The other day as I was painting, I got paint on my hands. When I went to wash it off, soap and water didn’t quite work. So, I used a bit of turpentine and voila! It did the trick.

This got me thinking, when it comes to cleaning our hands, we have a lot of options: water, soap, hand sanitizer, turpentine, etc. But, what about when it comes to cleaning our hearts and lives? What options do we have then?

Most will agree that “God is one.” But many will argue that there are many paths one can follow to reach God and basically cleanse one’s life of all sin. But Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. According to the Bible, salvation can come only through Jesus Christ. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12. There is no alternative plan for salvation.

Now, one of the most common arguments is that we can absolve ourselves of sin by doing “good works” to cancel out the bad.

Let us assume for arguments sake that one can obtain salvation through doing enough “good” works to cancel out the “bad” works. We will define “good” works as those that benefit another. We will define “bad” works as those that harm others or ourselves. Under this theory, ask yourself, “Can I do enough good works to cancel out my bad works?” If you are honest with yourself, the answer is, “No.”

At the most fundamental level, with every breath we take, every move we make, we are killing tiny living micro-organisms. Thus, we are constantly sinning. I don’t think a person exists who is constantly doing good works to cancel out these bad works.

However, stepping a level above that, our human minds are full of “evil.” We are constantly allowing negative thoughts to enter our minds. Whether we are jealous of another’s possessions, envious of their status in life, or simply unsatisfied with our own situation, our mind is in effect “sinning.” Whether we behave in a self-serving manner, speak to our loved ones in an irritated or angry voice, or take for granted the blessings we have been given, we are in effect sinning.

We might as well admit, then, that no man deserves saving and no man can save himself. Salvation must be free or the sinner could never get it.

The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 2:8-9:

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

So, only Jesus can wash away our sins.

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When I ask people, “What is sin?” I usually get back a list of “wrongs”: lying, cheating, stealing, adultery, etc. Sure, these things are sins, but why? Sometimes a lie can make someone smile. Sometimes cheating can even up the playing field. Sometimes stealing simply means survival of the fittest. And sometimes adultery isn’t so much about lust as it is true love. Then why are these sins?

Perhaps because sin isn’t about right and wrong. Sin is about going against the will of God. Anything you do that is against God’s will, regardless of whether it is “right” or “wrong,” is sin.

For example, according to the Bible, the world’s first sin was when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. God created the world in 6 days, resting on the 7^th. He made the flowers and the trees, the birds and the bees. He made the creatures of the ocean and the beasts of the jungle. And he made man and woman. He told Adam and Eve that they were free to enjoy the Garden of Eden. They could do whatever they wished, but just one thing, one thing, was off limits. And that was eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. But that is exactly what they did. Just like a child. When you tell him, “No,” that makes him want to do it even more.

Now, is there anything wrong with eating fruit? No, right? Fruit is meant to be eaten.

But then, why was it sin for Adam and Eve to eat that fruit?

Because God forbade it.

When God tells you to go left, but you go right, that is sin. When God tells you to wear black, but you wear white, that is sin. When God tells you “no,” but you do it anyways, that is sin.

Sin is sin, not because it in itself is necessarily bad. Sin is sin because it is against God’s plan…His will.

Understanding what sin is, is the first step to preventing it in your own life.

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I once read a story about a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons. The boys worked for their father in the department store he owned and, when he died, they took over the store.

Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of the brothers had left the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a customer. When he returned, the money was gone.

He asked his brother, “Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?” His brother replied that he had not. But the young man kept probing and questioning. He would not let it alone. “Dollar bills just don’t get up and walk away! Surely you must have seen it!” There was subtle accusation in his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set in. Before long, a deep and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to speak. They finally decided they could no longer work together and a dividing wall was built down the center of the store. For twenty years hostility and bitterness grew, spreading to their families and to the community.

Then one day a man in an automobile licensed in another state stopped in front of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk, “How long have you been here?”

