How is your self-awareness? Are you in tune with yourself? Sometimes we might be deceiving ourselves–really, lying to ourselves. And once we start down that road it’s hard to stop. We should not always try to convince ourselves that we are fine. Instead, you should ask, “How am I? Have I sinned lately? Am I pleasing God?
Always try to connect yourself to the truth and you will have a pleasant reward–if you decide to repent and follow the way of the Lord.
Source: The Dustin Comic
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:
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.
A lot has been said in the media about Trump and his followers, especially regarding the last few days. Unfortunately, most or all that has been said is false. So, I want to give my thoughts to try to correct some thinking. I know I am not an expert on everything, but I think I know when falsehoods have been made. I will give my thoughts on four things:
Who is lying about voter fraud?
When Trump said that his election was stolen, was he lying? The media said he was lying. When Trump said that there were multiple cases of voter fraud, was he lying? The media said he was lying. And many others said he was lying. Even Bill Barr said there was no evidence of wide spread voter fraud. And McConnell also seems to be saying it.
Who is lying? Was there voter fraud or not? And was the election stolen? Yes! And Yes! The media is lying! And many others are lying. There are mounds and mounds of evidence to prove voter fraud and to prove that Donald Trump did win the election, but at the very end it was stolen. And just because the courts refuse to hear the evidence doesn’t mean that the evidence isn’t there.
We all know who is lying; and you, whoever you are, will be held accountable for your lies—at the judgment.
Did Donald Trump incite his followers to violence?
Well, that’s a good question? He certainly made his thoughts known; and they were true and true to him. But I don’t think President Trump intentionally intended to stir his followers up to do violence to the police or to the Capitol. I don’t think he really thought everything through. He just wanted justice to be done and wanted to convey it to others. I think he was very hopeful that his vice president would reject the fraudulent electoral votes, and maybe he thought his rally would convince him to do it. Certainly, the President made some wrong decisions, but that doesn’t mean he is totally to blame for the violence—maybe partially to blame. Those who did violence certainly should be held accountable for what they did.
Black Lives Matter followers vs Trump Followers
I have heard many of the media, and also Biden, say that the police treated the Trump intruders much better than the BLM rioters. Yes, I would say that is true. And the reason is because the BLM rioters were much more unruly and rude. They were yelling and cursing at the police. The Trump crowd was not. The BLM people were burning down buildings, overturning police cars, and throwing bombs; and the Trump people were relatively peaceful. The only time they were violent was when they were breaking into the Capitol. Also, the BLM rioters (those who were true believers in BLM) are Marxists and they hate America. But the Trump people love America and they were fighting for America. So, there is a big difference in the two groups and so they should have been treated differently.
Trump’s Legacy
There is no question that what happened at the Capitol Hill will hurt the Trump legacy. But, knowing Donald Trump, he will find a way to get through it and survive. I think President Trump has been treated very badly and unfairly during his entire presidency. In spite of it all, he has accomplished many good things for America. It is just too bad that much of it will be reversed during the Biden term, and because of the China Virus.
Jesus teaching on this topic is from Matthew 5:33-37. He says,
Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
As D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out in his book, Studies In The Sermon On The Mount, the teaching of the Pharisees on the subject of oaths, from verse 33, “…are not to be…
View original post 418 more words
Stephen Nielsen 