Lies

"Do not take an oath for any promise. Do not swear by the heavens, for they are God's throne, nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great king. Do not even swear by your head, because you cannot make a single hair white or black. Say yes when you mean yes and say no when you mean no. Anything else you say comes from the devil." Matthew 5:34-37

We tell lots of lies; big lies meant to deceive and little lies to not get in trouble or hurt someone's feelings. If we know that Jesus is the Truth, then lies, no matter how small, have no place in Him. When I read this verse, it really scared me. I thought about all the silly little lies I tell in the day but I really need to take this seriously if its what the Lord commands. The fact that Jesus said that we need to answer yes when yes and no when no unless we let the devil work through us should serve as a stern warning for the next time we speak to someone. And when the Lord tells us to do something, we need to remember that its for our own good. Lies, even the smallest ones, can get us into trouble that we have to keep lying about to get our heads over water. Being able to answer someone with truth merits more respect from others and makes us people of dignity and honor. It doesn't happen overnight and there's no way we could probably never lie again, but what matters is that we try to walk in faith, as Jesus did, and work with honesty instead of deceit.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, give me the strength and conviction to speak the truth at all times. Give me the courage to speak honestly and that although the truth may hurt at times, I always follow through with what Your will is. In Your Name we pray, amen.

You Are Not Your Own

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, given by God? You belong no longer to yourselves." -1st Corinthians 6: 19-20

Sin has an ugly affect on our lives. It blinds us and makes us believe in our own lies and deceptions, giving way to our own perdition. It leads us to foolishly trust ourselves and lose sight of the fact that we belong to God and He is the ONLY source of strength.

I heard this song today called "There You Go Again," and I hope that you see yourself in these lyrics and are able to repent from sins that are suffocating you.

There you go again, stepping 'cross another line, scorning all the warning signs, flying in the face of danger. There you go again, slickly twisting truth around 'till you can't tell up from down, treating wisdom like a stranger. There you go again.

There you go again, you take temptation lying down, you're giving sin a breeding ground, buying into its seduction. There you go again, trusting your own will and power, you race a hundred miles an hour down the path of self-destruction.

Have you forgotten who you are? Have you forgotten where your strength comes from? Have you forgotten whose you are? You are not your own…you are not your own.

But there you go again, you hang up on the Spirit's call, ignore the writings on the wall, blindly minding your own senses. There you go again, bowing to your every whim, and tearing conscience limb from limb, you disable your defenses. There you go again, you insult grace and strut your stuff, you make believe you're strong enough to avoid the consequences. There you go again.

Today's Prayer is for you to sit and think about your own sins. You are not your own; ask God to root the sins out of your soul.