January 2, 2023 – Food for the Soul

Sin may bring you pleasure. Sin may bring you wealth. Sin may even bring you a certain degree of satisfaction. But ultimately sin will only bring you death.

As the pastor James wrote these words of warning, he no doubt knew how easily we forget the consequences of sin. We are often tempted to violate God’s law, which is for our own protection, in order to receive some promised gratification. But James shines the light into the future and reminds us that the end of every sin is death.

Are you flirting with a person other than your spouse, or committing mental adultery repeatedly in the privacy of your imagination? The pleasure of a forbidden relationship may seem tantalizing, but…

“Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.”

Are you tempted to put your service to the Lord on hold in order to accept a much-desired promotion? The pay, the prestige may feel exciting, but…

“Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.”

Have you been holding a grudge against another person, refusing to forgive them for some offense or injury? No matter how right or justified you may have made yourself out to be in your own mind…

Sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

It is no accident, no wonder, then that James’ next words are simply, “Do not err, my beloved” (16). If sin is truly so serious, so dangerous, so deadly — why would we ever toy with it at all?

God is good everyday. We have a new life in Jesus Christ when we accept Him as our Lord and Savior. Our old lives are dead, and we no longer are the old person we were; we are made new in Him. We have the Scriptures to tell us the complete truth about being new in Christ. We no longer want to do the things that we once did when we were living in sin. We only want to do what is right and acceptable in the eyes of God. We only want to please Him. Let us always go to the Scriptures when we don’t understand something.

Life isn’t always going to be easy, the sun may not shine everyday, but when we think about the treasure we have in heaven with Jesus, it makes us want to enjoy life even while we are going through difficulties. Why? Because He knows all about our troubles. He knows all about our life and what we will face on this earth even though we are saved, and the unsaved. There is not anything that God doesn’t already know.

I heard a preacher say that everyone who talks about heaven isn’t going, but according to John 3:16 God sent His only Son into this world that the world might be saved through Him, so everyone who repents and accepts Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior has a chance to go to heaven. This is why Jesus died for our sins. God does not want anyone to perish in the end. This is why He gives us chance after chance to get our lives right before His Son returns. No one knows when Jesus will return except the Father, the angels doesn’t even know. The Word tells us that He will come like a thief in the night, so according to those words, we must be watching and sober at all times. No one knows when a thief may come; just as we don’t know when Jesus may come, but we do know He is coming just as He said He would. The question is this: WILL WE BE READY?!?

Will we be ready to make that journey with Jesus to the other side of heaven? There’s no turning back when that day comes. Make things right while the blood is running warm in your veins, while you have your being. Don’t wait until it’s too late because you may not have time.

Jesus loves all of us equally. He doesn’t love one no more than He loves the other; He is no respecter of persons. He laid down His life for every human being to save our souls from a devils hell. Think about your soul and how important it is to God. Think about where you want to spend eternity. Eternity is forever; never ending. It doesn’t matter what you have done, where you have been, where you are from, nor the color of your skin, God loves you unconditionally and that will never change. Come to Jesus and live. God bless everyone. He is waiting to hear from you today.