So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed him with her flattery. He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life.
Proverbs 7: 21-23 (NLT)
Happy New Year!
A new year provides an opportunity for us to start afresh and, it’s a time when we take stock of the lessons we learned from last year and think about what we would like to achieve in the year ahead.
Just as God has good plans for our lives, we can be certain that the enemy of our souls also has bad plans for us. These plans will come in the form of temptations and sinful traps, which can be deadly, as we can see in the scripture above. Since we are not ignorant of Satan’ devises, how can we avoid the sin that would try to seduce us this year?
Listen to the Words of God
Firstly, we must be good listeners of God’s Word, and not listeners only, but doers of His Word. When we do this, we will avoid falling into the traps of sin:
So listen to me, my sons,and pay attention to my words.
Proverbs 7:24 (NLT)
Don’t let your heart follow in sin
Sin begins in the heart as a thought before it is actually committed therefore, we are encouraged not to let our heart stray towards sin.
Remember Jesus said that if a man looks at a woman in the wrong way, he has already sinned in his heart. Therefore, we must guard our heart from anything that will lead us towards the path of sin. The way we do that is to capture the thought as soon as it comes and make it bow down to the obedience of Christ:
Don’t let your hearts stray away toward her.
Don’t wander down her wayward path.
Proverbs 7:25 (NLT)
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
Simply say no to sin
When we feel so tempted to sin, we must simply say no, and declare we are in the righteousness of God through Christ Jesus and thereby take authority over the sin, so that it does not control us. God told Cain that sin was eager to control him, but he must overcome it and be its master, and you and I can do the same thing:
You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”
Genesis 4:7 (NLT)
Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me to listen to Your Words and live a life of righteousness in 2018 in Jesus΄ name.
But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up?
A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.
Proverbs 6:9-11 (NLT)
As believers in Jesus Christ, it is important that we overcome laziness and the temptation to slumber because of the following reasons:
It brings poverty
The passage above tells us that the first effect of laziness is poverty. You see, laziness is so bad that it will cause a lazy man to catch a game, but he will be too lazy to even eat it. Laziness therefore leads to poverty and lack:
Lazy people take food in their hand but don’t even lift it to their mouth.
Proverbs 26:15
It could lead to sin
Laziness could lead to falling into the trap of sin. There was a time that David was supposed to go out to the war front, because it was the season for kings to go to war. However he decided to stay at home and as a result, he saw what his eyes should not have seen, and this led to adultery, murder and the death of an innocent baby.
In the spring of the year, when kings normally go out to war, David sent Joab and the Israelite army to fight the Ammonites. They destroyed the Ammonite army and laid siege to the city of Rabbah. However, David stayed behind in Jerusalem.
Late one afternoon, after his midday rest, David got out of bed and was walking on the roof of the palace. As he looked out over the city, he noticed a woman of unusual beauty taking a bath.
2 Samuel 11:1-2 (NLT)
It could stop you from fulfilling your purpose
Laziness will certainly stop you from fulfilling your God-given purpose and assignment, because when God tells you to do something, you will be too lazy to work. You will notice that most of the men and women God called, were in the middle of doing something. David was out tending his father’s sheep, Elisha was farming, Peter, James and John were out fishing when Jesus called them.
God cannot entrust you with much if you have a lazy attitude to life, therefore please rise up from slumber and let’s work for God while it is day, because the night is coming when no man can work:
I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work
John 9:4 (KJV)
Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me to work for you while it is day because the night is coming when no man can work.
An evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him.
Proverbs 5:22
We are told that an evil man is held captive by his own sins, his sins are ropes that catch and hold him. Sometimes, we think it is Satan or his evil spirits that are holding us captive; but this scripture tells us that it is our own sins that are like ropes that catch and hold us. So the question is, how can we avoid sin since it leads to bondage?
Surrender our lives to Jesus
You see, human beings are born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5). The only way we can overcome evil in this life is to accept the free gift of salvation by surrendering our lives to Jesus, because He is the only One Who can save us from our sins:
And she will have a son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 (NLT)
Be transformed in our thinking
Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Saviour and we become born again, we should no longer conform to this world, but we must be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We renew our mind and develop a new way of thinking by reading and meditating on the Word of God:
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Cultivate the fruit of the Spirit
Once we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and begin to read His Word on a daily basis to transform our mind, we will then begin to develop the fruit of the Holy Spirit. As we rely on the Holy Spirit to help us on our journey, He begins to transform our thinking so that we are convicted anytime we get a temptation to do the evil things we used to do. He produces in us the desire to do good instead:
But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Galatians 5:22-23
Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me to overcome every sin in my life so that it will not become a snare unto me in Jesus’ name, amen.
Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech
Proverbs 4:24 (NLT)
We are told that we should avoid all perverse talk and stay away from every corrupt speech. Why is it important to guard what comes out of our mouth?
1, It keeps you out of trouble
The first reason we should guard our mouth is that it keeps us out of trouble. For example, many people have pronounced curses on themselves and on their loved ones without even knowing it. Think of the example of Jacob who pronounced death on his beloved wife Rachel without even realizing it (Genesis 31:32). We must therefore make every effort to guard what comes out of our mouth:
Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble.
Proverbs 21:23 (NLT)
2, Death and life is in the power of the tongue
We should guard what comes out of our mouth because death and life is in the power of the tongue. We can release death or life over every situation depending on what we say. That is how powerful the tongue really is therefore let’s be mindful to say things that will only release life and not death:
The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences
Proverbs 18:21 (NLT)
3, It helps us to avoid sin
When we guard what we say with our tongue, it helps us to avoid the sin of lying, gossiping, slander and every kind of evil. This is why we must, like David, watch what we do and not sin with what we say:
I said to myself, “I will watch what I do and not sin in what I say. I will hold my tongue when the ungodly are around me.”
Psalm 39:1 (NLT)
Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me to avoid perverse talk and stay away from corrupt speech in Jesus name, amen.
Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life
Proverbs 4:23
Guarding your heart is of paramount importance because it determines the course of your life. How do you guard your heart?
1, Keep your heart free from sin
We must recognize that the human heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9) and is inclined to sin, therefore to have a heart free from sin we must ask the Lord to create in us a clean heart and renew a right spirit in us:
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 (KJV)
2, Keep your heart free from envy
To protect our heart, we must keep it free from envy and jealousy because these are emotions that destroys the heart like cancer:
A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.
Proverbs 14:30 (NLT)
3, Keep the heart free from unforgiveness
To protect our heart we must keep it free from unforgiveness and be quick to forgive others so that our heavenly Father will also forgive us:
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Matthew 6:14 (NLT)
4, Keep it free from pride
To protect our heart we must keep it free from pride and remain humble no matter how high God lifts us up:
Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.
Proverbs 16:5
Prayer
Dear Lord, please help me to protect my heart and keep it free from sin, jealousy, unforgiveness and pride in Jesus name, amen.
For the perverse person is an abomination to the Lord,
But His secret counsel is with the upright.
Proverbs 3:32
Some people think that God is mysterious and they cannot really know Him, however the scripture above tells us that God does share His secret counsel with certain groups of people. For example, God made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the people of Israel (Psalm 103:7). So if you wish to know the secrets of the Lord, this is what you must do:
1, Be upright before God
To know the secrets of the Lord we must be upright before Him. To be upright is to have a right relationship with God and to live a right life before Him. We can have a right relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ:
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT)
2, Fear God
To know the secrets of God we must fear and reverence Him because of Who He is and how awesome He is:
The secret of the LORD is with them that fear him; and He will shew them His covenant.
Psalm 25:14 (KJV)
3, Call on the Lord
To know the secrets of the Lord, we can call on the Lord and He promises to answer us:
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’
Jeremiah 33:3
Prayer
Dear Lord, I am calling on You to show me great and mighty things which I do not know in Jesus name.
Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.
Joshua 22:20
When Achan sinned by taking of the accursed things, he probably thought that he was doing no harm to anybody, but in fact he was wrong. His sins affected the whole of the Children of Israel. They lost the battle in Ai and 36 men died as a result. This story teaches us important lessons about our own lives:
Sin affects not only us but our children
Even though it was Achan alone who sinned, his wife and children and all that he had including even his animals were destroyed. We likewise need to be mindful that the way we live our lives affects not only us but our children and grandchildren after us:
The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.
Numbers 14:18 (ESV)
Sin affects our community
Achan’s sin di not only affect him and his family but it affected the whole community. Likewise the way we live our lives affects our community, including our neighbourhoods, congregations, schools, work places, etc. The Bible tells us that whatever is done in private will be revealed in public and this also applies to sin. Even though it may be committed in private it still has wider consequences:
For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all.
