SIN versus sinning

I have had a lot of opportunity recently to consider the difference between original SIN and sins/sinning, as well as a distinction between God's Righteousness and our righteousness.  

Original Sin came into the world when Adam (and Eve) disobeyed God after Satan deceived Eve into rationalizing and questioning if God meant exactly what she was told He said, opening the door to her choice to disobey God and second-guess what God really intended when He instructed Adam that he could eat of any fruit in the Garden of Eden, except the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  She wasn't even created yet when Adam received that instruction.  She got that info from her husband, and something I had not paid attention to prior to reading a book titled "Who Told You That You Were Naked?" written and soon to be released by my friend William Combs, was that it was not God who stated the added directive Adam must have tacked on when he told Eve:  that even touching it would bring death.  Eve touched - - didn't "die" on the spot - - and took the delectable fruit to Adam....  The woman God gave him tempted him to also disobey, and he did.  It was only after He disobeyed that the effect of their action became apparent.

Through that event - - disobedience - - Sin entered the world.  Us thinking we can go it alone, thinking our way is better than God's way, choosing our own path without consulting Him:  all of this is the root of the evil that man has brought upon himself.  Those evils are sins....with those sins being the result of Sin.  One is cause.  One is effect.  

Jesus came to take away the Sin of the world, and pay the price by His death on the cross for original Sin (separation from the perfect relationship with God that Adam and Eve enjoyed prior to the introduction of Sin) as well as all of the resulting sins committed from then until this world ends and we stand before God to either hear:  "well done" or "depart from me". 

That brings us conveniently to the discussion of God's Righteousness and our righteousness.  Righteousness with a capital R is my distinction for the Righteousness that comes from God.  It certainly includes 'right living by God's standard' - - but we can't even be Righteous without accepting Jesus as our personal Savior.  Righteous with a capital R comes when we ask Jesus to come into our lives.  He imputes Righteousness to us through the power of the Holy Spirit.  From that point on God no longer calls us 'sinners' but 'Saints'.  He sees us as perfect through the filter of His Son because he sees us with Jesus' shed blood as our covering.  We appear to Him as perfect because Jesus is "in" us, and His blood was shed to bring us back into right relationship with His Father.  That's good, good news!  But we still have to contend with that other issue of sinning.  Just because we have Righteousness credited to us, it does not mean all our actions and thoughts are righteous.  Far from it.  But, instead of being "Sinners-separated-from-God" those who have accepted Jesus are Saints who occasionally (or more than occasionally) sin.  There is a huge difference in our identity in that.  

The thing is, Salvation is all about what Jesus did - - not what we do.  We cannot do anything to make God love us more.  Love is an action verb and He demonstrated His complete sold-out love for us when He became man and then became the Lamb who was sacrificed for the Sin Adam committed in the act that brought separation between God and man as well as for all the sins of the world since the beginning of time.  He gives us His Salvation as a gift He paid the price for - - but then He continues to work with us to work out salvation in us as a daily process. 

If our righteousness (right living) could save us, some people might even succeed at being good enough to come close - - but I'm convinced there would be a fatal flaw somewhere, even though they came close.  Even the sin of pride at how well they were doing....  "Right living"in and of itself - - being self righteous - - is what makes people compare themselves to others and, aways being able to find someone who is 'worse', easily rationalize they aren't so bad....  At least they're better than "that guy or gal".   That's one of the big problems with sin with a little s....  observation, comparison, rationalization - - which leads either to a sense of comparative success or comparative failure.  Original Sin made man aware of good and evil and led to sinning as a result.  

So - - the bottom line is:  Sin came into the world by one man, and one Man (God-in-the-flesh, fully God and fully human) paid the price for that Sin as well as the sins that result from it.  Jesus alone makes us right with God, imputing His Righteousness to us because he paid the price we should have to pay.  Then we begin the growth process of shedding sins and gaining righteousness - - right living by God's standard.  

Big S, little s; Big R, little r.  

I am a Saint who occasionally sins.  I am not a Sinner separated from God.  He gives me His Righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit.  I become righteous by applying what His Word, the Bible teaches me.  That part is an ongoing work, which won't be completed until I stand before Him.  There is nothing I can do to earn His love or to make Him love me more.  But, because He has demonstrated His love so clearly, I want to please Him, honor Him, obey Him....  Big R generates little r in me!  

And, for anyone who wants to read the book I referenced, It is 
Who Told You That You Were Naked? by William Combs.  It will be released April 1, 2017.  It is a thorough, thought provoking review that begins with what was initiated in the Garden of Eden and how God responded....

