TGIF by Paula Roach

TGIF- Thank God it's Friday!

It's a nice concept and cliche little phrase that we all identify with but do we literally take time out to truly thank Him for the weekend? Better yet, do we stop to thank Him for His goodness, for His Glory and to simply recognize Him as God?

Did you know that when we do not stop to be thankful, we put ourselves in position to enter a downward spiral of sin? Now, I am no theologian, but God spoke this truth into my heart years ago while reading from Romans 1. In verses 22-30 I read this list of sins.

godless in their thinking
sexual impurity
dishonoring their bodies
vile affections
degrading passions
homosexuality
inventors of new forms of evil
loathsome acts

None of this is pretty! I mean MURDER, HOMOSEXUAL RELATIONS, INVENTORS OF NEW FORMS OF EVIL, this is pretty bad stuff! But, what's that have to do with us. I mean, that's pretty obvious black and white, things we would never do... but let's not leave out the other shades of gray! Let's read further.

Verses 28 -31 go on to say, "until they were filled with every kind of unrighteousness, iniquity, grasping and covetous greed, and malice. They were full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and treacher, ill willl and cruel ways, secret backbiters and gossipers. Slanderers, hateful to and hating God, full of insolence, arrogance and boasting, inventors of new forms of evil, disobedient and undutiful to parents. Without understanding, conscienceless and faithless, heartless and loveless and merciless.

So, boasting, arrogance, gossip, envy, backbiting... maybe we can identify with some of these a little more closely. These "lighter shades of gray" we tend to rationalize as "not as bad" but verse 32 says that "those who do such things (and approve and applaud others for them) deserve to die."

Thank God for Jesus and the cross, for His grace that saves us from such punishment. No, literally, STOP and thank Him Now. For sentiment alone is not enough! You see, they "knew and recognized" but did not take that next step to actually give thanks and glory. The crazy thing is, if you look back at verse 21 you see that the downward spiral of sin all started with this one simple thing. It says "because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks...and their senseless minds were darkened." (To all different Shades of gray from murder and homosexuality to deceit and gossip!)

In this passage we see that this recognition without honor lead to a downward spiral of spiritual rebellion and moral corruption. (It is as if when we neglect to give thanks we slowly forget who deserves the credit. We allow selfishness and pride to creep in to the point that it becomes "all about me", and the downward spiral begins.) Neglegence of this one simple act opened their hearts to all types of shameful, ungodly desires and sexual impurity.

You see, most of us "know and recognize Him as God" too. The scary part lies in the fact that in the busyness of our lives we neglect to stop and take time to glorify Him and thank Him for who He is and for what He has done in us, for us, and through us.

Today, as you Thank God it's Friday, take time to STOP. Take a time out and truly give Him thanks, not just for the weekend but for His goodness, glory, and provision in our lives. And, can we purpose in our hearts to do this NOT just on Fridays, but every day and all through out the day? May it be the anthem of our lives to give thanks and glory to God in action and in words!

He IS Worthy!

P.S. It is my prayer that from now on, every time we say or hear TGIF, it will be a nice little reminder to STOP and give God Glory and thanks! Happy Weekend!

Just a Little Hint by Paula Roach

Before Christmas and birthdays or before a surprise it is not uncommon for the kiddo's to want to guess what the surprise or gift is. They ask for "just a little hint". They want me to give little clues that will lead to disclosure of the present. As if just a little hint is more acceptable than a big hint. Or if it is just a little hint it won't ruin the surprise. But, if I give them a hint, big or small, it often leads to more requests for more hints and the guessing continues until they can determine what the gift is. Now in this case, no harm done except perhaps losing the element of surprise.

The word "hint" could also refer to a "perceived indication" or "slight or hardly noticeable amount".

A hint of sophistication.

A hint of flavor.

A hint of spring in the air.

Whether a small hint or a large hint, regardless of which definition you look at, a hint implies there is still evidence of that thing in it.

White, with a hint of black, is gray. Depending on how much black you put in the white, depends on the shade of gray. There may be 50 shades of grey but "all grey has a little black in it." Steve Greene. 

Or in other words, "In God's economy there is not 50 Shades of Grey. There's black and there's white, there's wrong and there's right." Craig Groeschel

^{Ephesians 5:3} But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.

Not even a HINT!

So what could a hint of sexual immorality look like?   Craig Groeschel gave a few examples:
-looking at porn
-lusting after ____ (you fill in the blank)
-dressing provocatively
-dirty dancing
-reading the likes of 50 Shades of Grey (Yes, he named it, not me:))

These are just a a few outward examples of "hints" of sexual impurity in us but the list goes on... and for many of us often in much more subtle displays. Perhaps the hint of "any kind of impurity" looks more like a questionable tv show, attitude, or conversation?

Remember, even a small hint can spoil the whole surprise. So, what do we do about it?

STAY far from it. Don't even go NEAR it. (Proverbs 5:8)
FLEE from it. (1 Corinthians 6:18)
PUT TO DEATH... ,^(A) therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:^(B) sexual immorality,^(C) impurity, lust, evil desires and greed,^(D) which is idolatry.^(E)  Collosians 3:5

Take some time this weekend to ask God to make clear to you the areas where you have allowed even "hints" of impurity to creep into your life. Spend time praying for strength, wisdom, and accountability to steer clear, flee and put to death each of these areas. Share your plan with a friend who can help you and move forward in purity, able to experience the beautiful gift of abundant living.

Purity - From this Day Forward

A friend of mine sent me this link. Whether married or single, this message is for all of us who desire to live lives of purity. So I encourage you to carve out about 45 minutes in the next few days. Grab a cup of coffee, pen and note pad. If nothing else, record the many scriptures he uses and make them a part of your purity study and prayer focus.