Sin's Slow Deadly Poison.

Serpents everywhere biting people, killing people - why? Because the people sinned against God. God gave the enslaved freedom, yet the enslaved were so filled with their mistrust, they could only think of the comforts of their slavery. Is it strange to believe there were/are comforts in slavery? Even right now at this very moment there are people caught up in the comforts of their slavery. It's not that they want to have a master over them forcing them to do their bidding no matter how laborious. They don't enjoy the whip, or chains, the restrictions on their ability to do as they please in all phases of their lives. They despise the abuse heaped upon themselves day after day and they do long to be free of the anguish of slavery. However, given an opportunity to leave a lot don't readily jump at the chance when it means suddenly having to fend completely for themselves. Yes, they are abused but they are also fed and clothed. Now on their own they have to find a way to provide for their own needs something their tortured, enslaved mindset can scarcely fathom. The fear of freedom can be overwhelming. Some would rather die than face that fear, others will leap at the chance to embrace that fear for their freedom.  God's chosen people, the descendants from Abraham were enslaved and now given their freedom. Out on their own, some began to believe they marched to certain death from deprivation of the necessities to life. They started to long to return to their enslavement - the comforts of slavery- rather than die free.

Even after all God had done to obtain their freedom, they still doubted His protection, they doubted His ability to provide for them. They were choosing death over living for God and the promises offered to them by God and that choice became quite literal for many. The serpents came. Deadly venomous serpents began striking out at person, after person and each bite brought the preferred slavery to death over the hardships of life.

Finally the people had enough losses of loved ones and the fear of their own demise. They turned to Moses, God's chosen liberator, and begged him to do something to stop the serpents from killing them all.  They took their minds off themselves and sought a redeemer, someone to save them. They realized they couldn't depend on themselves to keep safe, they needed outside help. They needed a supernatural power to stop them from dying. So…

Joh 3:14  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 

Joh 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 

Moses was told by God what to do (Numbers 21:8,9) he lifted up the brass serpent on the pole and when anyone was bitten by a serpent all they needed to do was look upon that brass serpent and they lived.  Prior to the brass serpent every single bitten person died. Only those bitten who looked upon the brass serpent lived.

The Son of man, Jesus Christ just like that brass serpent had to be lifted up for all to look upon. Today almost 2000 years after Jesus was hung upon the cross He is still lifted up for ALL to look upon.

We can remain enslaved to sin and all its many, many comforts, or we can look to the lifted Christ and find freedom from sin's slavery.

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

Joh 3:17  For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 

Joh 3:18  He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 

Joh 3:19  And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 

Joh 3:20  For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 

Joh 3:21  But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. 

Men loved darkness rather than light- why? Because their deeds were evil.

Those who embrace the evil hate light because they don't want their evil exposed for what it is. They want to call their evil a good thing, a right thing, it pleases them and brings them mental, physical, emotional pleasure to commit the evil. They believe they have a right to the evil and the evil can't be all that bad because it's what pleases them, and why shouldn't they be pleased on any level they choose? Why should they deprive themselves of any evil, they live for themselves and believe others should too.

There is so much evil in the world that is called good, so much. We don't want to believe things we do are evil so we convince ourselves they are good and along the way we have turned our backs on the God of truth, and serve the god of deception carefully disguised as the true God.

We need to look to the lifted Jesus Christ our Savior and seek only His truth. WE need to allow the Holy Spirit to convict us on any point in our lives that is a disguised evil. We need to throw ourselves as the foot of the cross and reach for the salvation found only through Christ.

This prison planet we are living on has a myriad of evil traps set up around every corner of our lives. Our hope must forever be before us, the hope of salvation, of a new life. With this hope of a new life we need to live with our eyes set only on the cross where Jesus our Savior died and then rose from that death to a newness of life so that we too may live in newness of life- newness of hope, that same Jesus will return for us and free us from this prison planet.

We have a liberator, we have a path to freedom, we will be set free right now and that hope of a future life without any of sin's stain will keep us free in the knowledge that sin will not win.

Please, Lord give us the newness of life through the Holy Spirit so we may live completely for You in Your truth. Protect us, keep us from ALL evil. Convict our hearts so that we may never be deceived and give us all we need to be wholly Yours now and forever!!!!!!!

Amen!

I am A Sinner.

Not a single righteous person is saved.  Jesus only saves sinners. You will forever be a sinner saved, not a righteous saved.  If you get it twisted around that you need to be righteous to be saved, you've forgotten where you've come from. A lot of people try to escape from their past. They'll go to great lengths to put on pretenses that esteem them much higher in their family history than truly exists. We cannot forget where we've come from as Christ followers, there is a grave danger in such forgetfulness. As long as we remember we are SINNERS-SAVED, we can never forget that Jesus is constantly seeking the sinners to save. Is this license to sin constantly, knowingly, willfully? NO! I don't think many of us have a problem with sinning, it will come very naturally. Maybe not in the blatant way of a past coveted sin, but in the tiny ways of a short temper, a sharp word, a nasty thought, a selfish action. There are a myriad ways we sin in our lives and we will never get to a place where we should believe we are sinless and in no need of forgiveness from our Lord and Savior. As long as we are separated from Him, as long as the gulf between Jesus' return and our current life here on earth exists, we will need to seek forgiveness. Our need of a physician in this awful world is constant. May we continuously seek our great Physician, may we forever repent of our sinful ways as they are made known to us- seeking constant spiritual healing from the spiritual wounds that are inflicted upon us over and over again. 

All through Christ Jesus our LORD and SAVIOR now and forever, may we be HIS!

Mar_2:17  …They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Eph 2:1  And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 

Eph 2:2  Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 

Eph 2:3  Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 

Eph 2:4  But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 

Eph 2:5  Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 

Eph 2:6  And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 

Eph 2:7  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Eph 2:10  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.