Book Review: Our Favorite Sins

     Does the title of this book make you a little uncomfortable?  Try carrying it around in public with its bright red, eye-catching color and see if you aren't slightly embarrased.  However, don't let the title nor its color inhibit you from reading this book.  Our Favorite Sins: The Sins We Commit & How You Can Quit by Todd Hunter, is an excellent book. 

     In all honesty, I probably wouldn't have read this book if I wasn't already listening to Todd Hunter.  The thoughts I had about the book, based on the title alone, were condemnation, guilt, a list of ways to "try harder" and more.  However, none of the ideas above were included and actually  it does provide the clearest, condemnation-free way of overcoming sin that I've ever read.

     I slowly soaked my way through the book because it was good, thought-provoking and life-applicable.  I especially enjoyed the insights shared on his phrase, "disordered desire."  He listed the most common ways people "overcome temptation" based on a Barna Group study and then he took the reader back to Scripture and went beyond the act itself to dealing with the root cause of it all.

     One of the reasons I love Todd and his messages, is that he gives hope that there is a better way for us to walk in and that we don't have to live as victims to our sin and temptation.  While we may struggle and have failed in the past, it is not because God's way doesn't work.  Often times, we either don't understand God's way or we've never put it into practice.  This book does an excellent job explaining the life-changing freedom that exists for anyone who wants to do it God's way.

     While I don't have any "favorite sins," I have some annoying ones that tend to hang around all to often.  I have enjoyed and continue to look forward to putting the thoughts and ideas Todd shares into practice in my own life.  So if you too have some sins (favorite or not) that just won't seem to budge, this book may give you some new perspective on it all.

In Christ, 

P.S. I received this book free of charge via The Tommy Nelson Booksneeze Program.  All thoughts and opinions expressed are mine and mine alone.

A Story to Embody: Fourth Sunday of Eastertide

     The verses this week are once again beautiful verses for us to reflect on as we step away from Easter and what the cross means.  I chose to use The Message as the version for this week.  For me, it captures "familiar" verses in a fresh light.  I especially enjoyed seeing Psalm 23 along with John 10:11-18 as Jesus says that He is our Good Shepherd.  Enjoy!

Acts 4:5-12

The next day a meeting was called in Jerusalem. The rulers, religious leaders, religion scholars, Annas the Chief Priest, Caiaphas, John, Alexander—everybody who was anybody was there. They stood Peter and John in the middle of the room and grilled them: "Who put you in charge here? What business do you have doing this?"

8-12With that, Peter, full of the Holy Spirit, let loose: "Rulers and leaders of the people, if we have been brought to trial today for helping a sick man, put under investigation regarding this healing, I'll be completely frank with you—we have nothing to hide. By the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the One you killed on a cross, the One God raised from the dead, by means of his name this man stands before you healthy and whole. Jesus is 'the stone you masons threw out, which is now the cornerstone.' Salvation comes no other way; no other name has been or will be given to us by which we can be saved, only this one."

Psalm 23

God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing.

You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I'm not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd's crook
makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I'm back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.

I John 3:16-24

16-17This is how we've come to understand and experience love: Christ sacrificed his life for us. This is why we ought to live sacrificially for our fellow believers, and not just be out for ourselves. If you see some brother or sister in need and have the means to do something about it but turn a cold shoulder and do nothing, what happens to God's love? It disappears. And you made it disappear.

When We Practice Real Love

18-20My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.

21-24And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us.

John 10:11-18

I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd puts the sheep before himself, sacrifices himself if necessary. A hired man is not a real shepherd. The sheep mean nothing to him. He sees a wolf come and runs for it, leaving the sheep to be ravaged and scattered by the wolf. He's only in it for the money. The sheep don't matter to him.

14-18"I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own sheep and my own sheep know me. In the same way, the Father knows me and I know the Father. I put the sheep before myself, sacrificing myself if necessary. You need to know that I have other sheep in addition to those in this pen. I need to gather and bring them, too. They'll also recognize my voice. Then it will be one flock, one Shepherd. This is why the Father loves me: because I freely lay down my life. And so I am free to take it up again. No one takes it from me. I lay it down of my own free will. I have the right to lay it down; I also have the right to take it up again. I received this authority personally from my Father."

