This week represents a shift in focus in our little column from Psalm 51, the beautiful song of repentance of King David, to a look at Exodus 20's Ten Commandments. I think it a natural, if backward, progression, as, unless we see where we stand 
before a Holy God, it is foolishness to repent of (turn away from) what we are unaware that we are doing wrong. In simpler terms, if you were splashing on a sandy beach and I swam out, 
grabbed you by the armpits, and dragged you to drier/higher ground, you would likely use a taser on me. Add one piece of information-that a Tsunami warning was just issued and soon one hundred foot waves would usher you to your Maker if you didn't find higher ground immediately-and instead of zapping me with your self-defense device you 
would love and thank me. Here's your Tsunami warning...Hebrews 9:27a says “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment...” . We die once then are judged by God according to a standard of absolute perfection. If we are seen by a Holy God as perfect, we go to Heaven. If not, we go to a place as real as the IRS office called Hell. Big problem! The wave is tall, our chances are that of a sand castle without someone to take our punishment. As a reminder, we are not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments as we would all perish if it were to be so. If we have broke one law, we have broke them all (read James 2:10)! They (The Ten Commandments) do, however, make a beautiful reflecting pool into which to gaze at our futile attempts at self-righteousness and realize our desperate need for a Savior....someone to somehow pay for our sins and save us from drowning in our sin debt (Romans 6:23).
This week I want to briefly hit on the Tenth Commandment...Thou shalt not covet. (We, for the next two months, will do a countdown on Exodus 20.) Coveting is wanting (badly) someone else's stuff. In my life, this one is a sort of a toughie. It manifests itself in the usual ways... “Boy would I love that Plasma TV for baseball season”, or “I sure wish I had Ken Spurgeon's stylish hairstyle!”. A new way I fail on this one recently surfaced in my prayer time in addition to these normal coveting ideas. I am not a vain person, but I
would like to be in great physical shape some day. At times subconsciously, I covet the slenderness of others. (Desiring a healthy body is different than over evaluating your appearance.) In fact, I have recently came under conviction on this one as I evaluate my diet in general. As a point of review for the one or two new readers of my column who will join the three or four regulars (Hi Mom...send money!), I have been on Weight Watchers since November 13th. I have lost exactly 69.2 pounds in this time. I came to see my need to repent on this sin (strongly desiring a cosmetically ultra fit body) recently after having prayed about how my diet relates to God. I prayerfully pondered “Is God involved in my weight loss?” . “Is He causing the success, or is my diet the reason I have lost so much?” The logical extension led me to ask myself “Can I say to someone interested in Christianity 'Become a Christian to lose weight', and keep a clean conscience?” Though His Word and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God revealed to me that the answer is “yes”, but not how you might think if you watch televangelists on TV. Becoming a Christian to lose weight better is, bluntly, stupid. God is not a diet plan, He is a righteousness plan. (There is a one hundred foot wave coming, who cares about your weight anyway!) God showed me that my obesity is sinful. I won't trouble you with the plethora of verses speaking against gluttony, but trust me, they are there (Proverbs is full of them). Becoming a Christian helps you lose weight specifically because, like King David from our previous study, real Christians desperately don't want to sin. I hate my sin. I wish for all I am worth, I could eliminate it from my life! It is against the God who died to save me! Me wanting to look like a movie star is one of many violations of the Tenth Commandment. See how the mirror of the Commandments made me realize my need for Jesus? How do you look in this mirror? Have you broken this Commandment too? Remember what the James 2:10 passage said... If you broke one, you broke them all. You, like me, need Jesus. If we repent (turn from our sins and let Him be Boss) and trust Jesus alone for our Salvation, we are made to appear perfect to God when the wave of Judgment hits, not because of how great we were in our time alive on Earth, but because of how great Jesus is to take our punishment! He pays our fine, and gives us the keys to the Kingdom...what an amazing offer! Fellow 
Christians...Join me in repenting of this sin! Seekers...examine yourself in the mirror of God's moral standard found in a convenient way in Exodus 20. If you have questions, email me any time!
Weight Loss update I weigh 266.8. I lost a nifty 3.2 lbs this week. I passed losing 20% of my starting weight this week. God has been kind and gracious to me during this diet!
