer lies in is He with you or not?

Jesus’ words in red. Further descriptors in black.

Come to me

Come hither! Follow Me! You make the effort. You make the first move. You seek Jesus.

All who labor

You who feel fatigued by hard work.

And are heavy laden

You who have overburdened yourself.

We give ourselves to much to do.

And I will give you rest.

Jesus gives repose, refreshing, rest.

(repose: freedom from disturbance of any kind)

Take my yoke upon you,

Again, you make the effort, you pick it up. You take it on. You lift it up. You raise it up.

Yoke: to be joined to, a coupling, a beam of the balance, pair of balances.

And learn from Me,

Learn, come to understand Jesus.

For I am gentle and lowly in heart,

Jesus’ heart is gentle, humble, meek, not prideful.

And you will find rest for your souls.

You will find, you will see, you will obtain, you will perceive, you will get… REST (like an intermission) for your immortal soul.

For my yoke is easy,

For this reason, Jesus’ pair of balances is useful, easy, good, gracious, kind, better

And my burden is light.

Jesus’ task of service is easy, light!

Jesus gives us the “just right” amount of work, for His Kingdom.

~ Additional thought provoking verses:

Proverbs 11:1 “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight.”

Proverbs 16:11 “A just balance and scales are the Lord’s; all the weights in the bag are His work.”

Ecclesiastes 4:6 “One handful of rest and patience is better than two fist fulls of labor and chasing after the wind.”

Children are precious in God’s sight and there will be a reckoning for all abuse, neglect, abandonment, and the like against them. We have an obligation to instruct our children in God’s ways, to explain and remind them why we observe certain feasts, holy days, and services. God gave so many provisions for the widow and fatherless children. It matters a great deal to Him that children are properly, lovingly provided and cared for. It’s well past time we begin treating children the way God treats them!

Psalm 127:3 “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.”

Exodus 12:26 “And when your children say to you, ‘What do you mean by this service?”

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.” 

Exodus 22:22 “You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.”

Deuteronomy 14:29 “…and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.”

James 1:27 “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Molech was an idol of the Ammonites to whom they would burn and sacrifice their children. There are so many perverse and disgusting ways this is still being done in the 21^st century. Think of the various “altars” children are being sacrificed on. God cares for children perhaps more than anything else. God is just. God is faithful. God will have vengeance. The consequences for mistreating a child will be severe. Not only direct mistreatment, but there’s also consequences for turning a blind eye to the abuse!

Leviticus 20:2-5 “Say to the people of Israel, Any one of the people of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech shall surely be put to death. The people of the land shall stone him with stones. I myself will set my face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given one of his children to Molech, to make my sanctuary unclean and to profane my holy name. And if the people of the land do at all close their eyes to that man when he gives one of his children to Molech, and do not put him to death, then I will set my face against that man and against his clan and will cut them off from among their people, him and all who follow him in whoring after Molech.” 

Matthew 18:1-6 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.”

Deuteronomy 32:35, 43 “Vengeance is mine, and recompense, for the time when their foot shall slip; for the day of their calamity is at hand, and their doom comes swiftly. Rejoice with him, O heavens; bow down to him, all gods, for he avenges the blood of his children and takes vengeance on his adversaries. He repays those who hate him and cleanses his people’s land.”

Romans 12:19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

Job 10:15 “If I am guilty, woe to me!”

I just feel this strong warning in the Spirit. We’ve got to be so careful how we treat children and what we allow. To the world and enemy who are bent of destroying children by any means possible, vengeance is coming and I don’t want to be standing anywhere near you!

This thought keeps coming to me, especially as I’m driving in my car. I see these signs all over the place: stores, restaurants, vehicles, billboards, etc. At first glance, I read something that always catches me off guard or makes me laugh. Then, as I take a second, sometimes third glance, I realize I misread it the first time. This has happened so many times over the past two months, I am convinced God is trying to teach me something.

How often do we look at a situation and at first glance make a judgment call? Too often when we refuse a second or third glance, we grow more and more adamant that our perception is the accurate one. Anyone else who sees something different than our first glance judgment we think is wrong. How many times have we looked at something and assumed we understood, only to return to ponder it and realize our initial judgment was in error? We do this with other people concerning political views, healthcare views, religious views, and lifestyle views, etc. Sadly, some ‘christians’ also do this while reading the Bible. The human eye and brain can be so easily manipulated. Watching an episode of Brain Games with my kiddos shows me how true this is.

One Old Testament Hebrew word for ‘understand’ is H995 בִּין – bı̂yn (bene); A primitive root; to separate mentally (or distinguish), that is, (generally) understand: – attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, mark, perceive, be prudent, regard, (can) skill (-ful), teach, think, (cause, make to, get, give, have) understand (-ing), view, (deal) wise (-ly, man). It has a total of 169 KJV occurrences.

