Being Cast Into Hell With Perfect Health…

God hates sin. He hates it so much that He warns us throughout scripture. Here’s a passage that spells it out for us. Any one who acts out sinful behavior has the option of repentance. That’s all of us. Those that promote sinful behavior, especially to children, will be held to a higher standard. Those that promote sinful behavior, as Jesus states, “would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.” False teachers, politicians who promote abortion, allow cross-dressing men to read stories to little children in public places, boys to dress in girls locker rooms, etc... are better off drowned. These are not the only examples, just current ones in our society today that help illustrate the point. Jesus goes on to tell us that it would be better to lose an eye or hand than to believe sinning is okay. We’d enter Heaven maimed, but still enter, versus being cast into Hell with perfect health. These are strong words. It must tell us how much God hates sin. Sin ruins lives, and those that promote immoral behavior will pay the ultimate price if they do not repent of their spiritual blindness. Another reason why our example, our love, our connection with God is of utmost importance. It’s why we fight for the orphans and oppressed, and why we stand to defend truth. The wages of sin is death, not just one death, but two. Knowing this should help open our eyes to what matters most.

1 About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?”2 Jesus called a little child to Him and put the child among them. 3 Then He said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.5 “And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on My behalf is welcoming Me.6 But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in Me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea.7 “What sorrow awaits the world, because it tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting.8 So if your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand or one foot than to be thrown into eternal fire with both of your hands and feet.9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.10 “Beware that you don’t look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels are always in the presence of My heavenly Father. Matthew 18:1-10

A Loving Soul Trying To Help A Hurting One…

Even though this passage is referring to an immoral woman, it applies to anyone who practices or promotes immorality. Immoral behavior blinds a person to the truth. It leads them down a path of destruction. They can’t see past themselves and thus don’t care about the end result because they don’t see it. Believers know the outcome of immoral behavior. They see the path that leads to doom. It’s why believers warn others and fight for their deliverance. It’s just sad that the world sees our rescue attempt, our warning, to be a threat to their pride, instead of a loving soul trying to help a hurting one. Immorality blinds us to the truth. Continuing down immoral path not only hurts the person practicing it, but also those that love them deeply.

1 My son, pay attention to my wisdom;listen carefully to my wise counsel.2 Then you will show discernment,and your lips will express what you’ve learned.3 For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey,and her mouth is smoother than oil.4 But in the end she is as bitter as poison,as dangerous as a double-edged sword.5 Her feet go down to death;her steps lead straight to the grave.6 For she cares nothing about the path to life.She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. Proverbs 5:1-6

Positive-Thinking…..

How is real, genuine faith different from positive-thinking? The object of our faith, no matter it’s size, is God. And the object of our confidence is God as well. The Source and Object of our faith is always God. When we lose sight of this, we lose sight of God’s will, and thus we lose connection with Him. Once that happens, we get confused where our confidence goes, and start putting it back into ourselves. If we do not ask God to reveal His will to us, our faith loses its effectiveness. Miracles don’t happen without God. The perfect example of this is here in today’s passage. The disciples lost the power to heal because they lost sight of Who it was actually doing the healing. Faith and confidence always start and end with God. Anything else is just positive-thinking.

14 At the foot of the mountain, a large crowd was waiting for them. A man came and knelt before Jesus and said, 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has seizures and suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 So I brought him to Your disciples, but they couldn’t heal him.”17 Jesus said, “You faithless and corrupt people! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.” 18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon in the boy, and it left him. From that moment the boy was well.19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.21 ” Matthew 17:14-21

When We Keep Our Promises…

One behavior that God always honors is when we keep our promises, even if they hurt us. Integrity has no holiday.

1 Who may worship in Your sanctuary, Lord?Who may enter Your presence on Your holy hill?2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,speaking the truth from sincere hearts.3 Those who refuse to gossipor harm their neighborsor speak evil of their friends.4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,and honor the faithful followers of the Lord,and keep their promises even when it hurts.5 Those who lend money without charging interest,and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.Such people will stand firm forever. Psalms 15:1-5

The First Adoption…

The first adoption referenced in the Bible was Moses. His mother placed him in a basket in the Nile river at the exact location pharaoh’s daughter bathed. She knew that pharaoh’s daughter would take him in and raise him as her own, not killing him as her father decreed. What does this show us? That killing children, infants, and the unborn is wrong. God has given us an example of what one woman did to save her baby boy. She put him up for adoption. Isn’t that the choice mothers should make when they do not think they can raise a child due to their circumstances? Being Pro-choice is accepted as you have a right to kill your unborn child. That’s not really a choice, it’s a dead-end decision. A choice would be keeping and raising your child, or put him/her up for adoption. That’s a choice. Women back in Moses’ time didn’t even consider killing their unborn children, this is why Moses was put into the basket and floated down the Nile. It wasn’t a dead-end decision. God is the God of the living. So when did things change?