The clerk replied that he’d been there all his life. The customer said, “I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was “riding the rails” and came into this town in a boxcar. I hadn’t eaten for three days. I came into this store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash register. I put it in my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven’t been able to forget that. I know it wasn’t much money, but I had to come back and ask your forgiveness.”

The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of this middle-aged man. “Would you please go next door and tell that same story to the man in the store?” he said. Then the man was even more amazed to see two middle-aged men, who looked very much alike, embracing each other and weeping together in the front of the store.

After twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment that divided them came down.

Bitterness is like a slow poison that grows, infesting our hearts and minds with thoughts of resentment and cynicism. It is usually the result of envy, unforgiveness, or expectations that are not met. Bitterness sucks the life out of its victim, stealing his or her peace of mind.

Bitterness can either be directed at a person, a situation, or even God. After the car accident, I had a lot of bitterness in my heart. I was ten years old. I went from being a dancey little girl to being confined to a wheelchair. I felt like my dreams were shattered. I would never be able to do or become anything. I was an invalid. Every where I went, people stared at me. They felt sorry for me. I felt sorry for myself.

And I became bitter. I was bitter at people in general for being able to do things I couldn’t do. I was bitter at my situation. And I was bitter at God for letting the accident happen…for allowing me to be injured.

It was only when I came to Jesus that I was finally able to let the bitterness go.

I learned how to appreciate what I had, rather than feel bitter about what I was missing or what I perceived others to have. I learned how to forgive God and love Him again.

Today, if you have bitterness in your heart, pray and ask God to help you let it go. You will never be truly happy unless you do.

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God has given each of us many talents. No two people have the same talents. One may be a carpenter, one a tailor and one a good cook – but each of these talents is just as important as the other. God is no respector of persons, each of the gifts He gives us is valuable and can be used to His glory. To the one without a home, a carpenter is the answer. To the one without clothes, a tailor is the answer. And to the one without food, a cook is the answer.

Romans 12:4-8 says:

Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

Wherever we are, in whatever situation, we should use the talents God has given us. And when people say job well done, we are to give God the glory.

In the Bible it says in Mathew 5:14-16:

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Don’t hide your light. Let it shine. Don’t keep your talents hidden away. Use them. We’ve got to use our talents and through those talents we are able to glorify God.

Jesus told His disciples this parable about the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 25: 14-29:

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. `Master,’ he said, `you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’

His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

The man with the two talents also came. `Master,’ he said, `you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’

His master replied, `Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Then the man who had received the one talent came. `Master,’ he said, `I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

His master replied, `You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

`Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

If we look at these talents of money as the talents and gifts God has given us, if you take the talent God has given you and you use it, you do something with it, the talent will grow and multiply and God will give you more talents. But, if you just sit on the talent, it will disappear and it will die, until you have no talent left it is all taken away from you. It is like what your parents always said when you were little, “Practice makes perfect.” The more you practice, or use the talents God has given you, the more fruit you will see as a result.

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Why is it easier for us to cry with those who are crying than it is for us to rejoice with those who are rejoicing? The short answer is: Jealousy. Because of jealousy, rather than being happy at another’s success, we become miserable at our own lack thereof. Instead of being encouraged that “if he can do it, so can I…I just need to work harder,” we being grumble, “what does he have that I don’t have? he doesn’t deserve it…I do.”

But, jealousy never got anyone anything. In fact, jealousy only hurts the one who is jealous. Often the person we are jealous of doesn’t even know. Yet, our own jealous makes us miserable.

It reminds me of a story I read recently about two eagles. There was one eagle which could out fly another, and the other didn’t like it. The latter saw a sportsman one day, and said to him, “I wish you would bring down that eagle.”

The sportsman replied that he would if he only had some feathers to put into the arrow. So the eagle pulled one out of his wing. The arrow was shot, but didn’t quite reach the rival eagle; it was flying too high. The envious eagle pulled out more feathers, and kept pulling them out until he lost so many that he couldn’t fly, and then the sportsman turned around and killed him.