We find a few examples in the following verses:

Job 6:24 – “Teach me and I will be silent; make me understand how I have gone astray.”

Job 13:1 – “Behold, my eye has seen all this, my ear has heard and understood it.”

Proverbs 1:5 – “Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance.”

Proverbs 14:15 – “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps.”

Proverbs 20:24 – “A man’s steps are from the LORD, how then can he understand his way?”

Proverbs 28:5 – “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it completely.”

One New Testament Greek word for ‘understand’ is G4920 – συνίημι – suniēmi (soon-ee’-ay-mee); From G4862 and ἵημι hiēmi (to send); to put together, that is, (mentally) to comprehend; by implication to act piously: – consider, understand, be wise. It has a total of 26 KJV occurrences.

Matthew 13:13 – “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Luke 24:45 – “Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.”

Ephesians 5:17 – “Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

I Timothy 1:6-7 – “Certain persons…have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”

This is why it is so important to go back for a second, even third or fourth, look. We need to stop being so quick to judgment. Like James instructs us, we must be “quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” (James 1:19). John 7:24 in the BBE states, “let not your decisions be based on what you see, but on righteousness,” and in the ERV, “stop judging by the way things look. Be fair and judge by what is really right,” and in the TPT, “stop judging based on the superficial. First you must embrace the standards of mercy and truth.”

Moral of the Day: go back and reconsider, seek to understand, ask God for wisdom to understand.

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

Over the past year, I can remember 3 specific incidents of what felt to me like an answer to prayer. The odd thing about each of those incidents was I didn’t recall praying or asking for the ‘thing’.  Each time I just stepped back and stood in awe of such a loving God.

Over the past six months, God has been reminding me of a specific scripture. The significance of that scripture is that it was one of the very first verses I received in what felt like “rhema”. It was one that I memorized early on. It was my go-to reference for a long time. When asked I would quote that as my favorite verse. Even friends knew of the significance of the verse to me. They would reference it in cards or letters written and one friend made it into a wood sign décor. The verse is “Delight thyself also in the Lord and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Psalm 37:4. From the first day this verse stuck out to me, I recognized the futuristic element of it. That is to say, I knew that it was progressive and eventual. I knew that as I grew in God and continued to delight myself in Him, He would, over time, give me the desires of my heart. Along the way, He taught me in that as I delighted in Him my desires would morph into His desires. Ultimately, it would be righteous and godly desires fulfilled, not selfish and carnal.

The Sunday service before my birthday during altar call, a man in church that I’ve only barely begun to know, as he walked by, stopped and said to me, “continue to delight yourself in God and He will give you the desires of your heart.” All I could do was smile and nod. I am certain he had no idea of the significance of what he had just done, only that he was obeying the Lord. But, I knew. I knew God was reminding me of His promises and faithfulness. He continues to fulfill His Word to me as I continue to delight in Him.

The Hebrew word used for delight in that context means “to be soft or pliable”. I pray the Lord helps me to remain soft and pliable in His hands. I know this is a different sort of post today. Typically, I share a word of encouragement for others. This one is more about me, which in some ways feels very uncomfortable. However, I believe in the importance of sharing our testimony as it points to great and awesome God. A faithful and good, good Father! May the Lord richly bless you today and cause you to be a blessing to another.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “joy”? I think most people immediately think of something that may be better defined as happy. I have seen people struggle over the years to understand and differentiate between joy and happiness. However, they are different.

Google dictionary states it like this:

               Joy: intense and especially ecstatic or exultant happiness, or an instance of such feeling

Happiness: any state of being, having considerable permanence, in which pleasure decidedly predominates over pain

I would argue, google does not have it quite right. The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance offers this:

               Joy: G5479 chara – cheerfulness, calm delight

               Happy: G3107 makarois – extremely blest, fortunate, well off

Something I learned recently, I don’t think I had ever considered before, makes so much sense to me when I consider its biblical and spiritual implications. Happiness or the state of being happy is an individual experience and more often than not feels fleeting, as if we cannot secure it for too long. However, I would put forth, joy is a shared experience, one that is accompanied with a peace that inhabits our soul. I believe this is why we cannot maintain God’s joy without Him. Verses like the following really speak differently to me now.

Nehemiah 8:10 “…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Romans 5:11 “…but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have no received atonement.”

Luke 10:17 “and the seventy returned again with joy…”

Matthew 25:21 & 23 “enter into the joy of your Lord”

If you can, try to bring to remembrance a time you felt happy and then a time you felt joy. We might look to times alone of rest and relaxation. I would say that’s happiness. What about those times when you were with someone, sharing an experience? A marriage, birth of a child, a prayer meeting, a church rally, a ‘pillow talk’ (as a good friend calls it) night that led to unstoppable laughter?

Joy: a shared experience, a lasting peaceful feeling.

Happiness: an individual experience, fleeting, with an expected end.