Things I read that get my attention

"A Christian, therefore, knows that if he were to die tonight and stand before God, and if God were to say, 'Why should I let you into my presence?' the Christian would say, 'You shouldn't let me in. I have sinned and owe you a debt that I cannot pay back.' But he wouldn't stop there. He would continue, 'Yet, because of your great promises and mercy, I depend on the blood of Jesus Christ shed as a substitute for me, paying my moral debt, satisfying your holy and righteous requirements, and removing your wrath against sin!'"

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How does a person escape God's wrath? Believe that Jesus came, died for our sins, and then resurrected to Heaven to sit on the right side of God. His blood saved us from our sins. Now we believe, repent for all of our sins and pray for forgiveness. For me, who believes, death becomes a gateway to paradise; suffering becomes a pathway to holiness; and sin becomes a dethroned enemy (satan)that we fight by the power of God’s Spirit. Repentance means that we are changing our mind about God and about ourselves. We are laying down our own foolish efforts to save ourselves. We are turning away from self-sufficiency. At the same time we are turning towards Christ. We trust that He alone is the one who can save us. We are entrusting ourselves to him.


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Ephesians 5:3-6 New International Version (NIV)
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a] 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient.

Now when I read that I thought.. hmmm lets dig a little deeper. and see what really this message is all about... well The question in my bible study was.. what responsibility, if any, do you have in regard to people who claim to be believers but are participating in these things.. well the answer to that is.. read this and then ask yourself that question.

Sexual immorality Sexual immorality is the “selling off” of sexual purity and involves any type of sexual expression outside the boundaries of a biblically defined marriage relationship, Pornography, adultery, prostitution, sexual relationships between unmarried individuals, homosexuality “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” We fool ourselves when we think that we can stubbornly choose sin and God does not care. Sexual immorality is wrong. The blood of Jesus can cleanse us from every type of impurity when we repent and receive His. But that cleansing means our old nature, including sexual immorality, is put to death, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”

Impurity Impurity is the condition of being defiled in some sense. The word impurity can also refer to the contaminant itself: an unwanted substance that makes something unclean. The concepts of purity and impurity are important in the Bible’s presentation of holiness. Eating an unclean food would make one impure. Impurity really includes all kinds of sin and encompasses any activity, thought, word, or action that does not conform to God’s will for our lives. “God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life”. The glory of the gospel is that God can make what is impure, pure; and what is unclean, clean. To our eternal joy, God desires to do just that, for Christ’s sake: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” Now the animals I must not eat anymore are Pig, like Bacon, Ham, Pork, most sausages, pepperoni, clams, crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, scallops and shrimp. No more rabbit, alligator, camel, or frogs. Clean foods I will provide will be Beef, Veal, Deer, Goat, Moose, Lamb or mutton, Chicken, Duck, Goose, Turkey, Haddock and Halibut, Salmon, and Tuna…. There is enough there to fulfill me. A pig is one of the uncleanest land animals there is, cannibalism for one, if you starve a pig for 3-4 days it will eat a human being dead or alive.

Greed… Greed is a strong and selfish desire to have more of something, most often money or power. Greed and a desire for riches are traps that bring ruin and destruction. “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” and Christians are warned, “Do not put your trust in wealth” Covetousness, or having an excessive or greedy desire for more, is idolatry. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’ Greed refuses to be satisfied. More often than not, the more we get, the more we want. Material possessions will not protect us—in this life or eternally. We are to serve God, not waste our time trying to become rich. Our heart’s desire should be to store up riches in heaven and not worry about what we will eat or drink or wear. “But seek first [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”

Obscenity - Behaviour or language that is offensive, rude or disgusting. An obscenity is a dirty word or phrase. It can also refer to the quality of being lewd, bawdy, or just plain offensive. ... They are obscenities, which are also known as swear words. You can also say that anything offensive or inappropriate is an obscenity.

Foolish talk - indecent or off-color jokes – intoxication or drunkenness can cause major foolish talk. We should not be talking to people just to tear them down. The purpose of our conversations is to build people up, to make them better people. Exchanging pleasantries is a part of a proper conversation. Warnings against these types of speech tells us that he was primarily referring to improper joking around concerning sexual matters and unclean thoughts because they would leave the hearer with the wrong impression regarding the Christian's life.

Course Joking - Indecent or vulgar jesting, improper jokes. Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out. Crude humour has never helped anyone. Do not be shaped by this world; instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you; you will know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect. Humour and laughter in their most natural and healthy forms are spontaneous, not contrived, not planned. Exuberance with life in all of its unexpected, often humorous turns and the kind of sparkling conversation that erupts from time to time with side-splitting laughter, that is the type of humour you want to hear. A hearty laugh is no more foolishness, than a hearty cry.

Immorality is evil, sinful, or otherwise wrong behavior. Immorality is often called wickedness and is a state avoided by good people. Since morality refers to things that are right, immorality has to do with things that are wrong — like stealing, lying, and murdering.

