Little Sins or Big Sins?

Recently, on my peaceful 238 square mile island, a beautiful 17yr old girl was brutally murdered. She was in the prime of her life, just having received the results of her CXC examinations, the most important thing in the life of an island teen. Life had just begun for her, and just like that, it was cut off.

Several people on the island would like to see the perpetrator hang and many would do it themselves if given the chance. I'm so mad at him, I would probably join the angry mob too. However, lately, I've done some thinking. Murder is definitely a horrible crime and the person who murdered this young girl must definitely come to justice, but what about the rest of us? As Christians, we know that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. Murder may seem bigger, but at the end of the day, the liar will receive the same level of punishment.

All sin makes us sinners, and all sin cuts us off from our holy God. No matter how "big" our sin, we cannot commune with God unless we have been cleansed. So what does that mean for those of us who are not murderers? It means that we are just as guilty. Our sins are not lesser and if we do not repent of them, we will NOT receive eternal life.

We could spend the rest of our lives going to church, but if we don't get rid of the little things that keep popping up in our lives, like the lies, the gossip, the petty stealing (of your bosses time and copy paper), we'll end up in the same place as the horrific murderer. A bit sobering isn't it. The bible reminds us that if we hate our brother we are basically the same as a murderer.

ALL sin leads to death because it disqualifies us from living with God, regardless of how great or small it seems. Don't minimize "little" sins or overrate "big" sins. Your "little white lie" is the same as the act of a rapist or a murderer in God's eyes. All sin separates us from God, but they can ALL be forgiven.

So today, even as I mourn for the tragedy that has befallen this young lady, I'm sobered by the fact that for hating the murderer, I'm no better than him. For stealing the copy paper in the office, I'm no better than him. For lying my way out of an unwanted date, I'm no better than him. We all need redemption, no matter how little the sin appears in our eyes.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. Romans 3:23 (NLT)

Bringing Glory to the Father

A surefire way to bring glory to God is by obeying his commandments. John 15:10 tells us that when we obey God's commandments we remain in his love.

We heard people saying over and over that most Christians don't behave like true Christians. There's also the debate in the Christian community about what is right and what isn't, mostly from a doctrinal standpoint but the bible clearly states what the requirements are for being a true disciple of Christ. The answer is simple, "when you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples."

So what does it mean then to produce fruit. Christ in his time here on earth likened us to branches stemming from a vine (himself). This means that we are part of him. He is the source of our nourishment. He provides us with everything we need to be productive; to produce fruit. Galatians 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. As a child growing up I always thought that these were plural, however in every version of the bible I've ever read the word fruit is singular. That means that every aspect of that fruit MUST be part of our lives. In other words, if something is missing then our fruit bearing is not complete. That's not to say that you have failed as a Christian, but it means that you still have something to strive for and something to work on.

So back to our original scripture. "When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my father. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love." John 15:8,10

Go out today and follow Christ's commands, be productive and produce fruit!

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret 

Stop Worrying

Every once in a while God does a super effective job of reminding me that I don't follow my own advice. Some time ago I wrote a devotional called Worry. The book of Proverbs is very correct when it states that worry weighs a person down. So why am I still worrying?

The answer is simple, I'm a compulsive worrier. Yet, I'm a child of God so why am I worrying? In Phillipians 4:6 we are admonished that we should be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanks-giving present your requests to God. So why are there so many Christians who are compulsive worriers like me.

We believe in a God for whom doing the impossible is like taking out the trash, it's normal and it's routine. He doesn't have to work hard to fix anything, he just does it. What irks us humans, is the fact that he does it in his own time. I know for sure that I'd like my problems solved by the end of the day but God knows the right time to do everything. He doesn't take our problems away just because we worry about them. Neither does he expect us to sit there all day worrying about them either. What He does expect is that we'll turn everything over to him and then be comforted in the fact that the creator of the universe has got our backs.

1 Peter 5:7 says to give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about you. ALL your worries and cares, not some. Sometimes I wonder if worry does not stem out of a lack of trust. We can say we trust God at face value and we may even trust him with a few little things, but I've found that when big things happen I tend to try to fix my problems on my own. Unconsciously, I behave like I don't trust God to handle my big things. Even though I pray and ask for his help, when I leave the foot of the cross, I take my burdens back with me.

Now, I know I'm not the only person who does that! So today, my little bit of encouragement is really just a reminder. STOP WORRYING! You've already prayed about the situation. You've already asked God for his help. He's already promised to sort things out for you, so please stop worrying. Stop losing sleep. Stop fussing, fretting and thinking till your hair falls out. Trust God to sort your situation out and sit back and watch him work.

Yeah, trust me, I know that it's easier said than done, I live it every day. Sometimes you just have to remind yourself. So right about now, we're going to do a practical exercise.

1. Grab a few pieces of paper and a marker. 
2. Pick up your bible and your favorite concordance or topical bible (the internet may be a better tool for this step)
3. Search for every scripture verse you can find related to the word worry. 
4. Highlight every promise God has made to us about taking care of our situations
5. Write them down on your scraps of paper
6. Every night, stick a new scrap of paper up on your mirror with a different scripture verse. That way, every morning whilst you prepare for work, you'll be reminded that God has got it under control! 

Be blessed and stop worrying! 

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret & Finding Romeo 

Fun Friday Giveaway - Growth Lessons

Fun Friday kicks off Weekend Giveaway #4

This weekend one paperback copy of Growth Lessons by Naty Matos is up for grabs.

Growth Lessons is an inspirational devotional with the blueprint for the everyday Christian Living. It's a journey through the scriptures of how to face normal every day situations that we can take for granted and how to submit them to the will of God.

This book is a must read for the new believer to understand the practical concepts of the Christian Lifestyle. It’s also a must read for the seasoned believer to affirm their faith through those details that seem unimportant but matter the most in the journey with God.

To enter, please do one of the following: 

1. Answer the trivia question (25 points)
2. Tweet about the giveaway (10 points)
3. Follow Naty Matos on Twitter (5 points)

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Is it harder for a Christian to find a mate?

It's Discussion Monday! 

We have come to the end of our Finding Romeo discussions. Next week's discussion will be something unrelated to the book. I do hope that you have found these discussions enlightening and they have helped you understand the book a bit better.

Is it harder for a Christian to find a mate?

If you visit any Christian church you will often find many single people in the congregation and most of them will be single women. So why is it then that perfectly good respectable women are sitting in church pews waiting for years before they find a mate? Sometimes they never even get married.

In Finding Romeo, Daynia's best friend Ashley makes the observation that it is harder for a Christian to find a mate. What do you think?

My thinking on the subject is this:

1. Population dynamics makes it that way. In general there are more women on the planet than men but in church the ratio is seriously skewed. Look around, there are hardly any men in the pews!
2. Christians are a lot pickier about who their husbands/wives should be and rightfully so. In order to walk in the will of God for your life, it is important to have the right person by your side. The wrong person can cause you to abort our destiny. These are things that a Christian has running through the backs of their mind constantly. 
3. Not every person we see in church every Sunday is genuine! Part of the issue is that in church there are wolves hiding in sheep's clothing. From the outside a person may look like a good God-fearing man/woman, however, the minute you begin to date them, you realize it's a whole other story. 

So do you agree that it's harder for a Christian to find a mate or do you think that the opposite is the case?

Joana James - Author of From Redemption to Maturity,   Nightmare at Emerald High & Alana and Alyssa's Secret