Yesterday, as I wrote about preparing our hearts for Easter, I shared about overcoming guilt and shame. What an amazingly MERCIFUL God we serve! Indeed, He is so good and faithful to forgive our sins when we confess and turn from them. He even says, He remembers them no more (Heb 8:12) and that causesContinue reading “To not do THIS is foolish and dangerous”
Tag Archives: flee sin
You can’t kill sin with easy strokes
Stick with me on this one… I once heard a pastor preach about not taking sin seriously and not monkeying around with it. The point was, we have to KILL SIN immediately (the pastor used the illustration of the Prophet Samuel hacking the Amalekite king to death when King Saul had disobeyed God and refusedContinue reading “You can’t kill sin with easy strokes”
It will burn your house down.
Jesus emphasizes the need to not take sin lightly but radically remove it from our lives when he talks about plucking out your own eye or cutting off your hand if they help you to sin (Matt 18:8-9). For some of us, we need to kill the friendship, block the phone number, throw out theContinue reading “It will burn your house down.”
A warning from Jesus.
Jesus came to die to save us from our sins, and He warns those who cause others to sin that it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and drowned in the sea than to cause a little one who believes in Him to sin. He says “woeContinue reading “A warning from Jesus.”
Hope for our TROUBLES
We’ve all seen the seeds of sin left to grow into a raging inferno that destroys people, and families, and communities. As a people, we’ve argued about just what laws we need as a society. As Christians, we believe those laws should be biblically based. But let’s remember, unless hearts change, laws can only everContinue reading “Hope for our TROUBLES”
Have you ever laughed out loud as you’ve read your Bible?
I laughed out loud as I read my Bible. This doesn’t usually happen but sometimes, I find myself chuckling. Luke described the time Jesus healed a boy possessed by a demon after His disciples failed to do so. Jesus, then, prophesies His coming death and steadfastly sets His face to go to Jerusalem. Along theContinue reading “Have you ever laughed out loud as you’ve read your Bible?”
Don’t trust yourself
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Rom 8:31) God is for us, not against us. I recently heard a pastor say, “Don’t you think if God we’re out to get you, He would have gotten you by now?!” We laugh. We say weContinue reading “Don’t trust yourself”
If we ignore sin are we truly loving others?
I’m not the sharpest nail in the box, but when God points out things twice, I tend to pay attention! My daughter, Abi, was recounting a dream she had about John 8 and the woman caught in adultery. She talked about how very vivid the dream seemed. Two days later, I “flopped” my Bible openContinue reading “If we ignore sin are we truly loving others?”
Our hope was NEVER meant to be in ourselves.
Did you blow it yesterday? Did sin raise it’s ugly head in you again? Did something you thought you had mastered, master you? Are you disappointed in yourself? Friend, it’s a great date for a clean slate. And this day IS a clean slate, brand new, a blank page, a total do-over for those whoContinue reading “Our hope was NEVER meant to be in ourselves.”
What salvation is, and what it isn’t…
I can’t shake the urgency I feel to be as clear as possible, right now, about what salvation is and what it is not. I think about Simon the Sorcerer in Acts chapter 8. When I first studied the passage it confused me for a bit. I read first in my ESV then grabbed myContinue reading “What salvation is, and what it isn’t…”
Let’s talk about SEX!
Paul has been expressing his love and appreciation of the Thessalonian church and then, BAM!…he starts talking about SEX! (I Thess 4) And as it is today, so it was then, sex can be a stumbling block even for those who love Jesus. Those early believers had stood strong in the face of affliction andContinue reading “Let’s talk about SEX!”
Want PEACE like a RIVER?
It’s 3am and I’m here thinking there won’t be colonoscopy prep in Heaven! Good grief, this is not fun! But this, is actually a very small problem compared to the trials many in this hard world are walking through. I’m reminded of something God laid on my heart a few years ago as I watchedContinue reading “Want PEACE like a RIVER?”
Relevant words from an Ancient Prophet
I believe as a country, a church and as people, we are being deceived by false prophets speaking empty oracles. Jeremiah talks of false prophets and empty oracles. He says the false prophets “walk in lies and strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns back from his wickedness” (23:14). Doesn’t that soundContinue reading “Relevant words from an Ancient Prophet”
I almost sent that text…
I almost sent that text.But I deleted it instead. The words I had rehearsed in my mind, didn’t roll off my tongue.I kept my mouth shut. God knows what I had in mind. He knows the old me who could compose a quick, insulting comeback and be proud of the wounding I would inflict. ButContinue reading “I almost sent that text…”
The Root Cause of Most of Our Sin Choices
First, I’d like to know what wrinkle cream the aging Sarah used! She must have had timeless beauty like Audrey Hepburn because as I continue reading in Genesis, yet another king (see Genesis 20), has taken notice of her…and here goes Abraham lying again that she is his sister! Abraham is rebuked by the worldlyContinue reading “The Root Cause of Most of Our Sin Choices”
Beware!
I love how the Bible sugarcoats everything and only tells the simple, pretty stories. Except it doesn’t. The Bible is real. God shows us the proclivity of humans to see Him do amazing things and then turn right around and blow it. After Lot and his two daughters had just been supernaturally rescued from SodomContinue reading “Beware!”
The way to joy and freedom often starts here.
It seems to be out of style. I don’t hear it spoken of often, not even in many pulpits. It is the job of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8) and is likely happening in the believers life every day, though I wonder if most notice it. It’s the voice of the Holy Spirit convicting usContinue reading “The way to joy and freedom often starts here.”
Have you doubted God and made the wrong choice?
It’s been ten long years since God promised. Still no baby. Her body is aging. She’s tired. She loves her husband. Didn’t God say Abram’s descendants would be as numerous as the stars? (Gen 15:5). But she also knew the sovereign God has restrained her from bearing children. (Gen 16:2) What is she supposed toContinue reading “Have you doubted God and made the wrong choice?”
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.
As John closes his letter, he says, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”Continue reading “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it.”
If you are going to study the Bible, don’t skip past the hard stuff.
Have you ever thought, some passages in the Bible are easier to read, and put into practice, in the day to day, than others? Sometimes, I’ll bump into something that causes me to scratch my head, pray, pull out extra commentaries, and dig deeper for understanding. I want to carefully listen to hear the HolyContinue reading “If you are going to study the Bible, don’t skip past the hard stuff.”
Kim Jaggers Ministry 