PROVERBS 27:17

Iron sharpens iron, and similarly, one person sharpens another.   That's not a verbatim quote - but gives the intent of Proverbs 27:17.  
I felt inspired to unite a Bible Study Group with just that in mind.  We start studying together next Wednesday and I am truly excited!  I have dubbed us the "Iron on iron Bible Study" Small Group.   This is a such a gift!  I am overjoyed with the prospect!  Our initial 7-week study is on the Armor of God, with DVD teaching by Priscilla Shirer.   I very much look forward to sharing this time with other ladies who are equally interested in hearing what God has to say to us through His Word, the DVD messages, and each other!

Happy New Year!  

Presidential Election 2016

I intensely disliked the entire election journey process this year.  

Our options were terrible, but one party offered a glimmer of hope, and that party was the Republican party.  

In the aftermath of the election those trying to make sense of why Hillary didn't win never expressed my view once.  I voted for Supreme Court Justices, and it was definitely selfish.  I don't want to go to jail for being a Christian and expressing Biblical values in a country that was founded on the freedom to worship as we choose.  

Let me explain....  With the monumental rise in inappropriately placed political correctness that borders on the ridiculous, people who are loving and kind to individuals but refuse to make their wedding cake or their bridal bouquet because of their Biblically-based values are being systematically prosecuted for their stance, with their decision not to defile their values called a hate crime or a civil rights violation.  

It is a person's right to be whatever they want to be, but it is equally  my right to be whom I want to be, and if their "right" is not congruent with mine, then it is prudent we agree to disagree without any recrimination.  Are feelings sometimes hurt?  Undoubtedly!  But if it is not intentional hurt - - going out of one's way to be malicious or unkind - - each person's rights and views need to be honored.  

A case in point was the bakery who very kindly declined baking a wedding cake for the wedding of a gay couple.  They graciously suggested another establishment who didn't have an issue with the clients' choice and were completely open to having them as customers for any other purpose than that one.  It hurt the 2 ladies' feelings to the tune of over $135,000.00 in court-ordered compensation.  That's wrong.  

We are not always going to agree with each other.  These 2 women should have respected the establishment's wishes and gone their merry way.  If someone didn't want to bake my cake, I wouldn't want a cake from them.  Now had the bakers been rude or unkind, that might warrant the ladies' getting all their friends to refuse to do business with the establishment - - but that was not the case.  They were polite and kind, and gently clear about why they could not participate in their nuptial event.  

The punishment the bakery owners received was unwarranted.  I don't want that to be the America we live in.  I want Supreme Court Justices who will uphold the law, not reinvent it.  I want Justices who uphold the Constitution of the United States and that all men are created equal - - even the people who call sin sin.  

Trump's election gives me a few more years of hope that we can be a better country.  

America is an experiment in freedom.  America was founded on Biblical values and Biblical principles with the freedom to worship as we please.  At that point the only religious persuasion was Christian - - and the reason America has worked is because of the Biblical values we have chosen to adhere to.  If we choose not to be self-disciplined and choose to abandon our values, this will become a nation of lawlessness....and our demise.  But that's a topic for another day....  

Do I like Trump?  No!  But I prefer him to Hillary.  The Supreme Court Justices she would have promoted would have destroyed this country's core values.  So - - I voted for Supreme Court Justices.  I voted for a sliver of hope.  I voted for Mike Pence...and Trump just happened to be part of the package.  

Australian Newspaper article on Asia Bibi

We can’t let Asia Bibi die for her Christianity in Pakistan

Rita Panahi, Herald Sun

October 17, 2016 6:02pm

Mother-of-five Asia Bibi is likely to be hanged for the “crime” of being Christian in a Muslim country, after she was sentenced to death in a Pakistani court on trumped-up charges of blasphemy.

Even if the farm worker were guilty of insulting the prophet Muhammad — and the evidence suggests she was not — it is obscene that she should be facing the death penalty for such a spurious “crime”.

Also obscene is that the country that wants to carry out this savagery is the beneficiary of tens of millions of Australian dollars.

Pakistan will receive $55.8 million in aid from Australia this year. It receives much more from other Western nations, such as Britain.

Why should Australian taxpayers’ hard-earned be sent to a despotic nation that not only tolerates horrific abuse in the name of Islam but plans to kill a woman for supposedly insulting their religion?

This isn’t a crazed mob carrying out a lynching but a death sentence to be carried out by the state.

Bibi and her family are precisely the type of people Australia should be helping through diplomatic channels — we should also be offering them asylum.

As Christians, they face significant dangers in Pakistan, not just from law enforcement authorities but from neighbours and co-workers who see them as less than human.

Christian women and girls are regularly abducted in Pakistan. Some are killed, others forced to convert and marry, and many are never heard from again.

