Honesty

The young people learned in the preaching time last night that there are 5 sins they/we should avoid: Lying, Anger, Stealing, Saying bad words and Bitterness. I was hoping to really highlight the preaching time this week, however, I wasn't in the service last night because I was in the hospital with Silas (more on that later). So instead I'm going to highlight the devotions.

We are using a portion of devotions that Pastor Jim Ogle, youth pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, has graciously sent to us. Brother Jim's devotions were a blessing to us when we served with him in the youth ministry. If you would like to view a PDF format of his devotions please visit EBC - Proverbs devotions.

Devotions are a very important part of our Christian life. It is the time where we open up God's Word for Him to speak to our hearts, for Him to reveal sin, for Him to encourage us, for us to grow more Christ like, and among many other things, for us to learn to walk with the Lord. It is also our time to talk with the Lord in prayer. It is our time to be fed spiritually.

The affects of starvation are obvious. One needs only to look at Holocaust or POW photos to realize the truth of that. Just as obvious are the affects of spiritual starvation. Personally, I know when I have not spect enough time with the Lord. My attitude begins to change from thinking on the positive to the negative. My speech begins to change to saying kind words to speaking harshly. I become easliy discouraged. I am negative.

Our desire is to teach the young people here to feast on God's Word. To learn about God and learn about Jesus Christ. They will be the future of the church here in Uruguay. We pray they will be a strong foundation built upon the Word of God.

Honesty was the theme for devotions this week. The weekly verse was Ephesians 4:25 and these aspects of honesty - Our spiritual life is affected by honesty, the way we speak needs to be honest, we need to be honest in everything, God is honest, the Word of God is honest, and we need to be honest in our relationships.

Most of us would say that honesty is important. We want our children to tell us the truth. At times we ask our friends, spouses and parents for their honest opinions. "Well, to be honest." "Honestly..." and "Truthfully..." are all phrases we use. Just as honesty reflects the Holiness of Jesus Christ, lying (even little white lies) reflects the sinfulness and pride of our hearts. God tells us that lying lips are an abomination to Him.

Why is it that God so dislikes lying? For one reason dishonesty is rooted in the father of lies, Satan. Satan, who lied to Eve by using a version of the truth, placed a seed of doubt in her mind. That little bit of doubt, from that one lie, forever changed the world. In the moment that Satan's lies took root in Eve's mind she began to question the character of God. The truthfulness of the One Who is Holy and Just. And in that dreadful moment when she reached out and took the fruit off the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, when she then chose to eat that fruit, and Adam with her the world was plunged into darkness. It was for that moment that all mankind was separated from God. It was for than one moment that sin was passed down through man, leaving all men with the need of a Savior. For one "little" lie!!! It was for that moment that Christ came to earth and died on Calvary's cross. It was for that moment that Jesus was raised up from the dead to conquer sin and death. (Genesis 3; Romans 3:10, 3:23, 5:8, 5:12, 6:23, 10:9-10)

Some thoughts from my devotions

As I read through my Bible I'm struck once again by the frustration the Israelites must have been to God. In just a handful of chapters in the book of Numbers, God's chosen people are chastened many times - they're swallowed up by the earth, they have a plague, they are kept from the promised land, among other things. All for their sins. They murmered, they complained, they expected things from God that they had no right to expect. God had brought them out from Egypt in a miraculous way. He had made sure they had water and food. They saw Him in the pillar of cloud and fire as He led them through the wilderness. Over and over Moses interceded on their behalf and God stayed His wrath against the entire nation. They even watched as those who had sinned aainst God were chastened or destroyed, and witnessed HIs mercy towards them, yet they still grumbled and complained.

Why? What in the world were they thinking? Well, I don't know everything that went on in their minds but I do know what happens in my own. When I begin to grumble and complain it is because I believe God owes me something. That belief leads me to a place of discontent, which makes me miserable. And when I'm miserable it must be God's fault, right? Wrong! That is what Satan would have us believe. The enemy wants for us to think God is not good. If we believe that, then we can't trust God, and we can't follow Him. We begin to question everything He does and doesn't do. We begin to expect things from God instead of being thankful for all He has already given.

Moving to a foreign country has added to this dimension for me. It would be easy to get caught up in all the things we left behind. There are those nights when a McDonalds run would be great. There are those moments after searching through several stores for an "important" ingredient, that it is tempting to feel sorry for myself. What I need to do instead is change my focus, off my circumstances and onto Who God is. If I just take a moment and look back at all God has done for me, for us, and praise Him for those things I become overwhelmed with gratefulness. I see that I don't deserve a fraction of what I have as a result of God's loving kindness and His mercy. It all comes down to who we are going to believe (God or the Devil) and that belief is reflected in our attitude.