WHEN TEMPTATION CALLS (Psalm 141)

May the Just One set me straight, may the Kind One correct me.
Don't let sin anoint my head. (Psalm 141:5, MSG)

Temptation. Conviction. Ugh. I'd rather pretend that we don't sin, that we never need correction. I don't like receiving it, and I'm not very good at giving. I'm a good teacher of children--if you discount poor discipline.

But the truth is, of course, that we all sin. As John says in his epistle, If we say we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:10, NIV)

Since I do sin and I need correction, I'll take David's prayer as my own.

When I sin--I need both the God of justice and of mercy. The God of Justice will show me how far I have strayed from the 100% holiness. He will set me on a straight path when I have made it crooked. Without the Just One to set me straight, I won't know what the right path is. I won't know what holiness looks like. I will wander aimlessly, left only to platitudes and to my sin-weakened conscience.

But I also need the God of kindness and mercy. If I only could appeal to the God of justice, I would run the other way. I'd hope I could escape, because I know He would punish to the full extent of the law. By this point in my life, I'd be sitting on death row.

When the Kind one corrects me, I know He loves me. He understands my weakness. He became like me, to restore me to wholeness. I don't have to fear His correction. He will correct me, but fairly, in a way not meant to punish but rather to rehabilitate me.

Above all, I want to ask God to keep sin from anointing me. I don't want its ugly black oil smearing my soul,distorting the image of God in me.

Amen. Lord,

Today's favorite verse: I know that you, God, are on the side of victims, that you care for the rights of the poor. And I know that the righteous personally thank you, that good people are secure in your presence. (Psalm 140:12-13)

ON PAROLE: SIN STOPPERS (Numbers 15)

Back on February 14, I wrote about sin served three ways, and the provision God made for deliberate, willful rebellion against God.

So today when I read that a person who sins defiantly must be kicked out of the community. Ostracized. Excommunicated, although that word isn't used. I was surprised.

Perhaps it's a matter of continuing in willful rebellion, choosing a different lifestyle than the one God gives in the law.

When a few verses later, I read about adding blue tassels to their garments, to remind them of God's commandments, my mind said "ahah! This is about practical ways to avoid temptation."  In God's words, "not get distracted  by everything you feel or see that seduces you into infidelities."

In fact, the instructions reminded me of rules for parolees from jail: Don't associate with former friends and criminals. Stay away from them. As God told the Israelites, remove them from your vicinity.

And how about those nifty ankle bracelets that some parolees have to wear? That's a visual clue to stay within the confines of the law.

Are there people who tempt me to sin? Should I stay away from them?  Do I need to use a rubber band to train my thoughts away from a sinful path? How about posting a Bible verse during the day? A necklace with a religious symbol? What are visual clues I can give myself to remain in God's will?

Let's join God's sin-stopper program, and accept His forgiveness when we fail.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT (Leviticus 26_

 When you've watched as many cop and detective shows as I have, you know one thing: flight is the surest sign of guilt. 

What I didn't know was that the Bible said the same thing. You'll run scared even when no one is chasing you. (Leviticus 26:17) God was describing the behavior of people when they broke the law. 

On Saturday, the nurse scolded me. She said I make too many demands about unimportant things, that prevent the aides from taking of real problems. Like people who fall when they get up--but insist on standing anyway. 

Scold me, and I freeze. I don't runaway; I try to hide. When I've done wrong, I'm more likely to try to hide my misdoing. I guess that's one way to run scared, before anyone is aware of my misdeeds. Instead of looking innocent, I make myself look guilty.

Others, when reprimanded, don't accept the reprimand; they don't believe they are guilty. They're likely to repeat the behavior, more outrageously next time. Of course, that doesn't work either.

The class fight or flight reaction to danger.

Pretending we don't sin only brings heartache.

God's solution? 

"If they confess their sins. . .I will remember my covenant."  

When we sin--don't run away. Don't fight.  Just confess our sin to God, and move on. 

NOT FOR THE FAINTHEARTED: INCEST (Leviticus 18)

There. I've said the word, the word that horrifies us and sends shivers and feelings of helplessness and rage through the heart of anyone who has experienced it.

And if you want to skip this one - with some personal revelations - feel free to do so. It's not for everyone, but those who need to hear it, to know their sense of something horribly wrong is shared by God--let this help. And I know you are out of there - the last I knew, one out of every four women and one out of every eight men had been abused. I've had 18 pageviews today. That means four or five people who've been sexually molested have already looked before I posted this subject.