In Christ,

For more information on why I include these weekly passages read: A Story to Embody

Psalm 136: His Love Never Quits

I had to share the Psalm that I read this morning, Psalm 136.  I was captured by the repetitive line: His love never quits.  As you read through the Psalm you will notice it is repeated after every single sentence.  This phrase confirmed what I was already reflecting upon this morning: that we don't need to be afraid of our future, because no matter what happens in our life, God will always be present with us.  The rhythm underlying the course of our lives, is His love never quits (or in other versions His mercy endures forever).  Not only does this phrase underline the story of our lives, it lasts beyond the momentary troubles of our lives - it endures forever; when everything is said and done, the weight of what remains will be His love.

Below is the prayer that accompanied this Psalm found in Daily Prayer:

Remember us, O God, and shape our history,

form our inward eyes

to see the shadow of the life-giving cross

in the turbulence of our time;

for his sake who died for all,

Christ our Lord.

Psalm 136 (MSG)

Thank God! He deserves your thanks.

His love never quits.

Thank the God of all gods,

His love never quits.

Thank the Lord of all lords.

His love never quits.

4-22 Thank the miracle-working God,

His love never quits.

The God whose skill formed the cosmos,

His love never quits.

The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations,

His love never quits.

The God who filled the skies with light,

His love never quits.

The sun to watch over the day,

His love never quits.

Moon and stars as guardians of the night,

His love never quits.

The God who struck down the Egyptian firstborn,

His love never quits.

And rescued Israel from Egypt's oppression,

His love never quits.

Took Israel in hand with his powerful hand,

His love never quits.

Split the Red Sea right in half,

His love never quits.

Led Israel right through the middle,

His love never quits.

Dumped Pharaoh and his army in the sea,

His love never quits.

The God who marched his people through the desert,

His love never quits.

Smashed huge kingdoms right and left,

His love never quits.

Struck down the famous kings,

His love never quits.

Struck Sihon the Amorite king,

His love never quits.

Struck Og the Bashanite king,

His love never quits.

Then distributed their land as booty,

His love never quits.

Handed the land over to Israel.

His love never quits.

23-26 God remembered us when we were down,

His love never quits.

Rescued us from the trampling boot,

His love never quits.

Takes care of everyone in time of need.

His love never quits.

Thank God, who did it all!

His love never quits!

As the prayer and the Psalm above capture, it is okay for us to stop and reflect every moment of our lives through the fact that His love never quits. That underlying echo will shape what we do and who we become. Praying you can hear that echo today.


In Christ,

A Story to Embody: The Third Sunday of Eastertide

Acts 3:12-19

12-16When Peter saw he had a congregation, he addressed the people:

"Oh, Israelites, why does this take you by such complete surprise, and why stare at us as if our power or piety made him walk? The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our ancestors, has glorified his Son Jesus. The very One that Pilate called innocent, you repudiated. You repudiated the Holy One, the Just One, and asked for a murderer in his place. You no sooner killed the Author of Life than God raised him from the dead—and we're the witnesses. Faith in Jesus' name put this man, whose condition you know so well, on his feet—yes, faith and nothing but faith put this man healed and whole right before your eyes.

17-18"And now, friends, I know you had no idea what you were doing when you killed Jesus, and neither did your leaders. But God, who through the preaching of all the prophets had said all along that his Messiah would be killed, knew exactly what you were doing and used it to fulfill his plans.

19-23"Now it's time to change your ways! Turn to face God so he can wipe away your sins, pour out showers of blessing to refresh you, and send you the Messiah he prepared for you, namely, Jesus.

Psalm 4

When I call, give me answers. God, take my side! Once, in a tight place, you gave me room;

Now I'm in trouble again: grace me! hear me!

2 You rabble—how long do I put up with your scorn?

How long will you lust after lies?

How long will you live crazed by illusion?

3 Look at this: look

Who got picked by God!

He listens the split second I call to him.

4-5 Complain if you must, but don't lash out.

Keep your mouth shut, and let your heart do the talking.

Build your case before God and wait for his verdict.

6-7 Why is everyone hungry for more? "More, more," they say.

"More, more."

I have God's more-than-enough,

More joy in one ordinary day

7-8 Than they get in all their shopping sprees.

At day's end I'm ready for sound sleep,

For you, God, have put my life back together.

1 John 3:1-7

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to.

2-3But friends, that's exactly who we are: children of God. And that's only the beginning. Who knows how we'll end up! What we know is that when Christ is openly revealed, we'll see him—and in seeing him, become like him. All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready, with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own.

4-6All who indulge in a sinful life are dangerously lawless, for sin is a major disruption of God's order. Surely you know that Christ showed up in order to get rid of sin. There is no sin in him, and sin is not part of his program. No one who lives deeply in Christ makes a practice of sin. None of those who do practice sin have taken a good look at Christ. They've got him all backward.

