My Daily Pause

Author: Butch Adams

  • Cover Ups

     

    Hiding from God didn't work for Adam and it doesn't work for us.
    Hiding from God didn’t work for Adam and it doesn’t work for us.

    How much time needs to pass before an unforgiven sin no longer counts against us? Is that even possible? The Proverbs writer answers for us:

    If you hide your sins, you will not succeed.
    If you confess and reject them, you will receive mercy – Proverbs 28:13 NCV

    Sins can’t be hidden and they don’t expire when we just ignore them. What are the ways we hide and “forget” our sins?

    • We deny them
    • We extenuate them
    • We diminish them
    • We dissemble them
    • We blame others for them

    Sometimes we get good enough to quit thinking about them at all. Look at what David wrote when he was hiding from a sin:

    For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah. – Psalms 32:3-4

    People by nature “groan” when they are in the wrong – when they need to be forgiven. This is for our own good!

    because …

    …people are by nature sinful.

    God hears the repentant Christian’s call for forgiveness. (1 John 1:9) He wants us to lean on him, not hide from him. However, hiding our sin leaves us in a dangerous state (1 John 1:10)

  • A Prayer of Moderation

    The Lord's Prayer - ca, 1890 - James Tissot (1836–1902)
    The Lord’s Prayer – ca, 1890 – James Tissot (1836–1902)

    “I ask two things from you, Lord.
    Don’t refuse me before I die.

    Keep me from lying and being dishonest.
    And don’t make me either rich or poor;
    just give me enough food for each day.

    If I have too much, I might reject you
    and say, ‘I don’t know the Lord.’
    If I am poor, I might steal
    and disgrace the name of my God.  – Proverbs 30:7-9 NCV

    The Bible generally shows us examples of prayers that are simple and short. Another thing I notice is that they generally de-emphasize self and focus on God and others. The Proverbs writer’s example is one that helps us see the beauty of godliness and simplicity. Here we see the desire to avoid the temptations of the extreme conditions of life.

    In the Lord’s Model Prayer, (Matthew 6:5-13) Jesus shows the listeners a prayer with four simple ingredients:

    • Praise (Matthew 6:9-10) – God first. Remember to tell him you love him and want his plans to succeed
    • Provision (Matthew 6:11) – We shouldn’t hesitate to ask for what we need (Also see Philippians 4:6)
    • Purification (Matthew 6:12) – Help us to be forgiving and forgivers
    • Protection (Matthew 6:13) – Keep us out of trouble

    A little prayer goes a long ways, just like a little contentment returns great gain. (1 Timothy 6:6) If you need to improve your prayer routine, simple is a great place to start.

    …The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much – James 5:16

  • Struggling to Get in the Trap

    Freedom doesn't always look like we thought it would.
    Freedom doesn’t always look like we thought it would.

    The world thinks that living outside of God’s boundaries provides some sort of freedom.

    The Proverb writer did not think so:

    Evil people are trapped by their own sin,
    but good people can sing and be happy. – Proverbs 29:6 NCV

    By looking at other versions we can see they used different words to try to get the point across:

    • snare
    • ensnared
    • caught
    • etc.

    In the Greek, the literal word is a noose or a nose hook. Sin does not give us freedom – it places us in a noose!

    Look at the things a careless lifestyle causes:

    • bad reputations
    • addictions
    • health issues
    • relationship problems

    The list could keep going, but isn’t that enough?

    Godly and faithful people have much cause for celebration. They have hope. (Hebrews 11:1) Those who will not or cannot turn from their sinful ways do not know hope. They also do not know the peace Paul describes in Philippians 4:4-8.

    Choose to stay with God’s freedom.

    Choose hope.

  • What Have You Heard?

    How easy is it to change the story?
    How easy is it to change the story?

    The person who tells one side of a story seems right, until someone else comes and asks questions. – Proverbs 18:17 NCV

    How often have you heard “perception is truth” in the business place?

    How many times a day are persuasive arguments used to back a false premise?

    Do you ever make decisions based on what you’ve heard rather than your research?

    It happens in business, sports – everywhere.

    Worse, I know I don’t have to tell you that this get done with God’s word every day. Even when one reads the truth right out of the Bible, they are convinced it says something else by a skilled speaker.

    We fix it by:

    • Knowing the word
    • Correcting the error
    • Teaching the truth
  • The Correct Path

    The Correct Path

    There is only one correct way
    There is only one correct path

    Doing what is right is the way to life, but there is another way that leads to death. – Proverbs 12:28 NCV

    If there is a way to restate this verse to make it more understandable, I’m not sure what it would be.

    Jesus spent his life as a living example of the right way:

    • He is the way
    • He is the truth
    • and none of us will get to the Father except through Him (John 14:6).

    Couple that with:

    • There is only one God (Ephesians 4:4-6)

    When we come to the fork in the road, best to check the directions God gave us.

  • We Are What We Think About

    We are what we think about
    We are what we think about

    Earl Nightingale’s famous motivational speech “The Strangest Secret in the World” seemed ground breaking in 1961 when it sold over a million copies. Its powerful message was simply “We become what we think about.” The key factor is that You will grow a healthy crop of whatever you plant in the fields of your mind. It doesn’t matter if what you put in there is good or bad, your mind will return it in abundance.

    The idea wasn’t new in 1961. The Bible has been teaching this all along!  Philippians 4:8, one of the theme verses for this website, tells us to think about only “the good things.” Paul closes the Philippians letter with that and some other exhortations for living godly lives. I am certain that having the “mind of Christ” (Philippians 2:5) is not possible when worldly things enter it.

    Look what Solomon has to say about our thoughts:

    Be careful what you think,
    because your thoughts run your life.
    Don’t use your mouth to tell lies;
    don’t ever say things that are not true.
    Keep your eyes focused on what is right,
    and look straight ahead to what is good.
    Be careful what you do,
    and always do what is right.
    Don’t turn off the road of goodness;
    keep away from evil paths. – Proverbs 4:23-27 NCV

    The things that routinely dominate our thoughts are what we become.

    The good thing is we have full control over it!