“I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:10-11 NIV Read full chapter
May our hearts be a storehouse of God’s Word so that the Holy Spirit can bring to mind the verses necessary for our guidance.
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
“Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sins are put out of sight. Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of sin.” Romans 4:7-8 NLT
Those who trust and follow Jesus can have this immeasurable joy!
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
We must not affirm sinful behavior because it has become acceptable in our culture. If you aren’t sure about which behaviors are evil and/or dangerous, the truth can be found in the Bible. God’s Word is Truth and the final authority. The Word says,
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV
Going along with anything and everything is not love. Sin brings pain and heartache. It always does. That’s why God warns us against it.
“This is the way sin works: it comes covered in an attractive veneer that hides its evil and hideous consequences.” Pastor David Jeremiah
Speaking the truth protects the innocent.Truth is the antidote for deception and deception is the enemy of mankind.
Standing for truth isn’t hard to do when evil is something society detests. But what about when sinful behavior is something our culture affirms? What sin does our society affirm? All you have to do is watch TV to find out. TV is filled with shows that seek to normalize sinful behaviors such as adultery, homosexuality, abortion, and transgender ideology.
I never thought I’d see the day when women would celebrate because they had won the right to murder their unborn baby. But many women in America demand abortion rights during all months of pregnancy, and they call it healthcare. That is not healthcare. It’s killing your baby for convenience. If we’re going to have this discussion, we should at least be honest about it.
There’s a reason abortion advocates call it healthcare. It’s more palatable to call it “healthcare” or “women’s rights” than to call it what it is: murder.
Abortion is just one evil that our culture affirms. There are many others. My question for you is: Will you love? Or will you affirm evil? Affirming evil is not love. It takes courage to stand up for what is right.
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV
At one time, I didn’t understand this verse. Why would anyone delight in evil? Now I understand.
Engaging in sinful behavior is a very dangerous path. Will you stand up for truth to protect the innocent and/or the misinformed? It won’t be easy, but it will be loving.
The World promotes sinful behavior through propaganda and lies.
” … wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.” 2 Thessalonians 2:10
Deception is the work of Satan.
” … that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world … ” Revelation 12:9 ESV
Jesus said, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44 (emphasis mine)
FACT: “A new study from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law finds that 81% of transgender adults in the U.S. have thought about suicide, 42% of transgender adults have attempted it.” UCLA School of Law
FACT: “According to Gissler et al. (2014), suicide rates for women directly after having abortions are three times higher than suicide rates for women overall.” Georgia College
FACT: LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).
We do not stand for truth because we hate. We stand for truth because we love. We love the ones who are being deceived and led astray by propaganda and lies. It’s time to speak up.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;” Psalm 103:8-13
In His Love, Cindy
Would you like to learn more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
All Scripture is from the NIV unless stated otherwise.
4/20/25 (Previously titled What Easter Means to Me)
Easter reminds me that because Jesus paid the penalty for my sins, I am free from guilt and shame. Have you ever felt such deep guilt that you couldn’t forgive yourself?
For those of us who have been forgiven much, love for Jesus runs deep because it changes our life in an indescribable way. It can’t be explained to someone who hasn’t experienced it. Maybe you could imagine what it would be like when you hear the hymn, Amazing Grace, written by John Newton, a slave ship captain who experienced God’s merciful forgiveness.
Another example is a woman known only as “The Sinful Woman”.
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Luke 7:36-50 NIV
Footnotes
Luke 7:41 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see Matt. 20:2).
This woman came to hear Jesus while he dined with some religious leaders. I have often wondered, What was she doing at the party!?
“But it was acceptable in Jesus’ day for people to come to a party to watch and listen to the conversation. They were not allowed to eat, but they could observe.” (Never Thirsty Ministry)
She was there to see and hear Jesus.
I have no idea what Jesus and the Pharisees talked about. Maybe Jesus talked about the forgiveness of sins. Perhaps, as she listened, she believed He was the Messiah and experienced the joy of receiving forgiveness.
Maybe Jesus quoted Old Testament Scriptures such as Isaiah 1:18:
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
Maybe He quoted Psalm 103:12:
“… as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
And maybe, He looked right in her eyes as he did, not at the Pharisees, but only at her, and maybe that is why she cried so hard that she could literally wash His feet with her tears.
Verse 44 tells us that Jesus turned toward the woman and said to Simon,
“… her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Imagine how she felt, knowing He was talking about her.
She probably thought no one would notice her that evening. But Jesus looked right at her and spoke the words she longed to hear:
“Her many sins have been forgiven.”
To me, Easter means forgiveness and cleansing. Anyone carrying guilt can be set free from that heavy load, just like I was and just like slave ship Captain John Newton. Receive God’s gift of salvation by trusting in His son, Jesus, and giving your life to Him.
“But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5-8 KJV
A fascinating story about the song Amazing Grace.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May they prosper who love you.”
“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shouldersand goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:4-7 NIV
The lost sheep symbolizes just one sinner who repents. That is how valuable each person is to God! (Jeremiah Study Bible Notes)
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.”
The Apostle Paul said, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15-16 NIV
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
“My soul, never laugh at sin’s fooleries, lest thou come to smile at sin itself. It is thine enemy, and thy Lord’s enemy-view it with detestation,” Charles Spurgeon
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
We must not affirm sinful behavior because it has become acceptable in our culture. If you aren’t sure about which behaviors are evil and/or dangerous, the truth can be found in the Bible. God’s Word is Truth and the final authority. The Word says,
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV
Going along with anything and everything is not love. Sin brings pain and heartache. It always does. That’s why God warns us against it.
“This is the way sin works: it comes covered in an attractive veneer that hides its evil and hideous consequences.” Pastor David Jeremiah
Standing for truth is not being legalistic, as some accuse. Speaking the truth protects the innocent. Truth is the antidote for deception and deception is the enemy of mankind.
Standing for truth isn’t hard to do when evil is something society detests. But what about when sinful behavior is something our culture affirms? What sin does our society affirm? All you have to do is watch TV to find out. TV is filled with stories that seek to normalize sinful behaviors.
I never thought I’d see the day when women would celebrate because they had won the right to murder their unborn baby. But many women in America demand abortion rights during all months of pregnancy, and they call it healthcare. It’s not healthcare we’re talking about. It’s killing your baby for convenience. If we’re going to have this discussion, we should at least be honest about it.
There’s a reason abortion advocates call it healthcare. It’s more palatable to call it healthcare or women’s rights than to call it what it is.
Abortion is just one evil that our culture affirms. There are many others. My question for you is: Will you love? Or will you affirm evil? Affirming evil is not love. It takes courage to stand up for what is right.
“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” 1 Corinthians 13:6 NIV
At one time, I didn’t understand this verse. Why would anyone delight in evil? Now I understand.
What other sinful behaviors does our culture affirm that are, in reality, dangerous paths? Will you stand up for truth to protect the innocent and/or the misinformed? It won’t be easy, but it will be loving.
In His Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” Psalm 122:6
Real Christian Women 