In this chapter in Leviticus, God speaks in very specific language about sexual sin: forbidden relationships within the family, with animals, and, of course, the political hot button, homosexuality.

Today I am taking a little departure from my usual style. This chapter is difficult for me to read, not because of the boring or gruesome subject, but because I am all too well acquainted with the topic.  I was abused by my father, my uncle, my cousin, my stepfather. In fact, abuse continued at different times until I finally left home, never to live there again, after I got to college.

When I went through the deepest healing from my past, I learned a scary fact: incest is more likely to happen in highly religious families. Some men (and women too, I suppose) who believe the marriage bond is sacred, who will not violate it with an affair or divorce, somehow believe it's acceptable to harm one of their own children.

So it's also possible that an abuser or two has read my blog. And get this: I'm not here to condemn you; God's grace covers every sin and can change every heart, but you have to admit the sin first.

For those who have suffered from incest, listen to the words God uses to describe the acts: It violates--relationships, trust, your own body. It blasphemes. It's unbelievable.  It is wicked. 

God knew that incest occurs all too often. He made sure His people knew His will on the question.

He also made his feelings clear. In a rare time, instead of simply saying "I am God and I am holy, therefore do what I say," He explains His reasons for giving the commands.

Healing is a long, hard road--but God will lead you by the hand.

SIN SERVED THREE WAYS (Leviticus 16)

My son, a kosher-observant believer in his Savior, Yeshua, has told me, "There are no offerings for willful, intentional sin. The offerings are all for times when people sin without knowing it." His point was, that until the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, God had made no provision for intentional sin.

I did read that chapter, about unknown sins, a few days ago. But thank God, I ran across this verse today: "He will make atonement for the Holy of Holies, because of the uncleanness of the Israelites, their acts of rebellion, and all their other sins." (Leviticus 16:15-17. MSG)

God gave Moses three reasons why atonement was needed:

• We are unclean. Of course, Leviticus gives us a whole host of things that make us unclean (death, bodily fluids, infectious skin diseases, etc.)  But we are born unclean, sinners by nature as well as by choice. We need atonement because we will always choose sin.
• We rebel against God. We know what God wants from us--and we choose to disobey. Look at all those "do nots" from the 10 Commandments, or how about about all the things from the old nature that we are told to get rid of?
• We sin in other ways. There are those unknown sins that God provides for. We sin by omission--when we know to do good and don't act. 

Whatever the nature of our sin, God knows us. He loves us. He provides for our atonement, so that we can be reconciled to Him. 

It was true in Aaron's day.

It is still true today. 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 ESV

P.S. I posted a bonus blog today about a love letter to God. Check it out below. :)  

IF A TREE FALLS. . . The Nature of Sin (Leviticus 4-5)

"If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" The questions carries implications for observations and reality and how they are connected.

In Leviticus 4, the question could be asked, "If a person sins and there is no one to see it, is it a sin?"  The answer is an unquivocal "yes."  

"They become guilty even though no one is aware of it." 

No one--except God, that is. And He's the one we're sinning against in the first place. 

What scares me even more about the passage is the context. God is speaking to "the whole congregation." 

Later in the chapter, he mentions specific individuals who might sin:

• "anyone"
• a priest
• a leader
• any member of the community

So any individual who sins is guilty. They don't even have to know it  is a sin. No one is excused.  (Ignorance of the law is no excuse, even in God's court.)

The idea of "corporate" sin makes me uneasy. Again, I'm too American to think I will automatically agree with everyone else. 

Is corporate sin a matter of everyone passing an unjust law, a jury convicting an innocent man, a nation waging an unjust war?

Or is more a matter of individuals closing our eyes to injustice? In Leviticus 5:1, God says, "you sin by not stepping up and offering yourself as a witness to something you’ve heard or seen in cases of wrongdoing."

We don't like to bother in our neighbor's affairs. If we see a wife who appears abused . . . a child who's been bullied. . .a friend pocket a candy bar at the convenience store. . . what do we do? What should we do?

In my situation here, it means speaking up for those who can't speak for themselves. It doesn't even have to be mistreatment. It can be someone who is calling for help and is being ignored (well, that's mistreatment). Someone who has fallen or who is going into diabetic shock. A dozen things may happen in any given day.

Which is the reason why I speak up when my needs are ignored . . . because I speak for those unable to speak for themselves.

Where does reporting wrongdoing end and grace begin? How do we decide? 

But neither ignorance nor silence are acceptable.