My Daily Pause

Sin entered the world through the first two people.

Sin was present the very moment Israel started wandering in the desert. They couldn’t even follow directions in how to gather the manna. (Exodus 16)

God gave Moses the law so we could recognize sin and understand what is expected of us. All this in preparation for Christ’s sacrifice to release us form the law. (Romans 7)

Isn’t it hard to believe that the Pharaoh’s heart was so hard that he could say no to Moses after so many plagues? If you remember from Exodus 4:21, God told Moses that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart. It worked so well that the Pharaoh allowed the plague of frogs to stay an extra night when he could have ended it immediately. (Exodus 8:9-10)

God delivered “Shock and Awe” to the world with power and control like none alive at the time had ever seen. This is a good place to start when trying to figure out how to apply it, but it goes so much deeper. I hope you noticed it:

God can do his work through evil men just as easily as he can work through his followers!

Romans 13:1-7 authorizes governments without defining what model they use – It could be a democracy or a dictatorship. It also reminds us that that power is God-given. Sooo … What does that mean for us?

We don’t have to despair when we are governed by sinners. Keep God in view and focus on doing his will and he will deal with the rest.

Bonus: David addresses a similar theme in Psalm 64

Ahab and Jehoshaphat tried to change the word of God, just like the people of the world are today. Ahab tried to have his own desires forced on God, but then attempted to hide when he realized it wasn’t going to work out for him. (2 Chronicles 18, 1 Kings 22)

The things God has deemed as sinful will still be counted as sins on the judgment day no matter how much society tries to convinces us of the  contrary.

 ¹³ Foolishness is like a loud woman;
she does not have wisdom or knowledge.
¹⁴ She sits at the door of her house
at the highest place in the city.
¹⁵ She calls out to those who are passing by,
who are going along, minding their own business.
¹⁶ She says to those who are uneducated,
“Come in here, you foolish people!
¹⁷ Stolen water is sweeter,
and food eaten in secret tastes better.”
¹⁸ But these people don’t know that everyone who goes there dies,
that her guests end up deep in the grave. – Proverbs 9:13-18 NCV

Living a godly life takes a lot of practice. It is a life lived by surrounding ourselves with good things.

Sinfulness is always present and ready to lead us away from the light. Peter says the devil is a “roaring lion on the prowl” (1 Peter 5:8). Be careful not to trade a lifetime of happiness for a day of fun.

 ¹² It will keep you from the wicked,
from those whose words are bad,
¹³ who don’t do what is right
but what is evil.
¹⁴ They enjoy doing wrong
and are happy to do what is crooked and evil.
¹⁵ What they do is wrong,
and their ways are dishonest. – Proverbs 2:12-15 NCV

Proverbs 2 lists five fruits of wisdom. This third paragraph is about the evil that God’s word will deliver one from.

Read about the first fruit, Finding God, here.

Read about the second fruit, The Rewards of Wisdom here.

Have you ever noticed that places where sinful things happen are usually in the dark? People have a built in desire to hide when they are doing something wrong. To associate with these things then is to avoid the light and to eventually enjoy them (v14).

Paul reminds us to cast off the darkness (Romans 13:12 – and yes, that means not to associate with it) and gives us a few examples of things that occur in the dark (Romans 13:13)

Christians are expected to avoid being in sinful situations. Those who accept God’s wisdom are insulated from desire to sin (v12).