Posts Tagged ‘Sin’

Do You Turn a Blind Eye to Sin Like Me?

Monday, April 5th, 2010

It’s kind of disturbing to think about how much I sin each day - what I think about, say, do, don’t do, etc.

I wish sin just meant things like stealing, killing, using the Lord’s name in vain. How often do we think of sin as the times we don’t pray, read the Bible, or serve?

For years I’ve been encouraged by a Steve Green song called “I Repent.”

The lyrics cover sin in a sweeping way: “… I regret the hours I have wasted and the pleasures I have tasted that you were never in.”

How often do you sin and think about your sins? Confess them? Turn away from them?

Before his song, Green offers a personal reflection on Sparrow Records’ “Listen to Our Hearts Volume 2″ CD. He discusses how he came to terms with the huge gap between a perfect Lord and the wretchedness of his sin.  Green shares that he realized his attention shouldn’t be on all of the sins he needs to avoid. Instead, he decided to focus on Jesus to deal with those sins. “What I really need is a renewed love of Christ. The effect of that renewed love is the driving away of false affections and wrong desires.”

I grow weary of trying to conquer my sins. I’m glad the Holy Spirit helps me be mindful of them. But I want to find myself adopting Green’s attitude – to love Jesus more fully, to lean on Him and to learn from Him.

How do you regard sin? How are you coping?

Like me, do you fail to own up to your sins? Do you also struggle with them in your own strength rather than fall deeper in love with Jesus?

Oops – New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer May Love Being With Hookers

Tuesday, March 11th, 2008

The news media is having a field day with New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer who may have been involved in a prostitution ring. It’s a pertinent news story given how he has come down hard on prostitition in the past. In fact, Spitzer is known for crusading against all sorts of crime.

But there he was yesterday – with his wife at his side – talking about a personal indiscretion. Hmmm. Wonder what that might be?

I felt bad for his wife, Silda. I respect her choice to stand by her man. Any temptation to be critical of her should be supressed.

A man, especially a married man, should keep his private parts to himself. Sometimes, I guess men sleep with hookers because they’re tired or lonely. They don’t necessarily walk away with incurable diseases.

But some people – I guess it’s too soon to say Spitzer – think they’re above the law. Or, they deal with stress in unusual ways. But when we sin, we need to own up to it.

I guess he hasn’t resigned (not because he didn’t do anything bad) because he’s waiting to cut a deal. I can’t blame him. But give it a few days. Why drag it on and continue to embarrass his wife? It’s like knocking a kid against a wall and showing up to chair a PTA meeting the same night even if everyone learns about the abuse.

If he did it – hired a prostitute and made arrangments to get her to cross state lines – he needs to go public with his admission, resign and move on to something better. I hope he’ll go on TV shows and maybe even write a book about his horrific lapse or lapses. Talk to young people about sexual responsibility, commitment, vows, crime, forgiveness.

Be human.

When someone that public goes that wrong, the public can benefit from the way he presents himself in the aftermath.

Sin can be forgiven through a relationship with Jesus, but sin has consequences.

I’m eager to see how he deals with his mess and confronts the public. We deserve to see him do something good with something so foolish – if he did anything at all. In his next news conference maybe he could be more honest. And maybe he’ll be a man and stand alone while his wife holds hands and welcomes hugs from friends – away from the cameras.

A New Day Away From Hell

Tuesday, November 20th, 2007

As much as I fail to live up to what I know, the truth is, this is all about Him.

The Him is Jesus. He’s the ultimate path to heaven. You may go through a lot of things. You may meet a lot of people. In the end, it’s just you and Jesus or you without Jesus.

I made 52 Paths To Heaven to reflect my personal journey and touch on issues that may be foreign to me but not you (like abortion).

We like to think of prayers and preachers and the Bible as our guiding light. The truth is, the Holy Spirit is our light and He’s authorized to do whatever God wants to reach us – no matter how high we go with our pride or how low we go with our depravity.

You’ll be able to order to book soon. In the meantime, drop me a line if you’re interested in the book or the topic of what we do to get to heaven. I’m eager to know how you feel.

The book should be out December 10th or sooner.

–Mike