If Pakistan does carry out the execution or refuses to release Bibi, Australia should cut all aid and consider further sanctions, including sporting bans.

Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have signed petitions demanding justice for Bibi but perhaps banning Pakistan’s cricket team from touring Australia would send a stronger message.

Australian teams no longer tour Pakistan owing to security concerns, and we should not hesitate to ban their sporting teams from competing in Australia.

Bibi’s nightmare began in mid-2009 when she was working as a farmhand in the province of Punjab. In searing heat, she was sent to fetch water from a well.

Her crime was to use a cup shared by the other farm workers to drink some of the water.

Another female farmhand, who already had a feud with Bibi, claimed she had “soiled” the utensil and the water supply with her unclean, Christian hands. Bibi was accused of “defiling the water”.

Bibi recounts what happened: “She said: ‘Listen to me, she has soiled the glass with her hands and dirtied the water in the well. We can’t drink the water any more because of her’.

"It was so unfair. For once, I decided to defend myself and to hold my head high.

“I said: ‘I think Jesus would have a different viewpoint to Mohammed’.

"The woman replied: ‘How do you dare to question the Prophet, dirty animal?’ Three other women joined in, shouting ‘it’s true, you’re nothing but a dirty Christian’.”

Our Terrible Choices for President

Our Terrible Choices for President

I lost sleep the night of the last Presidential candidate debate.   I am distressed by the rhetoric and embarrassed for our country that in spite of all the wonderful people who would actually be qualified to be President of the United States, we have 2 horrible choices.  

Hillary is guilty of criminal activity (and a lot more) - - but apparently has the right connections to avoid being prosecuted.  She also has both a public and private position - - which simply means that she says whatever it takes to get votes.  Being dishonest and not being forthright means she is a liar and not to be trusted.  She is a woman - - so a lot of people will vote for her just because they want a female president for the first time in the history of the country - - and they will do so to our final unraveling and demise if she is elected.  I would love to have a woman President - - but I want the right woman, and she's not it.  

Our other option is Donald Trump.  Yikes!  Trump is certainly less than laudable.  Far less.  I hate his horrible comments about women and his entitled view of being able to get whatever he wants from women because of his power and financial status.  I also question his ability to negotiate and work with people to move our country forward.  He loses his cool too easily, did not give direct answers to  the questions he was asked, and takes things personally instead of refocusing on policies.  He is definitely not a silver-tongued orator.   But - - he makes some good points.  Fewer than I'd like, but some.  

Still, no matter how bad Trump is - - and he clearly has red flag issues for me - - he is far better than Hillary, and that is saying a lot.  She is dangerous - - and just for the record, Hillary is entitled, too.  She is at the very least equally out of touch with the challenges of the normal taxpayer.  But even beyond that, her policies will destroy us.  

I hate the mud-slinging on both sides - - and hate that the mainstream media is conspicuously inequitable in their reporting.  It seems to me that they jump on the slightest negative about Donald and fail to investigate any of the scathing claims about Hillary.  When he claimed his inappropriate comments made over a decade ago were "locker-room talk" even I understood that he meant it was just "the braggadocio" common to some guys.  Disgusting, but unfortunately true.  But what did the media do?  Run to real locker rooms to interview sports figures and ask if that is what they say in the locker room!  Preposterous.  I do not and will not defend his sickening words.  They are awful, and they definitely do reflect a huge flaw in his character.  

However, the media is all too eager to point out his flaws - - but not Hillary's.  It would be fair if they were equally hard on Hillary.  They don't do the same due diligence in their reporting of her escapades.  Nothing has been said about Hillary's purported infidelities.   I guess if there is no tape there is no proof.  Her alleged behaviors don't necessarily preclude her being a good President - - but her policies do, her lies do, her criminal behavior does and her protection of her criminal husband does.

The video I saw online that recorded an interview with women Bill Clinton raped reports that Hillary knew.   It appears that Hillary encouraged Bill's lust, rapes and external liaisons.  That is even more horrible than the words Donald said.  And - - Bill should be in prison, not on the verge of being "first man" in the white house.  I still have a visual of him implanted in my head from when he had Monica Lewinsky under his desk in the Oval Office of the White House giving him oral sex.  I remember that he lied, saying he didn't have sex with her...and later qualified his original statement with the rationalization that because it was not normal intercourse he didn't consider it sex.  

If the media wants this election to be about sexual innuendo and sexual impropriety they should report about both candidates.    Those may have been Bill's rapes and indiscretions, but Hillary cannot say she champions women if she knew and said nothing to protect the women he assaulted or failed to promote his prosecution.  That makes her complicit, and just as guilty as he is.  Her behavior goes far beyond mere enabling.

