Author: Daryl Pint

• “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die’” (John 11:25–26).
• “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. … I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better” (Philippians 1:21, 23).
• “He [God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4, ESV).

If you are walking through a time of grief, you know the agony of what it’s like to have a broken heart and to feel waves of despair wash over you. Grieving the loss of a loved one is a journey that each person must walk through individually, but God has promised to walk with you one step at a time.

Cycle of Healing

Grief and bereavement often come in waves of sorrow that recede only as the cycles of healing are allowed to occur. The following are all natural elements of the grieving and healing process.

• Initial shock of death: that intense emotional impact which sometimes leaves a feeling of emotional paralysis.
• Emotional release: a time often characterized by weeping.
• Loneliness and depression: a sense of loss, often related to the degree of dependence on the person who died.
• Guilt: a feeling characterized by second-guessing—“I could have done more” or “I should have done something differently.”
• Anger, hostility: asking “Why did God let him die?” “Why didn’t God answer my prayer?” or even, “Why didn’t she choose to live?”
• Depression: an overwhelming sense of apathy and a reluctance to pursue life’s activities. “I can’t get on with life” or “I don’t want to.”
• Discovering and processing the loss: realizing the many roles the person had in your life that may become evident only over time.
• Thankfulness: appreciating the good memories, the good gift that his or her life was.
• Gradual return to hope: a sense that life will go on. “I will be able to cope.” “God is helping me.” “I am not alone.” “She is better off now.”
• Return to normalcy: choosing to live the next chapter of life. This is not forgetting, but accepting.

A Universal Experience

It is healthy to mourn and grieve. God wants to bear our heartaches and losses with us and give us His comfort, hope, and encouragement.

If you know Jesus Christ and are trusting Him with your life, you can know that He will carry you through your grief. Trusting in Him means:

• We will live eternally though we die physically (John 11:25–26).
• We have everlasting life (John 3:16).
• We have a place assured in Heaven (John 14:1–6).
• We will take part in the bodily resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:51–52). And there will be a glorious reunion someday between us and other believers whom we hold dear.

Moving Forward for One Who Is Grieving

• If you have never explored what it means to find the deep satisfaction and purpose in a relationship with Jesus, do so now. If you have already turned your life over to Jesus Christ, make your relationship with Him primary in your life.
• Allow yourself to experience the grief and the cycle of healing.
• Recognize Christ as your constant companion. Look to Him for true comfort and peace in your life.
• Be honest about how you feel. You may express feelings of guilt, anger, confusion, or despair.
• Have a thankful heart for the years of love shared during the life of your loved one. Believe in the promise of eternal life to come.
• Reach out to help others who are hurting. This can be great therapy and will help you learn to live fully again.

Helping Grieving People

Many times well-meaning Christians feel the need to be a “cheerleader” to a grieving person or to say something spiritually profound. Instead of needing to have an answer for everything, we need to admit that we do not fully understand God and His ways.

If the person grieving seems overwhelmed with loss, help him or her to develop a support system. One’s energy levels and ability to plan ahead will often be sporadic. Re-establishing old contacts or hobbies, involvement in a church that lifts up Jesus and His Word, and participation in a grief support group can do a great deal to fill the empty places in a person’s life. In addition, encourage the grieving person to read the Bible daily.

If grieving people express guilt over some aspect of the loss, encourage them to not second-guess their situation. They need to take their regrets to the Lord. Remind them of God’s forgiveness (1 John 1:9). They should confess anything they feel necessary to confess to God, and then let it go.

Moving Forward to Help Someone Grieving

• Pray for him or her. Ask to do this when you are together. Do it privately as well.
• Encourage the grieving person to seek God. If this is a new concept for him or her, begin a routine together through Bible study and prayer.
• Encourage the person to maintain or develop a support system in a Christian community.
• Listen and be present in the person’s daily life.
• Do not avoid saying the name of the person who died, do not avoid bringing up memories, and do not be afraid of tears.
• If there are practical things that need to be done, such as writing a résumé or selling a home, help him or her to get started working toward that goal.
• Note the date of death. For the next several months, on that day of the month, let the person know you remember.
• Prepare a list of Scriptures that pertain to the person’s situation. (Consider Psalms 23, 25, 27, 71, and 91.)

The Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

–Psalm 84:11

Yesterday, I shared two principles for dealing decisively with sin in your life. Number one: refuse to allow immoral thoughts to take residence in your mind. Number two: amputate any immoral activity in your life. Let me close out our study this week with two final principles.

Number three: visualize the consequences of immoral behavior. My dad had an interesting habit: he posted newspaper clippings about politicians, religious leaders, and movie stars who had fallen into sin on the side of the refrigerator. As kids, we called it Dad’s Wall of Shame. It was the first thing we saw every time we walked into the kitchen. You might think that’s bizarre, but in a way, it was healthy for us to be reminded of the consequences of violating God’s rules.

Paul also reminded us in Colossians 3:6, “It is because of these things [immorality, impurity, evil desires, and greed] that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience.” In the Bible, the term “wrath of God” primarily refers to God’s judgment against unbelievers. If you’re a Christian, you don’t have to worry about God’s wrath, but you do have to worry about His discipline. Hebrews 12:6 says, “Those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.” God loves you too much to allow you to continue in sin without severe and painful consequences. If you’re involved in immorality and you haven’t experienced God’s discipline, it’s because He’s giving you one last chance to repent. Remember the consequences of disobedience.

Number four: learn to be content with God’s provision in every area of your life. Wanting something more or different than what God has planned for you is the root of every other sin. So it makes sense that the antidote to those sins would be contentment with God’s provision. In 1 Timothy 6:6, Paul wrote, “Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” Friend, as long as you are living obediently, God will give you everything you need for a satisfying life. Psalm 84:11 says, “The Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

Your job, bank account, home, family, and marital status are all part of God’s good and loving provision for your life. To want something more or different than what you have right now is to say, “God, I can’t trust You to give me what I really need.” Learn to be content with what God has provided for you.

Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?

–Proverbs 6:27

How do we deal decisively with sin in our lives? What do we do if immorality, impurity, evil desires, or greed have taken root? Today and tomorrow, I’m going to share with you four practical principles for dealing decisively with sin.

Number one: refuse to allow immoral thoughts to take up residence in your mind. Imagine you’re awakened at night by somebody pounding on your front door. You stumble out of bed and look through the peephole. If you don’t recognize the person, you’re not about to open the door, are you?

You can’t control who knocks on your door, but you can control whether you invite them in. In the same way, you can’t always control the thoughts that come into your mind, but you can control how you respond to those thoughts: you can invite them to stay, or you can “[take] every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Don’t let immoral thoughts take up residence in your mind; instead, confront wrong thoughts with the truth of God’s Word and dismiss them.

Number two: amputate any immoral activity in your life. In Matthew 5:29–30, Jesus said, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you. . . . If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” Imagine that your arm is mangled in a car accident, and infection has set in. The doctor says, “Either we amputate your arm, or you’re going to die.” You hate to lose the arm, but it’s better than losing your life. Jesus was saying it’s better to cut immoral activity out of your life, no matter how painful or inconvenient it is to do so, than to experience the consequences of sin.

Are there magazines, television programs, or websites that incite lust in your mind? You need to cut those things out of your life. Is something or someone at your job tempting you to sin? It would be better to quit your job than to fall into immorality. Are you in a relationship that is leading you in a dangerous direction? No matter how painful it is, you need to end that relationship. Proverbs 6:27 says, “Can a man take fire in his bosom and his clothes not be burned?” If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned. That’s why Jesus said you need to cut any immoral activity out of your life.

2Ch 7:14  if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

 Proverbs 28:13     Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

 Isaiah 55:6-7    “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near;  let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

 Isaiah 63:19    We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.

 Psalms 79:6    Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!

