EXACTLY WHAT CONSEQUENCES ARE YOU WILLING TO PAY FOR YOU TO DO IT YOUR WAY?

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“Jesus continued, “You are from below; I am from above. You belong to this world; I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I Am who I claim to be, you will die in your sins,” (John 8:23-24). The Religious Leaders and Pharisees were committing the sin of unbelief.  They did not believe Jesus was the Messiah. They did not trust in Jesus. Belief in Jesus is not just believing Jesus is who He says He is. Belief in Jesus also means trusting in Him. It means hoping in Him. It is believing with all our hearts that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. It is believing that Jesus is the only means of salvation.

Unbelief is a sin just like lying or stealing or anything else that goes contrary to what God says. When there is unbelief, rebellion and hostility are present. When there is rebellion and hostility, darkness overtakes.  When darkness overtakes, there is absence of light. When there is absence of light, only ego and self are left.  When ego and self are left, man is his own god.  When man is his own god, then idolatry consumes.  When idolatry consumes, other lawless activities exist and thrive. When lawlessness exists and thrives, destruction is its wages.

What is sin? Sin is anything that goes completely contrary to the law of God. “Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God,” (1 John 3:4). Sin is lawlessness. Lawlessness is iniquity and disobedience. Lawlessness is sin. If God says something is evil, it’s evil. When God says something is evil, we are not to do it. “What sorrow for those who say that evil is good and good is evil, that dark is light and light is dark, that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter. What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes and think themselves so clever,” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

What does sin do? “Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him,” (Numbers 15:31). Sin cuts us off from God, separating us from Him. Sin will have us living in darkness. Sin will have us traveling down the broad road to destruction. It causes us to trample the Word of God and the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross.

What happens when we sin? When we sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit. We need to understand that the Holy Spirit dwelling within us (the very presence of Almighty God) is so holy, that He (the Holy Spirit) cannot tolerate sin in any degree. The Holy Spirit will only reside in a clean temple. “Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body,” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). It is imperative that we understand the spiritual fatality of sin.  Those who practice sin are defiled. If we call evil good and good evil, sorrow awaits us.  If we call light dark and dark light, sorrow awaits us. When we submit and surrender to the culture and world we live in rather than submitting and surrendering to God, sorrow awaits us. Sin only brings death and destruction.

“You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.  Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God,’” (Matthew 15:7-9). GOD REQUIRES OUR HEART. We have the tendency to look at someone’s outer appearance, but God does not look at the outer appearance. The Scriptures states, “But the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart,’” (1 Samuel 16:7). The condition of our heart matters to God. The motives and intentions of one’s heart must be right in the eyes of God. The applause of men is all we will get if that is what we seek. All that matters is that we are seeking the Lord’s approval. If we don’t have God’s approval, nothing else will matter. We must have an undivided, unwavering heart in walking with the Lord. Walking with God and living for God is not for the faint of heart. Are we worshiping God in spirit and in truth? Are we loyal and faithful to God? Do we walk before God with an undivided heart? Are we in right relationship with God? When no one is looking, how are we living?

Previously I stated that we cannot be holy and worldly at the same time. Holiness and worldliness are in direct opposition to each other. If we are a friend of the world, then we make ourselves an enemy of God (James 4:4).  The Word declares, “You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. Do you think the Scriptures have no meaning? They say that God is passionate that the spirit he has placed within us should be faithful to him. And he gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you,” (James 4:4-7). Do you we want to be an enemy of God or a friend of God? To be a friend of God, we cannot be a friend of the world. We cannot be practicing a life of sin. Each of us has one life to live. We either live for God or we do not. How we live is a matter of spiritual life or death. Are we living for the Lord? Do we know where we will spend eternity? There is only one life to live. So, how are we living this one life?

The Psalmist declared, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” To line up our thoughts with God’s thoughts, we need to study the Scriptures. To know how to live a pure and holy life, we need to study the Scriptures. It is within its pages we see the promises of God. Within its pages, we see the nature and character of God unfold before us. Within its pages, we receive encouragement, reproof, instruction, and hope. In the Scriptures, we find comfort. 

When there has been no inward transformation that results in living a life of righteousness and holiness before God, outward displays of sacrificial praise mean absolutely nothing. In other words, we could stand in church shouting “Praise the Lord!  Glory to God!” However, if we are not living pure and upright before the Lord, then our praise and worship is meaningless. God has made it very clear what He requires, “No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God,” (Micah 6:8). There is no break from walking in purity and holiness before God. If there is any sin in our life, we are to confess our sin before the Lord and repent with a contrite heart.  We are to turn from our wicked ways and never go back to those wicked ways. The Lord has told us what He requires. He is not impressed with shows of pomposity, pretense, and hypocrisy. Remember this:  “Truthful words stand the test of time, but lies are soon exposed,” (Proverbs 12:19). 

