Category Archives: Sin

Jan5

Day 5 of Random (hopefully inspired) Thought. Today I Am Thankful For…A God Who Hears.

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lsgrlr

I have had an annoying and debilitating crick in my neck for the past three days. It’s not a life-altering issue for most people, even though it is inconvenient and irritating. A crick can happen from sleeping poorly, overuse, and even bad posture. All very normal, natural, and dare I say mundane reasons. However, for me, a crick in the neck can be a sign of stenosis (a narrowing of the veins) or of the vein expanding, which could lead to rupture. It sounds very dramatic, and I guess in a way it is. What looks pretty average on the outside can mean life-threatening results for me.

As I struggled to move my neck while doing my devotion today, I had this thought: this crick in my neck is a lot like sin (no, not that I have it because of sin). But just like a seemingly mundane pain in the neck, there are sins in life that seem so normal and uneventful. At times, we do them without thinking, because it’s the norm in the world we live in, yet at their core, these “sins” want to steal our joy and peace, narrowing our view of what God is doing in our lives and expanding our hurt, pain, and weariness. Things as simple as a wayward thought, sarcastic words, and doubts can lead to devastating outcomes.

What sets the child of God apart from the world is not a lack of sin, but hope in a God and Father who forgives our sins and hears us when we call out to Him in surrender. So, cry out to God, friend; He will hear you and rescue you from your troubles. He will take your broken heart and crushed spirit and give you His peace. Now that’s some good news!

“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of their trouble. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:17-18).

So, what am I thankful for today? A God who hears.

Feb13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on February 13, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Kings 8. “And Elisha said to him, ‘Go, say to him, You shall certainly recover. However the Lord has shown me that he will really die.’ Then he set his countenance in a stare until he was ashamed; and the man of God wept. And Hazael said, ‘Why is my lord weeping?’ He answered, ‘Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.’ So Hazael said, ‘But what is your servant—a dog, that he should do this gross thing?’ And Elisha answered, ‘The Lord has shown me that you will become king over Syria'” (Verses 10-13). Have you ever found yourself turning into something you never thought you’d become. It feels to me that, that is exactly Hazel’s circumstance, but with one small difference. God showed him before hand, therefore giving him a chance to repent, and giving him and opportunity to make a different choice, which he never took. It is sad how easily we cast of God’s gifts for things that are easier, but eternally less fulfilling. Today’s lesson when God gives you and easy out… TAKE IT. Don’t wallow in sin when He wants to give you real freedom.

Jan14

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on January 14, 2015 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 King 12. “Then Jeroboam built Shechem in the mountains of Ephraim, and dwelt there. Also he went out from there and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now the kingdom may return to the house of David: If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn back to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and go back to Rehoboam king of Judah.’ Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt'” (Verses 25-28). He built an idol for the people to worship in order to distract them from worshiping God. Sound familiar? That is the world we live in, filled with idols to distract us and keep us away from a relationship with God. The lie is subtle, Jeroboam’s excuse, “it’s too far to travel to worship, so just worship this instead.” The excuse today, “I can worship God anywhere… God is in everything…” So we worship every and anything, except God. Beware today the lies are subtle and feel so right, but they are designed to keep you from where your heart really wants to be, in the presence of God.

Dec15

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on December 15, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 13. “But she answered him, ‘No, my brother, do not force me, for no such thing should be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! And I, where could I take my shame? And as for you, you would be like one of the fools in Israel. Now therefore, please speak to the king; for he will not withhold me from you.’ However, he would not heed her voice; and being stronger than she, he forced her and lay with her. Then Amnon hated her exceedingly, so that the hatred with which he hated her was greater than the love with which he had loved her. And Amnon said to her, ‘Arise, be gone!'” (Verses 12-15). What is interesting to me about this chapter is that David would have given Tamar to Amnon, he could have had the thing he most desired in the right way. But he chose to fulfill his fleshly desires instead of heeding his sisters words. The verse says he hated her after, and that his hatred was greater than his love. Seems weird, right? But it’s not, sin has a price and the price is GUILT. Amnon’s actions stems from the guilt of his sin. We feel guilty, but don’t want to admit guilt, so it leads to hatred, to lying, to anything but acceptance of our wrong doing. Amnon did not just hurt himself and his sister. No, his sin affected his entire family. Sin is dirty and its goal is to destroy the sinner completely. Listen to God, flee from sin.

Dec13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on December 13, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 12. “Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more! Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife. Thus says the Lord: Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun'” (Verses 7-12). There is no such thing as a secret sin. God sees it all. We can hide and pretend like all is well to those in front of us, but not to God. He knows the deepest, darkest, and dirtiest of sins and secrets that we hold. The amazing part in all of that is, that despite knowing, He still wants to love us, He still wants to make us whole. This chapter got me, I know I have things that need to go, areas in my life that I hide from others. Which is silly since God sees it anyway. But I love the fact that even after this horrible sin that David committed, God still called David a “man after His own heart”. He punished David’s actions, but saw David’s heart. He does the same for us. Our sins will be punished, but our hearts will be seen by the One who knows our hearts the best. That’s GRACE.