 Jeremiah 10:25    Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.

 Acts 14:16    In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways.

 Ezekiel 18:27-30    Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life.  Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just?  “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.

 2 Chronicles 33:12-13    And when he was in distress, he entreated the favor of the LORD his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers.  He prayed to him, and God was moved by his entreaty and heard his plea and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD was God.

 Leviticus 26:40-41     “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me,  so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity,

 James 4:9-10     Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

 Ezekiel 33:11     Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways,

 Deuteronomy 4:29-30    But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.  When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice.

 Deuteronomy 30:1-6     “And when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God has driven you,  and return to the LORD your God, you and your children, and obey his voice in all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your soul,  then the LORD your God will restore your fortunes and have mercy on you, and he will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you.

 2 Chronicles 6:30    then hear from heaven your dwelling place and forgive and render to each whose heart you know, according to all his ways, for you, you only, know the hearts of the children of mankind,

 2 Chronicles 6:39    then hear from heaven your dwelling place their prayer and their pleas, and maintain their cause and forgive your people who have sinned against you.

 Isaiah 65:1    I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name.

There is much to say concerning the voices shouting out various claims, lies, boasts, slander, division, promises, blame, anger, hatred, etc….. in news outlets, social media, podcasts, and the radio. 

Sports, movie, and music celebrities are shouting their election opinions.  They live in a world none of us have access to. Their wealth comes from those who watch them perform and for some reason, they have a very high and elevated opinion of themselves. Their opinions are not based on Godly wisdom or honor of Jesus Christ. No, their opinion is based on worldly and fleshly pursuits of money and fame. Most live with no regard for God.   

News outlets, radio shows, and various podcasts all proclaim value in their opinions and views on the candidates. They distort what is being said, openly lie, misinform, and make predictions about the future of our country based on one or the other candidates. They promote division, anger, hatred, fear, worry, confusion, and give no thought to God. I am amazed at how many people buy into this garbage. People on both sides buy into what these people are saying. They watch and listen to these various agents of Satan and then form like-minded worldly views based on what they have heard or read. 

Both sides claim they will bring some form of justice and prosperity and peace to their base all the while bashing the other side. I hear family and friends who say things that are just regurgitated views from the Satan tools speaking. these are not the views of someone who is thinking with a clear bible-focused, God-honoring, God-glorifying, God-trusting, God-reliant, God-obeying, and God-following mind.  

What is it that people seek after? Peace, joy, kindness, hope, love, gentleness, justice, prosperity, and fruit of their labors.  Void of God’s Word people will seek to find these in their elected president and congress, both federal and state. They believe with the right person or party in office all of these will manifest in this country, state, and their lives. Imagine the foolishness of believing any candidate can bring about what they desperately seek.  

It is hard for me to understand how Christians can be so misled, and misinformed, and not see the worldly (satan) influences at work. Scripture is very clear. God will not honor or bless a country that does not honor and glorify Him alone. When you take this one step deeper, He will not honor or bless a person who does not honor and glorify Him. Hanging hopes on candidates for that which only God can provide is not God-honoring or God-glorifying. 

What if God’s plans were to allow the continued moral decline in our country and allow those who reject Him to experience the fullness of their rejection? What if God’s plans were to test the faith of Christians in and through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to take us to a place of despair where our eyes would look up for the return of Jesus? What if God’s plans were to bring about a revival through this moral decline? What if God’s plans were to open the eyes of the lost to the foolishness of their ways? 

I must confess that I get caught up in what is being said and proclaimed and promised in various News outlets. Praise be to God, He has sent His Holy Spirit to discern these wayward thoughts and keep my eyes focused on Him. We do well to confess our wayward focus, repent of it, and open our hearts and minds to the leading of the Holy Spirit in God-honoring and God-glorifying praise, worship, trust, reliance, and obedience. Nothing this world has to offer can compare to the love, grace, and mercy of God and the blessings of knowing the forgiveness of our sins, salvation, and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

Whatever God’s plans are, they are right, true, and just, and will bring about His plans and purposes. 

Consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.

–Colossians 3:5

Galatians 6:7 says, “Whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” In other words, whatever you plant is what you’re going to harvest. You don’t plant an apple seed and harvest a kumquat. What you plant is what you get, and that’s true for every area of life. As one person put it, “Plant a thought and reap a word; plant a word and reap an action; plant an action and reap a habit; plant a habit and reap a character; plant a character and reap a destiny.” Our destiny begins with our thoughts. That’s the message of this week’s passage in Colossians 3.

In this chapter, Paul called on us to be heavenly minded–to conform our everyday attitudes, affections, and actions to those of Jesus Christ. Verse 3 says, “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Just as Jesus died on the cross, your old sin nature has been crucified, and you have been raised to a new way of living.

In verse 5, Paul talked about our responsibility in the process of becoming like Jesus. He wrote, “Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” In other words, act in a way that is consistent with who you are in Christ, and who you are in Christ is someone over whom sin has no hold.

My friend Bobb Biehl once worked at a circus for a day. He was amazed to see a ten-ton elephant tied to the same size stake as a “little” three-hundred-pound elephant. Wouldn’t the larger animal be able to pull up that stake? A trainer explained, “When they’re babies, we stake them down. They try to tug away from the stake maybe 10,000 times before they realize they can’t possibly get away. At that point, their ‘elephant memory’ takes over, and they remember for the rest of their lives that they can’t get away from the stake.”

Before we became Christians, we had no power to break free from addictions and wrong relationships. Now we have the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. But sometimes our memory takes over and we think we’re the same as before, so we don’t even try to break free from sin. Paul was saying we need to remember who we are in Christ and act accordingly. That means dealing decisively with sinful actions and attitudes in our lives.

1 Chronicles 21:1-17.     Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.” And Joab answered, “May the Lord make His people a hundred times more than they are. But, my lord the king, are they not all my lord’s servants? Why then does my lord require this thing? Why should he be a cause of guilt in Israel?” Nevertheless the king’s word prevailed against Joab. Therefore Joab departed and went throughout all Israel and came to Jerusalem. Then Joab gave the sum of the number of the people to David. All Israel had one million one hundred thousand men who drew the sword, and Judah had four hundred and seventy thousand men who drew the sword. But he did not count Levi and Benjamin among them, for the king’s word was abominable to Joab. And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.” Then the Lord spoke to Gad, David’s seer, saying, “Go and tell David, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: I offer you three things; choose one of them for yourself, that I may do it to you.’” So Gad came to David and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Choose for yourself, either three years of famine, or three months to be defeated by your foes with the sword of your enemies overtaking you, or else for three days the sword of the Lord—the plague in the land, with the angel of the Lord destroying throughout all the territory of Israel.’ Now consider what answer I should take back to Him who sent me.” And David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Please let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into the hand of man.” So the Lord sent a plague upon Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell. And God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it. As he was destroying, the Lord looked and relented of the disaster, and said to the angel who was destroying, “It is enough; now restrain your hand.” And the angel of the Lord stood by the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. Then David lifted his eyes and saw the angel of the Lord standing between earth and heaven, having in his hand a drawn sword stretched out over Jerusalem. So David and the elders, clothed in sackcloth, fell on their faces. And David said to God, “Was it not I who commanded the people to be numbered? I am the one who has sinned and done evil indeed; but these sheep, what have they done? Let Your hand, I pray, O Lord my God, be against me and my father’s house, but not against Your people that they should be plagued.”

Think back over the past week. Have you told any “white lies”? Have you taken a quick glance at something that is off limits? Have you gossiped about a friend or slandered an enemy?

These are what we may call petty sins: impure thoughts, small twists of the truth to get your way, careless comments tossed out without a second thought. They may not seem like major issues. After all, you didn’t kill anybody or rob a bank.

However, the Bible tells us that God cares about petty sins, which is why those sins do matter.