Memory verse: James 2:10.
before a Holy God, it is foolishness to repent of (turn away from) what we are unaware that we are doing wrong. In simpler terms, if you were splashing on a sandy beach and I swam out, 
grabbed you by the armpits, and dragged you to drier/higher ground, you would likely use a taser on me. Add one piece of information-that a Tsunami warning was just issued and soon one hundred foot waves would usher you to your Maker if you didn't find higher ground immediately-and instead of zapping me with your self-defense device you 
would love and thank me. Here's your Tsunami warning...Hebrews 9:27a says “And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment...” . We die once then are judged by God according to a standard of absolute perfection. If we are seen by a Holy God as perfect, we go to Heaven. If not, we go to a place as real as the IRS office called Hell. Big problem! The wave is tall, our chances are that of a sand castle without someone to take our punishment. As a reminder, we are not saved by keeping the Ten Commandments as we would all perish if it were to be so. If we have broke one law, we have broke them all (read James 2:10)! They (The Ten Commandments) do, however, make a beautiful reflecting pool into which to gaze at our futile attempts at self-righteousness and realize our desperate need for a Savior....someone to somehow pay for our sins and save us from drowning in our sin debt (Romans 6:23).This week I want to briefly hit on the Tenth Commandment...Thou shalt not covet. (We, for the next two months, will do a countdown on Exodus 20.) Coveting is wanting (badly) someone else's stuff. In my life, this one is a sort of a toughie. It manifests itself in the usual ways... “Boy would I love that Plasma TV for baseball season”, or “I sure wish I had Ken Spurgeon's stylish hairstyle!”. A new way I fail on this one recently surfaced in my prayer time in addition to these normal coveting ideas. I am not a vain person, but I
would like to be in great physical shape some day. At times subconsciously, I covet the slenderness of others. (Desiring a healthy body is different than over evaluating your appearance.) In fact, I have recently came under conviction on this one as I evaluate my diet in general. As a point of review for the one or two new readers of my column who will join the three or four regulars (Hi Mom...send money!), I have been on Weight Watchers since November 13th. I have lost exactly 69.2 pounds in this time. I came to see my need to repent on this sin (strongly desiring a cosmetically ultra fit body) recently after having prayed about how my diet relates to God. I prayerfully pondered “Is God involved in my weight loss?” . “Is He causing the success, or is my diet the reason I have lost so much?” The logical extension led me to ask myself “Can I say to someone interested in Christianity 'Become a Christian to lose weight', and keep a clean conscience?” Though His Word and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, God revealed to me that the answer is “yes”, but not how you might think if you watch televangelists on TV. Becoming a Christian to lose weight better is, bluntly, stupid. God is not a diet plan, He is a righteousness plan. (There is a one hundred foot wave coming, who cares about your weight anyway!) God showed me that my obesity is sinful. I won't trouble you with the plethora of verses speaking against gluttony, but trust me, they are there (Proverbs is full of them). Becoming a Christian helps you lose weight specifically because, like King David from our previous study, real Christians desperately don't want to sin. I hate my sin. I wish for all I am worth, I could eliminate it from my life! It is against the God who died to save me! Me wanting to look like a movie star is one of many violations of the Tenth Commandment. See how the mirror of the Commandments made me realize my need for Jesus? How do you look in this mirror? Have you broken this Commandment too? Remember what the James 2:10 passage said... If you broke one, you broke them all. You, like me, need Jesus. If we repent (turn from our sins and let Him be Boss) and trust Jesus alone for our Salvation, we are made to appear perfect to God when the wave of Judgment hits, not because of how great we were in our time alive on Earth, but because of how great Jesus is to take our punishment! He pays our fine, and gives us the keys to the Kingdom...what an amazing offer! Fellow 
Christians...Join me in repenting of this sin! Seekers...examine yourself in the mirror of God's moral standard found in a convenient way in Exodus 20. If you have questions, email me any time!Weight Loss update I weigh 266.8. I lost a nifty 3.2 lbs this week. I passed losing 20% of my starting weight this week. God has been kind and gracious to me during this diet!
Memory verse: James 2:10.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment