Tag: Sin

Make No Provision

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But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 13:14 (ESV)

This week I have been meditating and focusing my thoughts on this verse from Romans where Paul sums up his teaching on how love is the fulfillment of the law. I was leading a small group through the larger passage of verses 8-14 and we spent a good amount of time discussing what this verse looks like in our lives as we seek to not only put on Jesus but to make no provision to gratify our fleshly desires. This really is a double requirement in life as it would be difficult to have one and not the other. How can we put on Christ, but continue making provision for sin? How can we stop making provision for sin, if we are not putting on Christ? Paul’s encouragement and challenge is to do both at the same time. For as we put on Christ, we will necessarily want to rid ourselves of those fleshly desires and no longer seek their gratification.

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Deceptive Mind

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Journal Entry // May 31, 2021

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

Proverbs 28:26 ESV

This statement in Proverbs cut me deeply this morning. There have been several good passages this past week that pricked my heart, but I was not faithful in my reflections and meditating so they did not get captured. There is this tendency in my heart to trust my mind. I find it rather easy to contemplate and think deeply about my desires and I am learning that my mind is both deceptive and easily deceived.

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Concealed in the Heart

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Journal Entry // January 2, 2022

if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart, (ESV)

Job 31:33

What do we do with our sins and transgressions against God’s holiness when we try to conceal them? Are we ever really truly able to conceal them? Job states that people try to conceal their sins by hiding them in their hearts. I don’t think I have ever truly thought about what happens when I am hiding, concealing, and covering up my sins. I haven’t put a lot of thought into the possibility that in an effort to hide my sins (both from God and from others), I am storing them in my heart. Where else would I be hiding them though? By storing all my “hidden” sins in my heart I have created a breeding ground for future sin and transgression. The Bible’s solution to this propensity is confession. Confession of my sin to both God and others. Confession of the hold that sin has on my heart and mind is the pathway back to freedom in Christ. The promise of Christ is to cleanse my heart of this “hidden” filthiness and restore the fellowship of the Spirit within me.

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Come Out of Babylon

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Journal Entry // December 28, 2022

Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; (ESV)

Revelation 18:4

Am I living in Babylon? The description of a great city that is driven by power and focused on pleasure sure sounds a lot like these modern times. The illustration and indictment of the Lord against Babylon as the sins of the city are listed to be judged can easily be seen in our culture and times. So the answer to the question of whether I am living in Babylon is a definitive, yes. With this being true, I need to be mindful of the call to come out of this culture. The call to come out is important because it is a warning message that the corrupting influence of this power-driven and pleasure-seeking culture will ensnare everyone it touches if we are not mindful and watching. The warning from the Lord is to come out of Babylon completely. To leave and not get caught up in their sins of lusting after power and pleasure. The call is to be holy, separate from, just as Christ is holy.

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Refusing to Repent

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Journal Entry // December 26, 2022

They were scorched by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God who had power over these plagues. They did not repent and give him glory. (ESV)

Revelation 16:9

In my reading through Revelation, I have now reached a point where the bowls of God’s wrath are being poured out in judgment upon the earth. It is a frightful and terrible thing to read through these seven bowls of wrath and consider the full weight of God’s holy and righteous judgment upon this world. The different sections of this destruction are increasing in the amount of destruction they bring. First, there were the seals, then there were the trumpets, and now there are the bowls. Whereas the seals and the trumpets were limited in the scope of how they inflicted the people, a quarter and a third respectively, these bowls will reveal the wrath of God being poured out upon all things. And the people who are being afflicted with these bowls of God’s wrath are responding in their full depraved nature. When the full wrath of God is revealed upon the earth, there is an expectation and a hope that the hearts and minds of the people bearing witness through the infliction of these plagues will turn from their evil ways. There is an expectation that God’s righteous wrath will cause the people to repent and bring glory to God alone. What we see instead is that the people double down on their hatred of God and they curse his name.

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Week 52, 2022

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Week Fifty-two of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

“Heaven is a goal, and unless you run you shall never obtain it. Heaven is a crown of life, but unless you are faithful to death, you shall never wear it.”
Christopher Love, The Christian’s Duty and Safety in Evil Times

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Week 51, 2022

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Week Fifty-one of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ is ascended to heaven beforehand to prepare a place for the elect there.”
Christopher Love, Christ’s Ascension

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Week 50, 2022

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Week Fifty of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

“If I would not trust a man for a few pennies, would I trust him because he had dollars? If I cannot be content to trust God for the material provisions and things of this life, do I truly trust him for life everlasting?”
Paul Bayne – The Armor of God

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Week 49, 2022

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Week Forty-nine of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ is ascended to heaven beforehand to prepare a place for the elect there.”
– Christopher Love, Christ’s Ascension

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Week 48, 2022

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Week Forty-eight of Cultivate Delight, where we are actively planning our spiritual endeavors this coming week with the goal of a consistent time spent engaging our hearts with Christ in his word, in prayer, in reflection, and in music. Below are some starting points for reflection, and I hope you find them helpful. The goal is to not just rush through these and then get on with your day. Take your time and reflect throughout the week on these items.

Wherever the Word of God is purely preached, there a church of God exists, even if it swarms with many faults. – John Calvin

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