Category Archives: Devotional Life

The value of developing a relationship with God, The value of having a daily quiet time.

Why Lying Is So Bad

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I don’t know why, but I have never thought of lying as a really bad sin—such as murder or adultery. I remember when I was little and told a lie; I really didn’t think it was that bad or that anyone would be hurt by it. I couldn’t understand why my mom and dad thought it was so bad and why they told me that I should never tell a lie.

Well, as the years went by, I grew to understand why it was bad and how you can really get yourself into trouble over it. Yet some people never get that understanding. They still say, what’s the harm in a little white lie? I have heard people say that lying is just part of life; everybody does it.

In my study of heaven, in three different verses where God is describing the glory and holiness of heaven, it also emphasized who would not be allowed in heaven—those sinners who would end up in hell. Here are those verses:

Revelation 21:8

8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 21:27

27 and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Revelation 22:15

15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.

Notice that in each of the verses, those who are liars are on the list (bold for emphasis). Hence, those who practice lying will definitely be disqualified from heaven. I know lying is bad, but I found myself still wondering why it made this list. Why would lying disqualify one from heaven? Here are a few ideas I came up with—reasons why lying is so bad:

  • It is deceptive and seeks to deceive others.
  • It is against truth and righteousness—which is what heaven is.
  • Lying is the beginning of corruption and the basis of it.
  • Lying is a political sin: it seeks to win self and makes self look good. It will take down and corrupt a whole nation.
  • It begins in the life of a child and if not corrected will form the life and corrupt that entire life.
  • It is of the devil. He is the greatest liar, and like the devil will pervert the whole life and the life of many others.
  • It cannot be allowed in heaven or else all of heaven with its truth would be corrupted. For this reason, liars must be kept in hell forever.

Who are the liars?

They must be found out and stopped. The courts must try to reveal them. It is so important for a continuing and lasting society. I would say that it is important to find and cut off lying in one’s own life as well as in the leadership of cities and countries. But it must start in my life. If we can’t recognize it in our life, how can we see it in others. Judges must esp. be able to see and stop it—and to punish it severely. It must be seen as a terrible evil.

Struggles

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It seems that there are constant struggles going on in me. The struggle between the flesh and the spirit is foremost, and is present for every Christian. However, for one that has given into the flesh there is less of a struggle—Satan has him. So, I guess I can be glad, because a struggle indicates that I am still in the war and God is still using me. Nonetheless, I don’t care for the struggle, especially when I am losing the battle of the mind—letting impure thoughts take hold. I, and all of us, need to learn to shut off or put to death those impure thoughts and to think instead on things above where we indeed are seated with Christ—and we so anticipate our glory when we, in every way, are made like Him.

Similarly, there is also a struggle with my time—for the best use of it. And if this is achieved I think I will win more often in the struggle with the flesh; for what I do affects so much what I think. I recently have been listening to John MacArthur’s sermons in Revelations; and that I know is a better use of my time than TV.  I hope I can continue this habit. Not much TV is good. And there are other uses of time that are very good too, which I hope to start.

Thirly, there is a struggle with my diabetes diet. I need to keep my carbs down to have that desired blood sugar level. But I love fruit so much; and fruit, though healthy is full of sugar (carbs). So, I need to limit my fruit intake, and also other sweet foods and bread. I am not over weight, yet I am a diabetic. I hate it!

I am reading a biography on Martin Luther. Boy did he have some struggles. Yet he was courageous in the things he did—fighting against his flesh (with much fasting) and against the sins of the Catholic church. He was indeed a hero of the faith.

Wishing for Heavenly Dreams

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It’s snowing outside. About time! It looks good to me. It warms my heart to see those huge white flakes come down.

I thank the Lord that I have been having better sleep the last couple of days. I’ve been taking melatonin. I think that is the reason. Now I just need to improve my dreams. I want dreams that are more godly, more heavenly. That would be so great. Maybe when I start writing my new book on heaven that will happen. I’m so excited about it. I’m still in the reading and note taking stage. Soon I will be ready to start writing. And, as usual I will be blogging all along as I write.

In my daily bible reading I’ve been noticing more and more passages on heaven. Hebrews 11 is that way. Each faith character mentioned has a heavenly goal—they looked for a better place, a heavenly city. And that moved them ahead through all their suffering. They looked not for earthly comfort, but for the hope of heaven. And even Christ endured the cross for the joy set before Him. I would like to have dreams of heaven and dreams where I am rejoicing in my anticipation of heaven.