Job 35:6-8 If you sin, how does that affect him [God]?    If your sins are many, what does that do to him [God] ? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him [God] ,    or what does he [God] receive from your hand? 8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself,    and your righteousness only other people. Have you thought about how your sin affects God?  On some level, I know that God doesn't like it when I sin. It is abhorrent, a slap-in-the-face to God. I hadn't thought about it to understand that the reason God doesn't want me to sin is for me and other people, not for God.  God doesn't need me.  God's plan will be made complete with or without me because God has no needs, certainly none that people can meet.  But God cares about me and about you. That's why he doesn't want me to sin. God knows the ramification of my sin. He knows how I will feel when I sin. The shame. The embarrassment. The physical...

Genesis 4:7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” God's words to Cain. This is after Cain and Abel each presented offerings to God. God was very pleased with Abel's offering and less so with Cain's. God tells Cain," If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”   God says this before Cain killed his brother, Abel. God was talking about the offering but perhaps also about what God knew was coming. God told Cain to do what is right, that sin is crouching at your door, that sin wants him and that Cain must rule over sin. God is warning Cain to beware. To be aware of anger and his jealousy and his penchant for giving enough, but never his best.  God warns Cain, then Cain kills Abel. How often do we do the exact s...

Colossians 3:5 put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature.... The rest of the passage lists some of the "earthly nature" that the people from the church in Colosse were dealing with: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Of course the earthly nature is our sinful nature. We can blame it on Adam and Eve but we are no better. If they hadn't fallen, we would have. The "earthly nature" mentioned by Paul is not exactly the earthly nature I need to put to death. I do have an "earthly nature". Pride. Disobedience. Laziness. Distrust. Gluttony. I am not always righteous, upright, and God-centered as I should be. Actually, I may not even be God-centered most of the time. A God-centered nature would crowd out the earthly natures in me. I wouldn't feel lost, broken, dissatisfied if I were able to focus more on what God wants and less on what I think I want. A person could tell immediately how I differ fr...

Psalm 19:12b - 13a : (NIV) "Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." I need this passage. Forgive my hidden faults. Also keep me from willful sins. We (I) get so caught up in what's going on ar ound us that we rarely see out part in the goings-on.  We rarely see how our reaction to it impacts the event.  I rarely evaluate my participation to see what I could have done better, or even worse, what I did absolutely wrong.  I rarely see my faults, as if they are hidden from me.  I refuse to openly acknowledge them, pretending they don't exist.  I even try to make them out to be less than what they really are i.e. everyone else does it, or I'm not like that other person. There are some faults/sins that I am oblivious to.  I need other Christians to point them out to me.  I need to have my eyes opened so that I can change the behavior.  Then I need to stop willfully doing the activity as well...