Sunday, August 22, 2021

Lying Hurts





 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor”   Exodus 20:16


         As I continue my youthful blogs, I want to talk about lying.  The Bible is clear that lying is a sin and is displeasing to God.  The first sin in this world involved a lie told to Eve.   "In the early church, Ananias and Sapphira lied regarding a donation in order to make themselves look more generous than they really were. Peter’s rebuke is stern: “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit?”. God’s judgment was sterner: the couple died as a result of their sin of lying.   Jesus called Himself the way, the truth, and the life, and He expects those who follow Him to be people of truth. The truth is to be expressed in love, offering hope to those seeking redemption from the lies of the world. [gotquestions.org]


         "Satan continues his efforts to make sin less offensive, heaven less appealing, hell less horrific and the Gospel less urgent." - John MacArthur


            Yes, we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  I freely admit that I am a sinner and that includes my days of lying, as a teenager.  God knows all of our sinful ways and sometimes our parents find out about them too.  

             In 7th and 8th grade, I played the flute in band.  It wasn't my love or my talent.  I was supposed to practice a few times a week and record it in a chart.  One time, my parents had went out to dinner and when they came home, they asked "Did you practice your flute?'  I answered without any doubt, "Yes!"   My dad went back out to the car and brought my flute back into the house.  BUSTED!!  The lie I told was undeniable.  My parents told me how disappointed they were of me.  I felt ashamed and went to them asking for forgiveness.


             We should all repent of our sinful ways and ask for forgiveness from God.  Ephesians 1:7-8  "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us."  God has His arms open wide ready to welcome you into His kingdom with His free gift of salvation.