Gracious God, hallow be Thy Name, let Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done on earth. Father, we thank You, we bless You, we worship You, be Thou glorified.
This is day the Lord has made, we should rejoice and be glad in it. O Lord we came to say Thank You for Whom You Are and not for What You have done. Whatever we receive is by Your mercy and if we do not, You Are still God. Therefore, we bow down and we worship You, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.
Beloved, we are running in final lap of the year, by His grace I pray for You, You will not only finish well, you will finish strong. You will not fall by the wayside; you will touch the finishing line, brace the tape and step into Year 2015 graciously in Jesus Name! Amen.
So don’t give up, whatever you might still be believing God is still yours to clam. Don’t forget our God is the God of eleventh hour, He will never be fail to come and He will never be late.
Some of us are back to work after the Christmas break while most people are still on vacation, either way, the faithfulness of God can never be taken for granted and we are grateful.
O God! be our helper in the remaining part of this year, when we stumble, help us not to fail, for satan is lurking round seeking whom to take away from the Kingdom. May our guardian angles be up to their responsibility to keep us from falling in sin especially in a season like this (Ps 91:11) (TM) (Jud: 24).
Why the emphasis on this falling away at this time of the year when we should be talking more of how to achieve our targets in this final lap. Not to worry, come along with me to see why we must watch over our souls now and every other time for the salvation of our souls and to be keep it sacred ever:
10 Good Reasons Why We Do Not Want To Twaddle Around With Sin
- 1. “Be happy, young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment… including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 11:9; 12:14b)
- “‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)
- “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matthew 12:36)
- “There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.” (Luke 12:2)
- “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30, 31)
- “On the day [of judgment]… God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ… ” (Romans 2:16b)
- “You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat… So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10, 12)
- “God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts… ” (1 Corinthians 4:5b)
- “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
10.”Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books… Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:12, 14, 15)
Beware beloved,that which giveth Thee pleasure, can also lead to sorrow, and all leads to vanity. How do I mean? Someone wants to know. Sometimes we think we can hide things from God, know yea not that the things done in the secret will be expose in the light. God is everywhere, everywhere dear beloved.
We will consider the life of David before and after he committed sexual sin with Bathsheba.
Remember David when he first came to “limelight” as we will often say today. First, he became an armor bearer for king Saul, he played the harp that repelled the evil spirit from Saul. Again, here is David when he brought food to his brothers at the battle field, heard the boosting of Goliath defying the God of Israel volunteered to fight in the Name of the Lord and God gave him victory. David became a wonder to his people, this lead Saul to jealously and he sought to kill him but God not only protected him but also gave him the throne emplace of Saul.
David fought many wars and won, he conquered many nations. He became famous and had many wives to himself. God blessed Him with many children and wealth. Beloved, David was a “success” in any way you look at it. But what happened to this man after God heart. Come as we consider three questions about his sexual liaison with Bathsheba:
I Have Three Questions About David’s Sexual Liaison With Bathsheba
- How could David so easily go from victory and magnanimity to cold-blooded murder?
The answer lies in the unimaginable power of sexual temptation. Believe it, that there is a level of titillation that all of us would find irresistible. Surely we must ask ourselves, “Just what would it take to bring me down?“
David was at the apex of his power and prestige. Only recently had he danced in the street before the Lord, and had shown unprecedented generosity toward Jonathan’s crippled son, Mephibosheth. (2 Samuel 6:12-15; 7:1, 2; 9)
Could it be that David’s towering success brought about complacency, (he was lounging when kings routinely go to war), pride, and a false sense of security? “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don‘t fall!” (1 Corinthians 10:12) (See Proverbs 11:2; 16:18; 18:12; 28:14; 29:23; Isaiah 2:11; Daniel 4:30-37)
- How could David maintain a religious facade, while leading a double life?
When Nathan the prophet related a story of injustice to David that mirrored his own heinous sin, his immediate response was one of “righteous” rage, “David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! He must pay… four times over… ‘” (2 Samuel 12:5, 6a)
I am reminded of Paul’s indictment of phony religious types, “People will be lovers of themselves… having a form of godliness but denying its power… ” (2 Timothy 3:1a, 5a) (See Matthew 23:25-28)
- How could David be so blinded to the long term damage to his family and nation?
It appears that David secretly believed he could get away with leading a double life. Yet he paid dearly, thus bearing out the Scriptures’ warning, “You may be sure that your sin will find you out… Many are the victims she (the immoral woman) has brought down; her slain are a mighty throng… ” (Numb. 32:23a; Proverbs 7:26) (See 2 Samuel 12-20)
So, how can we ensure that we will not fall into sexual sins, as did David? Here are four suggestions:
Regular exposure to, and application of the Word of God, allowing it to impact our lives at the deepest level. (Hebrews 4:12, 13; James 1:22-25)
- Daily soul-searching, repentance, and brokenness. (Matthew 5:3, 4; Psalm 139:23, 24; 2 Corinthians 13:5)
- Learning what it means to walk moment-by-moment in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16; Romans 8:2, 12-14)
- Careful observation of others who have fallen in order to learn from their mistakes. (Proverbs 1:20-22)
In addition to above read Col 3:5-16- living a new life with Christ. So, we walk circumvent like the wise, like the children of light (Eph 5:8).
Now you know why we must grid our life more at this time as much as other times.
Remain blessed in the Lord.
