Give it up for.....

It was this evening, I was on the phone talking with a friend, while also trying to watch BET's 'The Game'. While talking, a commercial came on, and during this time I figured I would give him my undivided attention. However, while the commercial was on, I got side tracked when I heard the man from TV say "I want to give it up for good..." After hearing this, it made me think how we, as believers should want to give up things for good, or shall I say give up things for God...particularly that sin or sinful habits that is keeping us from Christ. I know last week or so before this post, I talked about not giving up on God, but in this post, I want to talk about giving up sin, but not just for good, but for God! I John 3:4-6 tells us...Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. Verse 6 then tells us that "No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him."  

Sin defined, is disobedience or rebellion against God. Sin is also defined as unrighteousness. I John 5:17 says, “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not leading to death” (I John 5:17). The truth is, we are all guilty of sin...but there's also the truth that God hates sin and as believers, we must hate what God hates and learn to love obedience.  In the bible, there are a great many kinds of sins, and there are many verses about sin. In Galatians 5:19-20, Paul lists seventeen sins of the flesh which is “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like”.  And it is here we see that the works of the flesh is not just physical sins. In 1 John 2:16, sin is described as coming from three sources: lust of the flesh (gluttony, lust, sloth), lust of the eyes (greed), and pride of life (pride, envy, anger). However, Romans 8:8-9 reads, "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. In the book of Proverbs, Solomon tells us about the things or sins that God hates. For example, Proverbs 6:16-19 reads, “There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: 1) haughty eyes, 2) a lying tongue, 3) hands that shed innocent blood, 4) a heart that devises wicked schemes, 5) feet that are quick to rush into evil, 6) a false witness who pours out lies, and 7) a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.”

Here we see that the bible describes sin in many ways that is not just confined to external sins. Not only that, but everyone also experiences the seven deadly sins such pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed, and sloth in daily life...but as believers, we are to live our lives in a way that brings glory to God. I understand that sin is all around us, and within us, but, we should aim at being Christ-like. In 2 Corinthians 13:11, the bible even tells us to aim for perfection. If we are honest, most of us can agree that we know the good we are supposed to do, but yet there are times we choose to sin and fall short of God's perfect standard. As for me, I don't claim to be sinless... and you too shouldn't claim to be sinless for 1 John says, “If we claim to be without sin, we lie and the truth is not in us...BUT if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

As we're on the subject of sin, did you know that we can also sin in our heart and mind...and yet never commit an obvious act of sin? I don't know about you, but even after becoming saved, I myself thought it was innocent to think about certain sins, since I was sure I'd never take part in the actual sin...but that was a mistake. It is true that sin begins both in our heart and mind. This is why we should always ask God to search our heart...and mind. Psalm 139:23-24 says, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life". For example, many of us like to comfort ourselves with the fact we haven't committed certain external sins... but what about those internal sins that are hidden in our heart and mind, or our attitude towards those who commit sin? The truth is, all sins, no matter what it is separates us from God. This is why Jesus tells us in Matthew 15:19, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. Again I say, this is why we should regularly ask God to search our heart because in asking Him, we are inviting Him to open our heart so we may receive conviction of the Holy Spirit. 
 
Colossians 3:5-10 tells us "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator....Let us also not forget what 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new".... If you are not sure if you're in Christ, look at your life.
 
CONCLUSION

Sin is everywhere and all around us. But as I've previously stated, God hates sin! He hates every sin and that should be enough of a reason for us to give up sin, that is unacceptable to Him. Acts 3:19 says, "So turn to God! Give up your sins, and you will be forgiven." Whatever the sin, we need to focus our attention on giving up that sin. Take a moment and think about how God demonstrated His love to us. To show His love, God did something totally incredible...He gave up His only begotten son to die for us, to pay for our sins. I don't know about you, but if God can give up his only begotten son, we can choose to give up sin to demonstrate our love to Him. The key to giving up sin fasting, praying ,reading the bible, and attending church, and bible study. Not only that, but Jesus will help those who want to give up sin. Remember, we can do nothing on our own, but we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4:13)  With respect to the sinning of the non-believers, we must remember that it is God's desire for all people to be SAVED!

Let there be No Excuses!

It is amazing what excuses my clients make and give for not doing what I am asking them to do to be reunified with their children. It was this morning I was in court for a dispositional hearing to evaluate the parent's progress towards reunification. However, due to the parent's lack of progress, or should I say because of their excuses for lack of readiness to be a parent, the judge closed the case. At the conclusion of the hearing, and before closing the case I heard the judge say to my clients "I'm getting tired of the excuses." After hearing the judge say this, it made me wonder if God ever grow tired of unbelievers making excuses for not coming to Christ. Like my clients, we are constantly pursuing interests other than what's really important.

"And they all with one consent began to make excuses."

Today, people have all sorts of excuses why they do not want to come to Christ. While people have many different reasons for not coming to Christ, and accepting him into their heart...I would like to note that these excuses are not reasons, but excuses. These excuses can range from, the timing is inconvenient, not being ready to give up certain things, still want to enjoy life, and have a good time... and if I can be honest, these are the excuses of my clients. But James 4:14 tells us, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away."  While I am always amused by the different excuses they come up with, I remember before I became saved, I too had an excuse. In the parable of the Great Banquet, found in Luke 14:18, Jesus said, “but they all began making excuses.” Interesting.

In Luke 14 verses 15-24, we read...

15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!” 16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’ 21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet.”

In Jesus' parable, we see that God prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. However, when the time of the banquet arrived, they each made excuses so as not to attend. From reading, we see there were three excuses given. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and must inspect it. (Luke 14:18)." Another said, 'I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. (14:19). "Still another said, 'I now have a wife, so I can't come'" (14:20).  It is here we see that the invited guests made their excuses as to why they couldn't attend the banquet. They turned down the invitation to the banquet because the timing was inconvenient. Interestingly, the excuses offered by these people when invited to the banquet sounds very similar to what one hears from many when they get an invitation to salvation. The point of the parable is that things of this world were priorities for the excuse makers.
Being a social worker, I think I may have heard it all when it comes to excuses, and why they are not making their child a priority. Like them, when we make excuses about salvation, we are saying that Jesus isn't as important as other priority in our lives. Truth is, it is God's will that everyone be saved. And if you know that you are not saved, you should get saved today. For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Note: God does not force people to come to him; He simply invites, but we must accept the invitation. He says, “Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” Revelation 22:17. 

CONCLUSION

Don't make any more excuses! After reading the parable of the Great Banquet, hopefully you'll see that the parable touches on something deeper. The parable of the great banquet concerns salvation. It signifies God's kingdom. Remember, everyone is invited, but we should not make excuses at the time that he is inviting us...because His invitation doesn't last forever.

Don't give up, give out, or give in!

Ever felt like giving up? If we are truthful with ourselves, I think we can all agree that at some point in our lives we've felt like giving up on something. Whether it was a marriage, relationship, or job, we've all been tempted to give up and throw in  the towel. I don't know about you, but that's a constant temptation for me, particularly when things get tough. I remember when I was in college pursuing my graduate degree, I thought about giving up because it seemed a little more difficult than what I originally thought it was going to be.

This reminds me of the Christian life. When things get tough, every one of us has come to the point of giving up in our Christian walk, and even the strongest of Christians have also be tempted to give up at times. There are many that have been, or is at the breaking point at giving up trying to live the Christian life because they feel they can't go on anymore, or just can't make it when the trials and temptations of life challenge them constantly in their walk. But look at what Jesus told his disciples in Luke 18:1, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up."
 
Biblical Example

In the First Book of Kings, Chapter 19, we find that Elijah, a prophet of God wanted to give up. In 1 Kings 19:3-5, we read ³ Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
It is here we see that the prophet Elijah asked God to let him die (1 Kings 19:4). Maybe deep down, Elijah did not want to die, but in essence, Elijah did want to quit and give up! Elijah possibly felt like a failure since the dramatic events of Mt. Carmel did nothing to turn the king or the kingdom from idolatry. Elijah was discouraged by the thought that everything that had happened was in vain and fruitless and that nothing more could possibly be done by him for God's cause. Sadly, every one of us at one time or another ends up like Elijah. We become tired, discouraged, and frustrated...and like Elijah, we want to give up. As Christians, we want to give up when we sin, give into it, or when we find ourselves continually falling short of perfection. Then there are some people who grow tired of doing the right thing, and just give up.

But look at what Romans 7:15-20 tells us, ¹⁵ I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. ¹⁶ But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. ¹⁷ So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. ¹⁸ And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. ¹⁹ I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. ²⁰ But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. 

We see here that the Christian life is not always easy! And I myself have found that living the Christian lifestyle is a daily challenge...and If I can be honest, there have been times in my life when I've wanted to give up. When I think of Jesus command, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" Matthew 5:48, I myself have wanted to give up simply because I've found myself falling short of perfection. But let me say this, giving up is the easy way out. No matter how hard the challenges are, we must press towards the goal. In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul says...¹² I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. ¹³ No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴ I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Note: The process of perfection includes challenges to overcome. 
Conclusion

Sometimes the Christian life is all about tenacity. Also keep in mind that while we may start out well in our Christian walk, what really counts is how well we finish. The lesson from the prophet Elijah can be helpful to all of us, and that is, DO NOT GIVE UP, GIVE OUT, OR GIVE IN because God is not finished with you yet! Galatians 6:9 tells us, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Remember, if the enemy can't get you to give in, he will try to get you to give up."

 

The next time you feel like giving up, I encourage you to remember Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". As I minister to you, I also minister to myself. As I try to encourage you, I also encourage myself, and as I challenge you, I also challenge myself so that together we don't give up on striving daily to live our lives according to the Word of God.