1 About this time, a man and woman from the tribe of Levi got married. 2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She saw that he was a special baby and kept him hidden for three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a basket made of papyrus reeds and waterproofed it with tar and pitch. She put the baby in the basket and laid it among the reeds along the bank of the Nile River. 4 The baby’s sister then stood at a distance, watching to see what would happen to him.5 Soon Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe in the river, and her attendants walked along the riverbank. When the princess saw the basket among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it for her. 6 When the princess opened it, she saw the baby. The little boy was crying, and she felt sorry for him. “This must be one of the Hebrew children,” she said.7 Then the baby’s sister approached the princess. “Should I go and find one of the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for you?” she asked.8 “Yes, do!” the princess replied. So the girl went and called the baby’s mother.9 “Take this baby and nurse him for me,” the princess told the baby’s mother. “I will pay you for your help.” So the woman took her baby home and nursed him.10 Later, when the boy was older, his mother brought him back to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her own son. The princess named him Moses, for she explained, “I lifted him out of the water.” Exodus 2:1-10

Playing God, Without His Credentials…

What makes Pharaoh’s command to kill baby boys in the time of Moses evil? The simple answer is selfishness. What makes the Egyptian midwives refusal to honor his demand of killing the babies righteous? They feared God. Proof of what they did was right, going against their leader’s decree, was God rewarding them with their own children. Does any of this seem familiar? Seems a lot like modern day America, doesn’t it? Pro-choice legislation being opposed by pro-life opposition. Just because it’s legal doesn’t justify it being right. Just because the leader of our country believes it’s okay to murder a baby in the womb a day before it’s born, doesn’t make it right. The Egyptians reason for murdering these baby boys was to prevent a fear of them rebellion due to their harsh treatment of the Israelites (still unjustified). But here in America the reason is because a woman has a right to murder her own child if she doesn’t want it? We live in a sick society. And sadly those that believe it are just as guilty as those that allow it and do it. God loves children. A baby is the only thing God can use to make men and women. Think about that for a second and let it sink in. Murder is always a selfish act. It’s playing God, without His credentials.

8 Eventually, a new king came to power in Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph or what he had done. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the people of Israel now outnumber us and are stronger than we are. 10 We must make a plan to keep them from growing even more. If we don’t, and if war breaks out, they will join our enemies and fight against us. Then they will escape from the country.”11 So the Egyptians made the Israelites their slaves. They appointed brutal slave drivers over them, hoping to wear them down with crushing labor. They forced them to build the cities of Pithom and Rameses as supply centers for the king. 12 But the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more the Israelites multiplied and spread, and the more alarmed the Egyptians became. 13 So the Egyptians worked the people of Israel without mercy. 14 They made their lives bitter, forcing them to mix mortar and make bricks and do all the work in the fields. They were ruthless in all their demands.15 Then Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, gave this order to the Hebrew midwives, Shiphrah and Puah: 16 “When you help the Hebrew women as they give birth, watch as they deliver. If the baby is a boy, kill him; if it is a girl, let her live.” 17 But because the midwives feared God, they refused to obey the king’s orders. They allowed the boys to live, too.18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives. “Why have you done this?” he demanded. “Why have you allowed the boys to live?”19 “The Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women,” the midwives replied. “They are more vigorous and have their babies so quickly that we cannot get there in time.”20 So God was good to the midwives, and the Israelites continued to multiply, growing more and more powerful. 21 And because the midwives feared God, He gave them families of their own.22 Then Pharaoh gave this order to all his people: “Throw every newborn Hebrew boy into the Nile River. But you may let the girls live.” Exodus 1:8-22

See The Signs He Has Already Given Us….

Do you ever think God gets tired of us asking for signs? He gives us signs every single day. Instead, Maybe we should start asking for the ability to see the signs He has already given us.

1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that He show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove His authority.2 He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign, but the only sign I will give them is the sign of the prophet Jonah.” Then Jesus left them and went away. Matthew 16:1-4