In 1 Chronicles 21:1-17, we see a very interesting story that doesn’t seem like a life-or-death situation at first. David simply asked Joab, the head of his army, to take a census of all fighting men in Israel. Joab immediately recognized that this seemingly innocuous request was a questionable command (there were circumstances in which a census was allowed, but this didn’t fit the bill) and urged David against it. David ignored Joab’s concerns, however, and pushed forward with the tally. In doing so, he incurred God’s wrath and brought great destruction upon his nation.

What can we learn about sin from David’s tragic mistake?

Sin is evil: All sin, no matter how “insignificant,” is evil and adverse to God. In fact, verse one directly says that Satan was the driving force of David’s sin. A census seems so trivial to us. In fact, one could easily justify it as a necessary strategy in measuring the strength of David’s army. But it displeased God.

Similarly, we may justify our words, our actions, or even our inactions, but need to understand that sin is sin, and sin is evil. Whatever it is, it matters to God.

Sin can be traced back to pride: David counts the people presumably because he wants to see how successful he has been. He was prideful, which causes him to focus on his own human strength instead of his reliance on God. Pride is incredibly destructive. In fact, the Bible tells us that pride was the fall of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-17).

Our sins stem from pride, which causes us to believe we deserve something, or that we’re better than others. It removes us from the humility we should exemplify, and positions us into a dangerous place where sin can take hold.

All sin has consequences: No matter how small or how great, all sin has consequences. God, through the prophet Gad, gave David three choices for punishment:

1. Three years of famine

2. Three months of David’s enemies triumphing over him and Israel

3. Three days of plague.

David chose three days of plague because he realized that it is better to be in God’s hands than in the hands of man. Seventy-thousand people died in Israel because of one seemingly insignificant sin.

There are always consequences, not only for the person committing the sin, but those around that person: Consider the young couple killed by the drunk driver, the family torn apart by adultery, the small business owner impacted by the theft in their store, or the little children exposed to the sins of those they are modeling. As Luke 8:17 says, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light” (NKJV). Sin will always be revealed, and the consequences are far reaching.

My friends, we live in a world that celebrates sin. In fact, according to our culture, if you do not rejoice in your sin, there’s something wrong with you. However, we are not called to live by the world, but by the Word. Do not take sin lightly. It is serious, no matter how small you might think it is. When you do fall, be like David, who recognized what he did, repented and sought forgiveness. We serve a merciful Father who is “faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV).

If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him.

–2 Timothy 2:11–12

We can experience real, radical transformation in our lives right now because we have participated in both the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as He died and was raised to new life, so we, too, have died to our old way of living and have been raised to a new way of living. The third reason we can be transformed now rather than later is that we are also participating in the glorification of Jesus Christ. Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Just as He will be glorified and rewarded by God, we, too, will be glorified and rewarded by God.

Any losses we experience or pleasures we give up by saying no to our old sin nature will be more than compensated for when Jesus Christ returns. On that day, “every knee will bow, . . . and . . . every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10–11). Those of us who are in Christ will return with Him. And if we follow Him in this life, then the rewards that God gives His Son for His obedience will be ours as well. That’s why Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:12, “If we endure, we will also reign with Him.”

To receive those rewards, we have to say no to sin. I’ve heard preachers say, “Sin is so distasteful. It just makes you miserable!” But notice what the Bible says about sin. Hebrews 11:24–26 says, “By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.” The writer didn’t say Moses chose to endure ill-treatment rather than enjoy the emptiness of sin. No, the writer said sin is pleasurable–for a season. Moses was willing to say no to the pleasures and treasures of this world because he was looking forward to a greater reward.

That’s the decision we have to make. If we say no to sin right now, God will more than compensate us for that choice in the future. We may be misunderstood, ridiculed, and even persecuted by this world. But one day, when Jesus Christ returns and we return with Him, the entire world will understand why we chose to say no to sin because we will share in the riches of Jesus Christ for all eternity.