One positive thing Donald brings to the role is a very successful history as a businessman and that gives us at least a glimmer of hope for moving toward getting America's debt under control; and even more importantly he is the only one of the two major candidates who has the likelihood of approving Supreme Court Justices who will actually be equitable in their judgments and bring balance to the Court.  That's huge!   Even Donald knows that.  On July 28, 2016 I heard him say on T V, "If you really like Donald Trump, that's great, but if you don't you have to vote for me anyway.  You know why? Supreme Court Judges.  Supreme Court Judges."

(Yes, he has an annoying habit of repeating himself...repeating himself.")  He went on to add, "Have no choice, sorry, sorry, sorry.  You have no choice."  He's right!  

His third ace is his running mate.  In my view the only candidate running for the top 2 positions in our country who is worthy of holding the office is Pence.  When Donald said he did a good job in his first "hire" by asking Pence to be his running mate, he was spot on.  I wish everyone who is sick to death of how horribly awful our choices are could just write in his name and have him be the next President.  Sadly, it doesn't work that way.  But having Pence on the ticket is another glimmer of hope....  I just wish he had the top slot.  

The reality is that it is the Electoral College who chooses the President, not the majority vote of the people.  It is all very confusing.  

I grieve for America.  Truly, I am afraid that we already lost the America we love - - but this election is critical to fostering any residual hope of stemming the current tide.  

I am so glad that my hope is not in the Donkey or the Elephant.  My hope is in the Lamb!  The Lamb who is also the Lion of Judah.  

So - - given my options, I am voting for the Trump-Pence ticket and praying for Divine intervention! 

P S:  I was truly surprised when Trump got the Republican nomination.  He got it because so many people are sick of politics on both sides of the aisle.  At least he offers us a slight glimmer of hope....  Hillary's offers come at the price of higher deficits and compromised security.   A sliver of hope or hopelessness....those are our choices.  

Still counting on the Lamb.   

Ben Franklin-isms

Wow I have missed being able to get onto my blog to write!  I had computer issues - - too much info saved - - and had to get that resolved....but now I'm back!  

Ben Franklin (1/17/1706 - 4/17/1790) had a lot of amazing sayings.  

My Grandma Rice quoted these often:
"A stitch in time saves nine."
"A penny saved is a penny earned."
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

My dad quoted these:
"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise."
"Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see."  
"Never leave till tomorrow that which you can do today."
"You can do anything you set your mind to."

"For the want of a nail the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail."

But there were many others - - among them, these:
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."
"There never was a good war or a bad peace."
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing."
"Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead."
"They who give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
"Those who surrender freedom for security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
"Never ruin an apology with an excuse."
"We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid."
"Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are."
"How many observe Christ's birthday!  How few His precepts!"
"Well done is better than well said."
"Lost time is never found again."
"Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle."
"The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself."
"It is the first responsibility of every citizen to question authority."
"Life's biggest tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late."
"Keep your eyes wide open before marriage, half shut afterwards."
"I am for doing good to the poor, but...I think the best way of doing good to the poor is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.  I observed...that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer.  And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves and became richer."
"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."
"Whoever would would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech."
"While we may not be able to control all that happens to us, we can control what happens inside us."
"When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic."
"Security without liberty is called prison."
"It takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it."
"The way to see by faith is to shut the eye  of reason."
"Fish and visitors smell in three days."
"Those things that hurt, instruct."
"No one cares what you know until they know that you care!"
"A good example is the best sermon."

And on, and on, and on....what a wise and wonderful legacy of wisdom he left for us to peruse.  

Thanks, Ben.  

Share the Truth with Grace

November 7 I received the following from FOCUS ON THE FAMILY.  It is stated perfectly.  It is what I have tried multiple times to convey - and whomever wrote this stated it perfectly!

Share The Truth With Grace Are Christians really "intolerant?" That charge is often made in today's society, but there's a vast difference between "intolerance" and simply taking a stand for the truth as one understands it. Others are free to disagree when we assert that Jesus Christ is the only way to the Father. However, they can't deny that this is, in fact, the central message of the Christian faith. And we as believers are compelled by Jesus Himself to share the "good news." But that doesn't mean that Christians are out to impose our beliefs on others. Our job as disciples is to simply bear witness to the truth in word and deed. Only God's Spirit can convince another person to receive that message. That said, we can't forget that human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) and are thus deserving of respect. We must always keep in mind the "Golden Rule"—"treat others the same way you want them to treat you" (Luke 6:31). As Paul instructs us, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (Colossians 4:6). Loving others involves graciously sharing the truth  as we understand it, and prayerfully letting God take it from there.