Friday, May 4, 2018

Believe!

John 16:9 The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. 

Look at the "sin" of your life through this filter!  What sin or your life do you deal with on an on going basis?  Lying - stealing - lack of forgiveness - prejudice - laziness - addiction - lust - greed - pride - gluttony... the list of potential sins goes on and on!  What do you struggle with the most?  

How could you connect this sin to the core of "refusing to believe"? 

Lying - because we don't really believe truth will set me free

Greed/stealing/gambling - because we don't really believe God will supply

Lack of forgiveness - because we don't really believe God forgives us

Prejudice - because we don't really believe we are created in God's image so we feel better when we treat others as if they are less valuable than we are

Laziness/gluttony  - because we don't really believe there is purpose in life or work 

Addiction - because we don't really believe there is freedom in Christ 

Lust - because we don't really believe God can meet our needs for sex 

Pride - because we don't believe humility will ever pay off 

Maybe if we get to the core of our problem, God might help us actually live in a cycle of victory instead of constant defeat.  If we keep focusing on over coming our particular sin we may never get to the root of the problem!  

Traditions

Jesus was in Jerusalem and got into a heated argument with the Pharisees about hand washing. The Pharisees emphasized a ritual of hand washi...