Reason #928
It seems like I always have a lot that I want to write about on Sundays. Most days I have a very specific topic I want to blog through. I'm sure you've noticed by now, but this blog is like my sounding board. I start typing, the wheels start turning, and the Lord begins to teach me with each word. He starts guiding my heart and putting the pieces together, and by the end, I've somewhat got it straightened out. That's the beauty of writing. You can keep going until it finally makes sense to you.
Today Aaron and I celebrate our 15th monthiversary. You probably wonder when I'll stop counting months, and I bet it'll be around two years. I mean think about it, all moms give their baby's age in months until they turn two, and I guess I understand that. So hang in there with me. Nine more months and I'll start sticking to years. Until then, you'll have to endure the monthiversary posts. At least for the next 2 months anyway.
We talked about 'the writing on the wall' in the book of Daniel today. It's a pretty incredible, somewhat terrifying story. The king at this time is basically defying God in big ways though all sorts of sin and rebellion. And you know, the king knew what he was doing. Maybe he thought he was invincible since he was the king, or maybe, like us, he just figured it wasn't "that big of a deal" in the first place. But it was. As we've talked about before, God doesn't tolerate sin. God detests it. He doesn't overlook it, ignore it, or kind of put up with it. God hates sin, and God will have no part of it. Of course, God's people don't always see sin the same way that God does. If we did, if we really saw and understood what sin was doing to us and our relationship with God, to our testimony and witness, we'd probably hate it just as much, too. But being the humans that we are, we've grown to not only partake in sin but to accept it. To justify it and let it be a part of our lives. And the king was no different from us. I highly doubt he thought his sin was really an issue, as I'm sure he figured meeting his own needs was of upmost importance.
Well the Lord didn't take this lightly, and he intervened. God always does. And although it seems a little harsh, we have to stop and think about why sin is so offensive to God. Why does it bother Him so much? Why does God get so upset when we sin? After all, we still love Him. He should know that. We're just human, He made us that way. We can't help it, we tell ourselves. God should understand that. Just because we mess up doesn't mean that we don't love and respect God. But it doesn't work that way.
Sin separates us from God. It doesn't matter what type of sin it is, it separates us. Big or small, all sin begins to drive a wedge. All sin starts to cause issues in our relationship with Him. Look at it this way. Aaron and I have been married for 15 months, and we're both imperfect. We both sin and mess up, and we've both learned to forgive one another. Just because I mess up doesn't mean I don't love Aaron and vice versa. I'm not trying to dishonor or disrespect him when I make a mistake, but we both know that there are things that will cause grave damage to our relationship if we allow them to be a part of either one of our lives. And being people who are weak, we know we're likely to be tempted. But I'm not okay with Aaron sharing his affection with another person and I never will be. That is 100% unacceptable, and you better believe I will be furious if that were ever to happen. In fact, you'd expect me to be, wouldn't you? You wouldn't expect me to shrug my shoulders and say something like, "Oh well. That's okay. He's allowed to mess up every now and then. After all, boys will be boys so it's no big deal." You'd be shocked to see me express such an even keeled, nonchalant attitude toward that kind behavior. This is my husband after all. The man who has promised to be fully and completely devoted to me for the rest of his life, and breaking that promise is a pretty appalling thing.
When we choose sin over God, we're sharing our affections. Having committed to Him our whole hearts, why do we think it's fair to then share it with something or someone else? Why should we expect Him to be okay with that and even understand it? We certainly wouldn't appreciate it being done to us, and we shouldn't believe that the Lord does. Sure, He knows our frailties. He knows we're humans and bound to mess up. But He wants our whole hearts. He wants us to flee from sin so that it doesn't take away from our relationship with Him. And the beauty of it is that when we commit to God, He fully commits to us. You will have all of Him in every form and fashion you need Him. He won't forsake you, leave you, and He'll never replace you. When you give yourself completely to Him, you'll find that He completes you in a way you never knew you needed.
#928 - Because He won't replace us.
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good." - Deuteronomy 10:12-13
Today Aaron and I celebrate our 15th monthiversary. You probably wonder when I'll stop counting months, and I bet it'll be around two years. I mean think about it, all moms give their baby's age in months until they turn two, and I guess I understand that. So hang in there with me. Nine more months and I'll start sticking to years. Until then, you'll have to endure the monthiversary posts. At least for the next 2 months anyway.
We talked about 'the writing on the wall' in the book of Daniel today. It's a pretty incredible, somewhat terrifying story. The king at this time is basically defying God in big ways though all sorts of sin and rebellion. And you know, the king knew what he was doing. Maybe he thought he was invincible since he was the king, or maybe, like us, he just figured it wasn't "that big of a deal" in the first place. But it was. As we've talked about before, God doesn't tolerate sin. God detests it. He doesn't overlook it, ignore it, or kind of put up with it. God hates sin, and God will have no part of it. Of course, God's people don't always see sin the same way that God does. If we did, if we really saw and understood what sin was doing to us and our relationship with God, to our testimony and witness, we'd probably hate it just as much, too. But being the humans that we are, we've grown to not only partake in sin but to accept it. To justify it and let it be a part of our lives. And the king was no different from us. I highly doubt he thought his sin was really an issue, as I'm sure he figured meeting his own needs was of upmost importance.
Well the Lord didn't take this lightly, and he intervened. God always does. And although it seems a little harsh, we have to stop and think about why sin is so offensive to God. Why does it bother Him so much? Why does God get so upset when we sin? After all, we still love Him. He should know that. We're just human, He made us that way. We can't help it, we tell ourselves. God should understand that. Just because we mess up doesn't mean that we don't love and respect God. But it doesn't work that way.
Sin separates us from God. It doesn't matter what type of sin it is, it separates us. Big or small, all sin begins to drive a wedge. All sin starts to cause issues in our relationship with Him. Look at it this way. Aaron and I have been married for 15 months, and we're both imperfect. We both sin and mess up, and we've both learned to forgive one another. Just because I mess up doesn't mean I don't love Aaron and vice versa. I'm not trying to dishonor or disrespect him when I make a mistake, but we both know that there are things that will cause grave damage to our relationship if we allow them to be a part of either one of our lives. And being people who are weak, we know we're likely to be tempted. But I'm not okay with Aaron sharing his affection with another person and I never will be. That is 100% unacceptable, and you better believe I will be furious if that were ever to happen. In fact, you'd expect me to be, wouldn't you? You wouldn't expect me to shrug my shoulders and say something like, "Oh well. That's okay. He's allowed to mess up every now and then. After all, boys will be boys so it's no big deal." You'd be shocked to see me express such an even keeled, nonchalant attitude toward that kind behavior. This is my husband after all. The man who has promised to be fully and completely devoted to me for the rest of his life, and breaking that promise is a pretty appalling thing.
When we choose sin over God, we're sharing our affections. Having committed to Him our whole hearts, why do we think it's fair to then share it with something or someone else? Why should we expect Him to be okay with that and even understand it? We certainly wouldn't appreciate it being done to us, and we shouldn't believe that the Lord does. Sure, He knows our frailties. He knows we're humans and bound to mess up. But He wants our whole hearts. He wants us to flee from sin so that it doesn't take away from our relationship with Him. And the beauty of it is that when we commit to God, He fully commits to us. You will have all of Him in every form and fashion you need Him. He won't forsake you, leave you, and He'll never replace you. When you give yourself completely to Him, you'll find that He completes you in a way you never knew you needed.
#928 - Because He won't replace us.
"And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good." - Deuteronomy 10:12-13
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