LIE: This is such a minor, insignificant sin! It’s not really a big deal in God’s eyes.
TRUTH: Every sin is a horribly offensive to God. Sin is the sum of all evils, the opposite of all that is good, holy, and beautiful. Even the smallest of my sins required the death of the Son of God. There is no such thing as a minor sin. Every sin is cosmic treason.

LIE: I’ll give into sin this one time, then I’ll be done with it. I just need to get it out of my system.
TRUTH: Every time I give into a sin it becomes more difficult to break the power of that sin. Sin has a way of sinking it’s barbed hooks deep into my heart. I can’t simply sin and then walk away from it unscathed. The more I give in to sin, the more entangled I become. Sin always leaves scars.

LIE: This sin is part of who I am. I’ve always struggled this way and I always will sin this way.
TRUTH: Sin does not define my identity! I am a new creation in Christ. Christ has set me free from the enslaving power of sin. I absolutely do not have to obey the sinful passions that surge through me. I may have always struggled this way, but my past does not define my future.

LIE: I need to give in to this sin in order to be happy.
TRUTH: Sin never provides true happiness. It promises sweetness, yet ultimately delivers a payload of destruction, dissastisfaction, ruined relationships, and hardness of heart.

LIE: God wants me to be happy, therefore it’s okay for me to give in to sin.
TRUTH: God does want me to be happy. However, my happiness will only rise as high as my holiness. Sin ultimately erodes and destroys true holiness and true happiness.
(Stephen Altrogge)

by Richard Shin

• It is no secret that we live in strange times. The cultural shifts in North America are tantamount, and we Christians must understand the tides more than ever. Mark Dever shares seven ways on how to survive a cultural crisis.
• Summer is right around the corner. Trevin Wax links some articles on how not to waste your summer.
• Tim Keller shares a few insightful words on exposing and correcting our character flaws to which we may be blind. You can find his article here.
• Michael Horton at the White Horse Inn reflects on the Pope’s message that by doing good, even atheists can meet in Heaven. Yea. Clint Archer shares a similar sentiment.
• At first reading of Acts 2-5, there is a tendency to treat the sharing of goods as an act of socialism. However, Art Lindsley shares why it does not promote this idea.
• Here are some reflections from a new dad at age 47.
• And speaking of fatherhood, Russell Moore shares a few thoughts on missing his sons’ birthdays.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Coram Deo