The Weight of Sin

1 Corinthians 10:13 -- No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

I don't think the majority of us realise just how much Satan wants us to fail! He does not want us to be happy, to worship God, to love our husbands, to be honest. Every minute of the day Satan is looking for ways to destroy our faith.

God tells us exactly how to live our lives in the Bible... it is our manual for life.

I think we need a reminder of the 10 commandments taken from Exodus 20:1-17

• You shall have no other gods before me.


• You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.


• You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.


• Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.


• Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.


• You shall not murder.


• You shall not commit adultery.


• You shall not steal.


• You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.


• You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.

WELL I CERTAINLY DON'T DO ANY OF THAT!!!!! Is that what you are thinking? Are you SURE?

Here are some great questions to ask yourself (taken from Nancy Leigh DeMoss, http://www.reviveourhearts.com/)

• Is your thought life pure?


• Do you find yourself imagining what it would be like to do certain things with certain people?


• Are you careful in relationships with the opposite sex?


• Do you guard your eyes from anything that might tempt you morally?


• Do you secretly wonder what it would be like to have another man’s wife? Or another woman’s husband?


• When you watch or read things—are they pure and lovely? Do you have any secret or private habits that aren’t pure?

"Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one" - Matthew 5:37

God isn't saying MAYBE

God isn't saying "Don't Steal... but taking a few extras minutes for your lunch break doesn't count... or keeping the money you found on the floor... or getting a freebie from the grocery store because the clerk didn't scan it... that's not what I mean!"

He isn't saying "Don't bear false witness against your neighbour... but it's ok to talk about them behind their back! It's ok to make judgments against them... that's doesn't count!!"

Of course he'd not saying "Don't take my name in vain... and of course its ok to deny me when you feel embarrassed! It's ok to use my name as a curse.. that's just the language these days! Everyone is doing it!!"

Have you ever thought of why people use His name in vain? Why don't they say.. Satan! or Hitler! Why would you curse such an amazing, holy, beautiful thing? It just doesn't make sense unless it was Satan's idea.

Please read this chapter.... as I cannot describe everything that I want to say, but God can.

Hebrews 12

God Disciplines His Sons

1Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

4In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."[a]

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Warning Against Refusing God

14Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. 16See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. 17Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears.

18You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20because they could not bear what was commanded: "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned."[c] 21The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear."[d]

22But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, 24to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

25See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."[f]

God please help me to live a pure and holy life. Help me to see Your commandments for what they are.. not just suggestions. Help me to remember that You are real in everything I do. Help me with my temptations so that when You return I do not have to hide from You in shame, but can stand and worship You and receive Your love fully.

Forgetting to Acknowledge Satan

Today's Daily Success email was about Satan's presence. Today's post is mostly taken from the IBLP email:

The babies were crying, the dogs were howling, and the women were talking when missionary Otto Koning arrived to preach the Gospel to a gathering of natives in Papua New Guinea. He realized that he had forgotten to bind Satan, and told the chief to keep the group assembled while he went outside for a few minutes.

He went to the edge of the jungle and told Satan that he must leave, quoting several Bible verses that applied to the situation he was facing. As Otto exercised his kingdom authority, based on his position in Christ, he heard the noise die down.

What made the difference? Satan was disabled through kingdom authority. Many times Otto found that when he exercised kingdom authority, natives who had previously been unresponsive to the Gospel would tell him “We can hear you now” and would “take the hand of Jesus” in response to the message of salvation (1. This account is given by Otto Koning in The Snake Story video)

"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" II Corinthians 4:4

If Satan is not opposed, he will be free to accomplish his deadly agenda. He will blind the spiritual eyes of unbelievers so they cannot see the glorious light of the Gospel of Christ.

"He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn—and I would heal them." John 12: 40

Satan will harden the hearts of unbelievers and believers. He will appear as an angel of light to deceive, if possible, the very elect of God "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" 2 Corinthians 11:14

He will do whatever he can to destroy believers or diminish their effectiveness and thereby hinder the work of God. We must realize that we are in mortal combat with a relentless but conquered foe, and we must learn how to resist him using kingdom authority so that he will flee from us! "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" James 4:7

On this basis, let’s counsel and support each other to seek first God’s kingdom and to walk in a manner worthy of God, Who calls us into His own kingdom and glory. "encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory" 1 Thessalonians 2: 12

Are we forgetting that Satan is real? That he is constantly working against us? What would happen if before you began your day, your bible meeting, your Sunday morning service, you prayed that God would protect you, and you commanded Satan to leave your presence through the power of Christ? Let's not forget to do this, any longer. If Satan is blinding non-believers, then we need to pick up our sword and fight!