Impure – This has to do with moral freedom, which is not the right to do what we want, but the power to do what we ought. Moral impurity develops when one violates his conscience and does not resolve the guilt he feels because of his sin.
Guilt should motivate us to bring our sins before God in confession and repentance, seeking His forgiveness and the forgiveness of others as necessary. Through the conviction of sin, God desires to increase the scope of our moral consciousness so that we are aware when we offend God and others. This consciousness is a key to living with responsibility and honour.
However, when we respond to guilt by justifying our actions, rationalizing our decisions, or trying to compensate for our sin by doing “good” things, we do not resolve the guilt. Eventually the mind and conscience will alleviate the pressure of guilt by justifying moral impurity. This response dulls our spiritual perception and the conscience becomes hardened. Consequently, we become bound by impurity and false philosophies. People will begin to resist Biblical rules or standards, proclaiming that they are too rigid or unrealistic. Then they will seek out philosophies that agree with what they want to believe—and embrace them as their own.
Now at a point where a person has made a conscious choice to follow immorality, whether that involves lying, stealing, sexual immorality, or other sins, he realizes the need to convince others that his philosophy is right and theirs is wrong. This situation leads to arguments, debates, and condemnation of hypocrites.

Think about it.. When a person comes into contact with an immoral situation, his conscience is awakened. Asking the question “Should I do this?” and then finding reasons to justify the action are indications of an awakened conscience. As a person is tempted, he will begin to question the rules and look for excuses to allow his behavior. Once the immoral action is carried out, a sense of guilt immediately follows. Guilt is a function of the spirit, not a function of the mind. If guilt is not quickly resolved, it will damage the spirit, soul, and body. At this point, the person will either repent and resolve the guilt (upholding moral purity) or justify his actions and try to alleviate the guilt (developing moral impurity).


Disobedient is deliberately not doing what someone tells you to do, or what a rule or law says that you should do. Disobedience is the opposite of obedience actually. In a spiritual sense, disobedience is not doing what God commands. Disobedience doesn’t cause us to lose our salvation but does cause God sorrow. We can find out what God wants us to do by studying the Bible, and doing what it says to do, and through the leading of the Holy Spirit.


Idolaters extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone. Image-worship or divine honour paid to any created object. The first and second commandments are directed against idolatry of every form. Some forms of idolatry are:

Excessive attention or attachment to something, like the worship of trees, rivers, hills, stones, etc.
Nature worship, the worship of the sun, moon, and stars, as the supposed powers of nature.
Hero worship, the worship of deceased ancestors, or of heroes.
It starts in the heart: craving, wanting, enjoying, being satisfied by anything that you treasure more than God. That is an idol.

So finally: What is an idol? Well, it is the thing. It is the thing loved or the person loved more than God, wanted more than God, desired more than God, treasured more than God, enjoyed more than God. It could be a girlfriend, wife, child. It could be the approval of other people. It could be a hobby or a musical group that you are following or a sport. Or your own looks could be an idol. It could be anything. Today idolatry remains a powerful tool that the devil uses to turn us away from God. However, now it has taken many different forms. In reality, idols are impotent blocks of stone or wood, and their power exists only in the minds of the worshipers. Well, believe it or not, the most common warning about sin in Scripture does not deal with lying, gossip, adultery, stealing, or murder. The most common sin in all of Scripture that we’re told to avoid, reject, and move away from is idolatry. When it comes to idolatry, the danger is not in an item… it is in us.

As our love for God increases, our tolerance for idolatry will decrease. Many people build and furnish a home and buy the car first--and then find they "cannot afford" to pay tithing, or help others with their talents. Whom do they worship? Certainly not the Lord of heaven and earth, for we serve whom we love and give first consideration to the object of our affection and desires. There's nothing wrong with having possessions, but we have to be careful to keep them in perspective. They can steal too much of our time and attention.

Working hard is a good thing. Owning a home is a good thing. Having a nice holiday from time to time to relax and rejuvenate is a good thing. The problem is when we take it too far, the danger is that these things control us and consume much of our thought life. That is when idolatry has gotten a foothold in our life. It can sneak right in there when you dont keep an eye out for it.

God doesn’t want anything to come between you and him. He loves you, wants what is best for you. He is not trying to stop you from having good things and enjoying great experiences, he just wants to make sure that you don’t lose sight of your purpose on earth, that is to advance his kingdom, or to become so consumed by things to the world that your relationship with him suffers, or worse still ceases altogether.

Take a look back at your past week and ask yourself, “Where were my thoughts? What was I busy with?” If you have an honest and pure desire to serve God, then you need to think about this.. Make sure your thoughts are not on a wandering, back-and-forth trail, but that your mind is set firmly on things above! God will bless such a heart that is wholly for Him, that is why you are here.

God never said that money, nor having it or making it is evil. It is the love of money that is evil. So let me challenge you today, by asking you this – are there any possession or plans in your life that are distracting you from your love of God and holding you back from the purpose he has for you? If so, it is easy to fix, and God loves a repentant heart. He will help you back on track and live for him each day.