If you are jealous, the only one you can hurt is yourself.

And, remember the story in Matthew 20:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.’

So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.’ And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, saying, ‘These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them and said, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ^Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?’

Rather than concentrating on other people’s blessings and being miserable, lets resolve to concentrate on our own blessings and rejoice.

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I saw an illustration on the internet once and tried it in our church in India to illustrate a point. I held up a 20 rupee note and asked, “Who wants this 20 rupee note?” After I was done assuring everyone it was not a trick and I wasn’t going to make them perform in front of the church in exchange for the money, everyone in the congregation raised their hands.

I took the crisp 20 rupee note and proceeded to crumple it up. I then held up the crumpled note and asked, “Now who wants this 20 rupee note?” Again, every hand in the hall was raised.

I then took the 20 rupee note, threw it on the floor and asked one of the slum children to come to the front and step on the note with her muddy feet. I then held up the crumpled, soiled, 20 rupee note. I asked again, “Now who wants this 20 rupee note?” Every hand in the hall shot up again.

No matter what was done to the money, every person in the congregation still wanted it because the money did not decrease in value. Despite being crumpled and soiled, it was still worth 20 rupees.

In the same way, many times in our lives, we are crumpled, dropped and soiled by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel beaten and worthless. But, God has been showing me that no matter what we have done, no matter what we have been through, what has been done to us, He still loves us the same. No matter how far we have run away from Him, no matter what we have said to Him or about Him, we never lose our value in His sight.

He is not just looking for the gift with the golden wrapping, or the one with the most shine. He wants each one of us to give ourselves to Him. God wants to use us, fill us and dwell with every one of us. He wants to take the mess our lives have become and turn them into a message of hope.

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What is the difference between a thermometer and a thermostat? A thermometer simply reflects the temperature of the things around it, while a thermostat regulates or changes that temperature. Which are you?

Are you a person who tries to blend into the crowd? If everyone is sporting a particular haircut or wearing particular shoes, you must have them too? You only listen to the most popular music, watch whatever shows and movies everyone recommends and basically support whatever opinion is most popular. You are easily influenced by your friends and will go along with whatever they do, even if you don’t fully agree. If so, then you are a thermometer.

Or, are you the one who sets the trends? Your style is unique. You wear what is comfortable and watch what pleases you. You keep your own opinion and stand for what you believe in. You do what you believe is right, even if that means going against the tide of popular opinion. Is so, then, you are a thermostat.

God has called us to be like thermostats. As believers, we have to be willing to be set apart from the world, doing what we know our Lord wants us to do. Many times people will not understand…and they may not even agree…but we have to be willing to stand for Him. For example, everyone tells white lies. But, as a Believer, Jesus commands us to always tell the truth. Everyone cheats from time to time, whether it be on exams, in job interviews or on taxes. But, as a Believer, Jesus commands us to be honest. Everyone gets angry, curses and swears at least every once in a while. But, as a Believer, Jesus commands us to be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to anger.

Reinhard Bonke once said that fish are like thermometers, they take on the temperature of the water around them, and many people, even Christians are like fish, we take on the temperature of the world around us. But we need to have the glory fire from Heaven, the Holy Spirit within us so that we can change the temperature around us.

And you know what I think, Jesus didn’t say he would make us fish, he said he would make us fishers of men. We are not supposed to become like the fish, but rather we are supposed to catch the fish and bring them in, bring them into the kingdom of God.

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Some people say they want to live to be 100 years old. I think more than the quantity of life, it is the quality of life that matters. What good would it do if I lived each day of my 100 years without joy? What would the point be of living 100 years if every moment was filled with regret?

No matter how many days I am here on this earth, I want to live each day to the fullest. I never want to look back and regret what could have been. I never want to look forward and think that I will leave it until tomorrow. I want to seize every opportunity the Lord gives me. I want to face every challenge with courage and determination. I want to experience every second with the enthusiasm of child. I want to put as many smiles on people’s faces as I possibly can. I want my today to be so wonderful that when it becomes yesterday, I will be able to look back with fond memories. And if there is no tomorrow, I want today to have been more than enough!

