Keeping accountable part 2

Last time I was at Pacific Mall, I saw some cops handcuffing a dvd store owner. It was a store near one of the entrances, with people walking by, like myself, who were in clear view of this arrest. Some people walking by were making phone calls to warn others. The look on the face of the person being arrested wasn't shock, anger or fear. It was a face of annoyance. There was no remorse. Anyway, as we walked away, I noticed a number of other stores with closed doors, with movie posters covering up all the glass. I also know that this is not the only dvd store bust. It seems that the store owners just go on with business as usual.

And I wondered.. why do they keep their business going, even when they know they could get arrested and fined?

Perhaps the consequences are not serious enough for it to stop. Perhaps there is a big enough market for it to risk getting caught. Perhaps its just so rampant that people don't care. Who knows why the keep doing it.

Before I got too carried away in my thoughts of how bad these store owners were.. I was reminded of how as humans we are very similar in the way we treat sin (whether it be lust, greed, pride, anger, treating someone a certain way, whatever it is you call it, I'll call it sin here.) In Greek sin literally means to miss the mark. To not be on target of what God has in store for us.

We know it's not good.. we know there are consequences. Even worse, we know God does not approve. Why do we keep doing it then? Why is it so hard to turn the other way?

Is it because the consequences aren't serious enough? Is it because everyone is doing it, so it seems ok? Is it because we keep making excuses?

The Bible tells us that there are clear consequences for sin. The children of Israel in Isaiah's day were complaining about God's remoteness. Isaiah answered them by writing, "Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you, nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call. It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore." (Isaiah 59:1-2)

The Bible has many examples of sin's consequences, and they are not short of serious consequences. Adam and Eve were driven out of Paradise, and denied access to the tree of life because of their sin (Genesis 3). The ancient world was destroyed by a great Flood as a result of the wickedness of the day (Genesis 6-8). Israel was sentenced to wander in the wilderness for a generation because they refused to enter Canaan (Numbers 14).

Do you have any unconfessed sin in your life?

Don't let it have a grip on you. It will affect your ministry, your relationship with others, and ultimately your relationship with God. It is like a spiritual cancer that affects every area of your life. Find a trusted Christian peer or mentor to pray with you and keep you accountable to staying track. We need people in our lives, trusted Christian peers, to confide in and to keep us accountable for our actions, thoughts and motives.

Not only do we have a community that can help us, we also have a God who is one of mercy and grace. All He asks is that you connect with Him and surrender your sin at the foot of the cross. At a cross where our sins were already paid for. The journey to the cross to fully surrender, and the transformation that happens when we fully embrace the message of the gospel, often is just what we need to start afresh again.

*rebecca

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I have a friend from back home with whom I had a big falling out with many years ago. I felt very betrayed and upset.  I couldn't even face him because I felt like what he did was so wrong. For a long time, since we had the same group of friends, when we all got together, there was tension and awkwardness. I kept thinking 'I have nothing to say to him' or 'why would he even be deserving of my conversation or presence!?'. After a few more get togethers, we began to be civil and were able to make small-talk. This is how it was for a long time. We just accepted it and let it be without any mention of the situation.

A few weeks ago, out of the blue, we brought up our disagreement. We talked it out, were bluntly honest and, for the first time, understood each others' sides of the story. We reconciled and became close again after almost 6 years of limbo. When I left the conversation, my thought was 'how come I didn't bring this up earlier!?'. I felt so distant from such a close friend for so long, I didn't even remember how good it was to be open, real and honest with him. I felt like I had denied a blessing from the Lord because I was too prideful to bring things up.

To shift the focus a bit from consequences as becca wrote above, I feel there are many of us who do sin and feel badly about it - at least for a short time.  Similar to my falling out with my friend, we can't look at ourselves and feel so rotten at first. After a while though, the feelings fade and everything sort of becomes 'okay'. We live with it thinking it hasn't affected us, we cope and we move on.

My question here is what sorts of sins in your life are un-dealt with? Why is it, that at random times, you may feel guilty about things? Why do you get naturally angry or defensive when certain things are brought up? The reality is that with unreconciled sin, we are not okay; it slowly eats away at us from the inside out and changes our character. It makes us hard-hearted and more prideful. It eventually poisons our minds. In essence, by holding it in, we are denying so many blessings from the Lord. He is like the Father of the prodigal son holding his arms open waiting for us to come HOME so He can shower us with grace, mercy, love and PEACE but so often, we're stuck thinking things are 'okay' when they're not.

*sam

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Interrupting Heaven:
We recently had a couple news segments on the fairchild and omni2.. Pray for our reach into the community, that people who would not otherwise be reached by AFC would be reached and would be interested in attending TC!