Luke 8:17 (NLT)
Sin affects our nations
Achan’s sins affected the whole nation of Israel, however there is also hope because God assures us that if we will humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked ways, He will forgive our sins and heal our lands:
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
2 Chronicles 7:14 (KJV)
Prayer
Dear Lord, I know that You are a loving God and slow to anger, however please help me not to take Your love for granted but to live my life in such a way that I will leave a Godly inheritance for my children in Jesus name, amen.
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Then you shall rise from the ambush and seize the city, for the Lord your God will deliver it into your hand.
Joshua 8:7 (ERV)
It was only after Joshua, the leader, dealt with sin in the camp, that God told him not to be afraid, but to take all of the people of war with him and go up to Ai because He had already given into his hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.
In today’s Scripture, Joshua was giving the men of war the battle strategy that God had given him. The strategy was quite simple; some men were to hide behind the city, then Joshua and his men will approach the city and then Joshua and his men would run away as they were being chased by the men of Ai. Once they had come away from the city, the men who were hiding behind were to rise from the ambush and capture the city. Joshua assured them they will have the victory because the Lord has already delivered the city into their hand.
This story teaches us several important lessons about how sin affects our lives:
Sin separates us from God and gives the enemy the upper hand over believers
Isaiah declares that it is our sins that have separated us from God and our sins has hidden God’s face from us so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2).
Sin also gives the enemy, who is Satan, an upper hand over believers. We can see through the story of Joshua, the High Priest, that Satan was able to stand at his right hand to resists him because he was clothed with filthy garment which represents sin (Zechariah 3:1-5).
Sin also causes sickness and brings grief into the life of the believer. When Jesus was on earth, often times before healing people He would first forgive their sins, and after healing them, He would tell them to go and sin no more, so that a worse thing will not come on them (Matthew 9:2-5, Mark 2:5, Luke 5:20-24, John 5:14, John 8:11).
Once sin is removed from our lives, God will give us the victory
There is only one consequence of sin, which is death:
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:23
Under Joshua’s leadership, Achan and his whole family had to pay for the consequence of their sin, which was death. Joshua could not bear their sins for them.
Thank God for Jesus that He came to earth to deal with the problem of sin. He came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29).
Under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the sinner can come to Jesus, repent of our sins and have all of our sins washed in His own blood so that we can be made righteous before God. Jesus came to destroy the works of the enemy so that Satan can no longer have the upper hand over us:
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Prayer
Dear Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus and by the Blood of Jesus. Please help me to overcome every secret sin in my life through the power of Your Holy Spirit so that I can have the victory through Jesus Christ my Lord.
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Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid; don’t give up. Lead all your fighting men to Ai. I will help you defeat the king of Ai. I am giving you his people, his city, and his land. You will do to Ai and its king the same thing you did to Jericho and its king. Only this time you can take all the wealth and animals and keep it for yourselves. You will share the wealth with your people. Now, tell some of your soldiers to hide behind the city.”
Joshua 8:1-2 (ERV)
Last week, we learnt that when Achan brought the accursed things from Jericho, it brought a curse into the camp therefore the Children of Israel could not stand up against their enemies because God did not go out to battle with them.
In today’s Scripture, God was instructing Joshua on how to defeat Ai however, His commands this time was different. God told Joshua that this time when they defeat Ai, he was to share the wealth with the people. You will recall that for Jericho God wanted them to give Him everything which is why He instructed them not to keep anything for themselves.
You see, Jericho was the first city that they conquered and God had already instructed the Children of Israel that the first of everything, including their children belongs to Him (Exodus 13:12 / Leviticus 23:9-14). The Bible tells us that we should honour God with the firstfruits, or the best, of all our increase:
Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase; so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.
(Proverbs 3:9-10).
God Himself gave us His very best in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, who became our firstfruits offering when He died and was the first to be raised from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:23).
This story from Joshua shows that God wants us to give Him the very best of everything.
How can we honour God with our firstfruits offering?
We can give God the very best in the following areas:
Grateful heart
We can honour God by having a grateful heart and giving Him thanks for all that He has done for us:
Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20)
Time
Time is a precious commodity that we cannot get back once it is lost. We can give God the best part of our time by spending time in His presence. Jesus says He is standing at the door of our heart and is knocking. If we will hear His voice and open the door, He will come in and dine with us (Revelation 3:20). We are also told that those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength (Isaiah 40:31).