Now you may say that this is a nice thought, but impossible. Yet the Bible says, “Nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37.

To achieve this, I need to spend each moment in the presence of God. I need to live each day walking in the will of God. In John 10:10, Jesus proclaimed, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” So, it is His will to give us a full life, an abundant life. And if we are in the center of His will, that is exactly what we will have.

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There is a song we sing that has the lyrics, “Oh how I need You Lord. You are my only hope. You’re my only prayer.”

As I was singing this song, I began to think, “We need to come to a place where we realize that we “need” the Lord. Where we realize that Jesus is our “only hope,” our “only prayer.””

It is only when we put our complete trust in Him that we even allow Him to work in our lives. Human beings are basically control freaks. We like to be in control of the situation. We like to do things ourselves and our way.

So when we are faced with a problem, our natural reaction is to first complain, but then to assess the situation and use our mind and our strength to overcome the problem. We try to do things on our own. We ask God for help, but often, we do not want Him to take over. We just want Him to assist us.

We like to be in the driver’s seat. We put Jesus in the back seat. He can advise us as to where He thinks we need to turn, what direction we need to take. But, the steering wheel remains in our hands. We retain ultimate control.

Jesus might tell us to turn left, but because we think we know a short cut, or we think He is leading us to a dead end, we turn right. And when we get lost and end up in a bind, we blame God.

But, still, we hold on to the steering wheel. Perhaps this is because from childhood we are taught, “God helps those who help themselves.” But frankly, this is not Godly wisdom, this is human wisdom.

Jesus wants us to sit in the passenger seat, and allow Him to drive. Jesus wants to help us when we cannot help ourselves, and even when we will not help ourselves.

Unfortunately, as humans we often need to get the end of our rope. We need to have tried everything humanly possible, before we realize that He is our only hope and that we truly need Him. Only then do we really pray and allow Him to take control.

In the song, we also sing, “So I will wait for You, to come and rescue me, to come and give me life.” When we truly realize that He is our only hope, we will wait for Him to come and rescue us. We will not doubt, we will not question, we will not run ahead. We will patiently wait for Him. That is true faith.

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To become a part of His kingdom, you have to be willing to stand apart from the crowd.

In James 4:4 the Bible teaches us:

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

What does this mean? Some people say this means that we are to draw away from the world. We should only have Godly friends. We should only attend Godly functions. We should not associate in any way with anyone who is not a believer.

But, if you don’t associate with non-believers, how will you be able to share the Gospel with them so they can become future believers?

Instead, we are to be in the world, have an impact on our world, but not let our world have a negative impact on us. Like the Bible teaches in Romans 12:2:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

What does it mean no to be conformed to this world? It means you can live in the world, but when it comes time to take a stand for God…you need to willing to do it. Be willing to stick out like a sore thumb.

The story of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedngo best illustrates this point:

During his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar II erected a statue and decreed that when the music played everyone was to bow down and worship. And if anyone disobeyed, the punishment was death by burning in a furnace.

Now, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to bow before the statute. They believed in the true living God.

Enraged the king questioned the three. The responded, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.”

Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter. Then he commanded that the three friends be thrown in. It is said that the fire was so hot it killed the soldiers who threw the three into the furnace.

The king was surprised not to hear the boys scream. When the king looked into the furnace he saw four men, one whom looked like “a son of the gods.” Confused, the king ordered  them to come out. When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego exited the furnace the officials and the king found no damage to be on their clothes and no smell of fire on them.

Nebuchadnezzar promoted the three in the province of Babylon.

In this story, these boys were willing to be different for God. They were not being different just for the sake of being different or to show off. They were different for the sake of God. They were willing to take a stand for what they believed in. And God honored that.

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