Linda A. Knowles

A Fearful Thing

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

Hebrews 10:31 KJV

If any verse in the Scriptures makes me shudder, it’s this verse, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” Some translations say, “dreadful thing,” “terrible thing,” “terrifying thing,” and then one translation says, “fearful and terrifying thing.” God is the Almighty, the Omnipotent One (Revelation 1:8, 15:3, 19:6). God does NOT play games (Leviticus 10:2, 1 Chronicles 13:10, Psalm 50:3).

What is so terrifying about falling into the hands of the Living God? Because this verse is speaking of judgment. God is awesome, and He is holy. His righteousness is pure. The Lord warns us of sin and the consequences (Romans 6:23). He warns us what happens when we do not turn from our evil and wicked ways (Luke 13:3, Romans 2:5). By warning us, God is granting us mercy. By giving us a chance to repent, He is demonstrating His longsuffering and patience towards us; the Lord does not want anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Through the Scriptures, we can see He is calling people to repentance (Matthew 4:17, Acts 3:19). When someone sneers arrogantly at the Holy Spirit, when someone mocks or reviles the Holy Spirit and shows complete and utter contempt for the Holy Spirit, they are severing themselves from the Holy Spirit. In other words, they have broken themselves off from the Holy Spirit and they are unable to know the prompting of the Holy Spirit and His leading. It’s the point of no return (Deuteronomy 28:15, Isaiah 63:10). When someone falls into the hand of the Living God, at this point, is where they discover how wrong they are, but it’s too late. Judas is a great example of this. Judas betrayed Christ, and by the time, he realized how wrong he was, it was too late for him (John 13:21-30). Falling into the hands of the Living God will be frightening for the one who has rejected and scorned the Holy Spirit and committed the outright rejection of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:22-32, Hebrews 10:28-29). The true children of the Living God do not need to worry about facing God in judgment. Those who are not living lives that practice sin will be able to stand before God.

“Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God,” (1 John 3:7-10 NLT).

“In this way, love has been perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment; for in this world we are just like him. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love. We love because He first loved us,” (1 John 4:17-19 BSB).

Linda A. Knowles

My Darkness Turned To Light

Posted on by Dr. Linda Agnes Knowles

Those who leave God and His ways have abandoned the very God who created them.  King David spoke of meditating on the law of the Lord, that the commands of God were his delight.  He pondered on the law of God all day long.  We are to be careful to keep from making a practice of any sin, whatever sin it may be which would easily entangle us.  When we keep ourselves pure and holy before God and walking uprightly before God,  and obeying His commands, that is evidence of our love for God.  If we love God, we’ll obey Him.

He turns our darkness into light.

When we are putting our faith in God, we are trusting in Him, and we can stand on the promises of God.  God is faithful, and He proves Himself to be true.  God is who He says He is, and God does what He says He will do.  His words are certain, and when His Word goes out, His Word does not come back void.  His Word goes out and accomplishes the purposes it was sent forth to do.  We can depend on His Word, and we can delight in His Word.  Anyone in direct opposition to God will find that God is contrary to them.

“If even then you remain hostile toward me and refuse to obey me, I will inflict disaster on you seven times over for your sins.  I will send wild animals that will rob you of your children and destroy your livestock. Your numbers will dwindle, and your roads will be deserted. And if you fail to learn the lesson and continue your hostility toward me, then I myself will be hostile toward you. I will personally strike you with calamity seven times over for your sins.  I will send armies against you to carry out the curse of the covenant you have broken. When you run to your towns for safety, I will send a plague to destroy you there, and you will be handed over to your enemies,” (Leviticus 26:21-25NLT).

God opposes those who are proud and haughty, but He gives grace to the humble and those who truly delight in Him and His ways.

PRAYER:  Heavenly Father, You are my Light and my Salvation.  You have turned my darkness to light.  Just as You are a light for me, be the Light for those who are discouraged and fill them with the strength and boldness they need that only comes from You.  I ask that You be my Guide and instruct me in in the way I should go that I might not fall into any trap set by the enemy of my soul.  Grant me the opportunity to be a light for You in this dark world and give me opportunities to serve You.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Linda A. Knowles

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” -Psalm 37:4NLT