7-8So, my dear children, don't let anyone divert you from the truth. It's the person who acts right who is right, just as we see it lived out in our righteous Messiah. Those who make a practice of sin are straight from the Devil, the pioneer in the practice of sin. The Son of God entered the scene to abolish the Devil's ways.

Luke 24:36b-48

Don't be upset, and don't let all these doubting questions take over. Look at my hands; look at my feet—it's really me. Touch me. Look me over from head to toe. A ghost doesn't have muscle and bone like this." As he said this, he showed them his hands and feet. They still couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was too much; it seemed too good to be true.


41-43He asked, "Do you have any food here?" They gave him a piece of leftover fish they had cooked. He took it and ate it right before their eyes.

You're the Witnesses

44Then he said, "Everything I told you while I was with you comes to this: All the things written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled."

45-49He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way. He said, "You can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day, and then a total life-change through the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations—starting from here, from Jerusalem! You're the first to hear and see it. You're the witnesses.

In Christ,



Photo courtesy: Melanie Guest Photography

For more information on why I include this weekly post read: A Story to Embody.
 

Draw Me a Map that Leads Me Back to You: The Traps of Ministry

This is part three in a series entitled: "Draw Me a Map that Leads Me Back to You."  It is a series about a difficult season in my marriage and how my marriage was restored and strengthened to better than ever.

I've entitled part 3: The Traps of Ministry
As I mentioned in post 1, about the time my husband started a crisis of faith was the same time my individual ministry began to take off.  His crisis of faith was not unfounded; there were various stressful events within the extended family during this time.  I started getting involved in various types of ministry and it started to lead me farther and farther away from home.  At times, my husband would ask me not to go somewhere or do something and I would justify my refusal to follow his lead with thoughts like, "I don't have to listen to him because he is just jealous of God.  My first duty is to God."  I thought his leading was preventing me from doing all the things God wanted to do through me so I chose to rebel against the design of God but I tried to cushion my rebellion "in the name of God." At the time, the words: prideful, self-absorbed, self-righteous didn't dawn on me.

I didn't know how to translate all that was happening in my "God sphere" to him, and often times his questions and doubts would only aggravate me more and more.  After months and months of conflict we finally came to a long, tearful argument where I insisted we meet with a pastoral couple for advice.  I excitedly attended that meeting, hoping that they would convince my husband that God was indeed real and that he needed to suck it up and become a better husband.  Thankfully, God brought us to the right couple and their gracious and guiding words started us on a path to healing.

Their response to my husband's crisis of faith? He was right where he needed to be, in fact he was in a beautiful spot!  He was looking for genuine faith, not anything fake, and God could handle that.  I left their house very humbled and changed.  I don't know what else was said that night, but those words resounded so true in my heart that they began to change me and how I operated.  See before that my Christianity didn't provide room for doubt or questions.  I thought my husband needed to get his act together - on his own.  However, these words released him and I from the responsibility of "fixing his faith."  It instead made room for God to be God and for me to be his wife.  I began to accept and love my husband on the journey that he was on, and I began to appreciate the heart he had; a heart that only wanted what was genuine and true. I realized that my reactions of fear and anger had actually been rooted in a doubt that God had the ability to show himself as real, to my husband.  I have since realized, that God can meet anyone right where they are at.

I also realized that my ministry was actually causing pain and trouble in my marriage and so I made the choice to  step away from all ministry during that time.  I realized that I couldn't be in ministry if things were not right within my home. This was not an easy thing for me to do, ministry was how I was "measuring" my relationship with God and I no longer had a way to measure (this stepping away also did a healing in my relationship with God, that I didn't realize needed healing).  I realized I needed to invest in my marriage and in my husband as a person.  I needed to learn how to love him, right where he was at, without an expectation that he would ever change.  I had no guarantees that my stepping away, would lead to changes in him, and so I truly stepped away in complete surrender.  I asked God to teach me how to love and respect my husband and He was so faithful to teach me how. 
I realize now, how very fortunate I am that God was able to capture my reluctant heart and teach me that He could care less how many people were ministered to by me.  He had blessed me with an amazing man, amazing children and He wanted me to learn how to love Him and them well.  We have all seen or heard of people who have amazing ministries but then their marriages fall apart.  I have seen first hand how easily that could happen and I've tasted the lies that help lead down that path.  Please realize the importance of investing in your spouse, over "ministry" any day, everyday.

In Christ,



Photos courtesy Melanie Guest Photography