3. Prayer
Prayer is basically talking to God and Him talking back to you. It is so powerful that it is described as an incense that goes up to the Throne room of God in Heaven (Psalm 141:2 / Revelation 8:4). We are told to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Throughout history, men and woman who have been used by God powerfully all understood the power of prayer. Martin Luther, the German theologian whose writings inspired the Protestant Reformation, is quoted as saying:
“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” – Martin Luther
Possessions
We can honour God by giving Him the best of our substance, whatever that may be, whether it is money, cars, houses, clothes, grain harvest etc. What matters is that we give it willingly with a grateful heart:
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver
(2 Corinthians 9:7)
One way we can give to God is to give to the poor because we are told that when we give to the poor we are lending to God (Proverbs 19:17).
Talent
In the parable of the talent, we learn that the servant who was given five talents and doubled it was given the talent of the servant who was only given the one talent who because of fear buried his talent (Matthew 25:14-30). This story shows that it honours God when we use and develop all the talents and gifts that He has given us.
Prayer
Dear Father, today I surrender my life to You. I choose to honour You with the best of everything I have. I thank You for the talents and gifts and potential that You have placed inside of me. Dear Lord, please give me wisdom to discover and to use them for Your glory in Jesus name, amen.
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In the previous blog, we saw that only those whose names have been written in the Lamb’s Book of Life shall enter the promised land which is the New Jerusalem. Today we are going to look at those who the Bible says cannot enter into the promised land:
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death
Revelation 21:8 (KJV)
And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Revelation 21:27
So, who cannot enter into the New Jerusalem?
The fearful
This refers to Christians who do not have faith in following Jesus. They are timid and fainthearted (cowardly) and fall short in following Christ as Lord. Being a follower of Christ requires courage and anyone who is cowardly will easily give up in the face of persecution however we know that:
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7
Unbelieving
These are those without faith and trust in God. The unbelieving refers to those who refuse to believe in the resurrection of Jesus, (John 20:27); or those who refuse belief in the gospel, (2 Corinthians 4:4; 2 Corinthians 6:14), or Christians themselves who depart from the true faith, (2 Timothy 2:18), or those without trust in God:
Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”
Matthew 17:17
Abominable
Abomination or abominable is something that is detestable, unlawful or repulsive to God. There are many things that are abominable to God:
These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: A proud look, A lying tongue, Hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that devises wicked plans,Feet that are swift in running to evil, A false witness who speaks lies, And one who sows discord among brethren
Proverbs 6:16-19
From this list, we can see that the things God detests are very close to us. How many times have we had a proud look or sowed discord and disunity among our brethren?
Click here for a full list of what the Bible says about abomination.
Murderers
A Murderer is not just one who kill someone physically. The Bible says that if you hate your brother you are also a murderer:
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him
1 John 3:15
Whoremongers
A whoremonger is a male prostitute or a fornicator, i.e. anyone engaging in sexual immorality. The Bible tells us to flee from sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18):
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers,nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NKJV)
Sorcerers
Sorcery is the use of drugs, magic, spells and witchcraft:
There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you.
Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (NKJV)
Idolaters
An idolater is a worshipper of false gods. It can be even a Christian who participates in the worship of another god (1 Corinthians 5:11; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 10:7). We know that anything we place before God is an idol. A covetous man who is greedy of gain is also an idolater:
For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God:
Ephesians 5:5
All liars
Anyone who believes and says things that are false, deceitful, untrue, wicked are all classified as liars. We also saw earlier that lying is an abomination to God:
You shall destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man
Psalm 5:6
He that Defileth
Sin is spiritual filth and committing sin is smearing a person’s garments with spiritual filth. When Joshua the High Priest stood before the Angel, Satan stood at his right hand to oppose him because Joshua was clothed with filthy garments which represents iniquity (Zechariah 3:3). God had to command His Angels to take the filthy garments from him and God removed his iniquity and clothed him with rich robes (Zechariah 3:4). As Christians we are told to keep ourselves pure from the defilement of sin:
You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.
Revelation 3:4
So, who cannot enter into the New Jerusalem?
The fearful
Unbelieving
Abominable
Murderers
Whoremongers
Sorcerers
Idolaters
All liars
He that Defileth
Prayer:
Dear Lord, please help me not to do the things that will prevent me from inheriting the Kingdom of God. Please give me courage and faith to serve You. Help me to stay away from things that You detest, and not to hate my brother which is murder in Your eyes. Please help me to avoid sexual immorality and all forms of sorcery. Help me to not place anything before You and to avoid the temptation to lie. Please help me not to defile my conscience or garments with sin but to live in love and purity. All this I ask in Jesus name, amen.
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