Nov21

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on November 21, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

2 Samuel 1. “Therefore David took hold of his own clothes and tore them, and so did all the men who were with him. And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening for Saul and for Jonathan his son, for the people of the Lord and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. Then David said to the young man who told him, ‘Where are you from?’ And he answered, ‘I am the son of an alien, an Amalekite.’ So David said to him, ‘How was it you were not afraid to put forth your hand to destroy the Lord’s anointed?’ Then David called one of the young men and said, ‘Go near, and execute him!’ And he struck him so that he died. So David said to him, ‘Your blood ison your own head, for your own mouth has testified against you, saying, ‘I have killed the Lord’s anointed'” (Verses 11-16). If someone told you that they killed your enemy, wouldn’t you rejoice? Kiss them, make them your BFFFF? I am fairly certain I would. But David’s reaction is just the opposite. Why? Because, David took God’s choice seriously. If God chose Saul, then only God would have the right to kill him. David’s stance here is a lesson, let God battle for you. I don’t think David faulted the man for killing Saul, as much as he faulted him for doing something outside of God’s will. Understand the enemy of our enemy is NOT our friend. Our friends are those who choose to do what God says. Disobedience, even when well intended has a consequence.

Nov14

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on November 14, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Samuel 29. “So David said to Achish, ‘But what have I done? And to this day what have you found in your servant as long as I have been with you, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?’ Then Achish answered and said to David, ‘I know that you are as good in my sight as an angel of God; nevertheless the princes of the Philistines have said, He shall not go up with us to the battle. Now therefore, rise early in the morning with your master’s servants who have come with you. And as soon as you are up early in the morning and have light, depart'” (Verses 8-10). I almost feel bad for the Lord of the Philistines, he is being lied to. He believes in David, believes he is being genuine and honest. However, David is playing him. David, is misrepresenting God. He is using the Philistine, who does not know God. Who will never fully know God, because God’s representative is living a lie. We (Christians) are God’s representative, we sometimes are the only picture of Christ that another will see. Don’t misrepresent. Live for Christ, be a right representative, let people see Christ in you.

Nov13

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on November 13, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Samuel 28. “Now Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’ And Saul answered, ‘I am deeply distressed; for the Philistines make war against me, and God has departed from me and does not answer me anymore, neither by prophets nor by dreams. Therefore I have called you, that you may reveal to me what I should do.’ Then Samuel said: ‘So why do you ask me, seeing the Lord has departed from you and has become your enemy? And the Lord has done for Himself as He spoke by me. For the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, David.Because you did not obey the voice of the Lord nor execute His fierce wrath upon Amalek, therefore the Lord has done this thing to you this day. Moreover the Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hand of the Philistines. And tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. The Lord will also deliver the army of Israel into the hand of the Philistines'” (Verses 15-19). Sometimes it is just best not to know. I am sure this is what Saul was feeling after he heard the words of Samuel. It is amazing to me that Saul knew his sin, knew he was in the wrong, but still persisted on believing that if he could just get rid of David, everything would go back to normal. His way of thinking is so illogical and so backwards, but it reminds me of humanity, we do this all the time, choose the way that “seems right to a man” the way that in the end “leads to destruction”. All Saul had to do was repent, and accept the consequences for his actions. He would have lost hos kingdom, but he would have saved his life, his soul, and his sons. But his need to to win didn’t just cost him, but it cost everyone around him. Here is a truth, sin is destructive. It doesn’t stop at destroying the sinner, no it’s aim to to annihilate everything. Beware of your heart, repent, and accept God’s punishment. Don’t let your sin destroy everything.

Nov7

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on November 7, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Samuel 22. “And the king said, ‘You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house!’Then the king said to the guards who stood about him, ‘Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, because their hand also is with David, and because they knew when he fled and did not tell it to me.’ But the servants of the king would not lift their hands to strike the priests of the Lord. And the king said to Doeg, ‘You turn and kill the priests!’ So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck the priests, and killed on that day eighty-five men who wore a linen ephod. Also Nob, the city of the priests, he struck with the edge of the sword, both men and women, children and nursing infants, oxen and donkeys and sheep—with the edge of the sword” (Verses 16-19). Saul has fallen so far. It’s interesting to me the backwardness of his actions. In order to gain God’s favor he has decided to do ALL the things God had told him NOT to do. His version of reverse psychology. Let’s bring Saul’s action into today’s society. How many times do we do the same with friends, with family, and with God. To get attention we do the opposite of what should be done. Why? Because we know it will illicit a response, even if the response is negative. But what we don’t realize is, so will doing what is right. However, it is usually easier to do what is wrong. All God wanted was for Saul to sincerely repent, and his relationship with God could have been restored (not his kingdom, but his relationship). The same is true for us, to be restored all we need to do is sincerely repent. Sincerely recognize our sin and humbly repent. But our pride wars against humility. Thus many times we choose the opposite choice. Make the hard choice, choose to repent. Initially it will be painful, but the fruit it bears will be like nothing we have experienced before.

Oct23

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought

Posted on October 23, 2014 by lsgrlr

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I have hidden Thy word in my heart.
(Picture by Lisa R)

1 Samuel 10. “Then Samuel called the people together to the Lord at Mizpah, and said to the children of Israel, Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all kingdoms and from those who oppressed you.’ But you have today rejected your God, who Himself saved you from all your adversities and your tribulations; and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us!’ Now therefore, present yourselves before the Lord by your tribes and by your clans” (Verses 17-19). Israel completely missed it, the opportunity for repentance. God at this very moment is giving them an opportunity to realize their sin and return to Him. But, alas they did not see the door. They traded the infallibility of God for the limitations of man. I feel saddened for Israel and for humanity at large. Why? Because this is our M.O. We want what we want and many times God gives it to us, but in the process He reminds us that the choice we are making means that we are rejecting Him. And right here is the moment of decision, do we continue to reject God or do we return and repent. The problem. We often miss the moment, because we are so focused on our wants we can’t hear God talk. Israel heard, the “here is you king” part, but missed the “you are rejecting God” part. History tells us which of the two really was the better choice. Here’s our lesson: don’t be so caught up in our wants, that we reject God.