December 1, 2010 in
Failure, Forgiveness, Guilt, Relationship with God, Sin, Thoughts with
Whenever I need a new beginning with God, I always turn to Psalm 51. Although the words written there are David’s specific confession for his sin of adultery, they provide a beautiful picture of a heart broken over sin and a man in pursuit of a fresh start with God. If you need a fresh start today, speak these words to God from a humble heart.
“Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just ” (Psalm 51:2-4).
“Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
“The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God” (Psalm 51:17).
October 26, 2010 in
Christians, Determination, Sin, True Stories, Wisdom with
What do you think of people who take up two parking spaces with their car? Personally, I am always tempted to park extremely close to the driver’s side door and hide somewhere else in the parking lot to watch their angry reaction when they return to their car. Although I have never double-parked, I completely understand why some people do. Their car is important to them and they are attempting to protect it from purposeful or accidental damage; therefore, the best way to avoid damage is to leave a little extra room between yourself and the potential danger.
Here’s the reality. You are important to God, but there are people or things that are daily seeking to destroy you. Rather than allowing potential danger to come close, leave yourself a little extra room. Instead of walking near the edge, stay behind the fence. “A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, but the simple pass on and are punished” (Proverbs 22:3).
October 25, 2010 in
Character, Determination, Sin, Temptation, Thoughts, Weakness with
Can you imagine going to work everyday where the boss’s wife begged you to sleep with her? As awkward as that may sound, the pages of Scripture reveal a young man named Joseph who faced this exact predicament (Genesis 39). Each day he clocked into work, his master’s wife attempted to seduce him by saying, “Sleep with me” (39:7). In my mind, this woman was probably very attractive especially considering that she was married to a powerful man in Egypt. Men of power most likely married the most attractive women while leaving the ugly ones for the lower class citizens. Although Joseph had numerous opportunities to sleep with this woman, he modeled excellent character by responding, “Look, my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God” (37:8-9).
Joseph’s response to this seductive woman is worthy of emulation in our own lives. If you are encountering a barrage of temptation, learn how to walk away. Although temptation seems irresistible, God promises an escape for those who desire to be obedient to Him. Pay close attention to Paul’s words to the church at Corinth: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
Temptation promises satisfaction which, in reality, is only found through obedience.
October 5, 2010 in
Failure, Forgiveness, Guilt, Life, Personal Stuff, Sin, Thoughts, Video Blog, Weakness with
Yesterday, I wrote about dealing with your past. If you didn’t get a chance to read my post, you can get a little video preview here and if you would like to read the original post, you can read that here. Forgive my first attempt at a video blog, but I’m trying a few new things here. Enjoy your day!
Things You Should Know About My Past from Tom Hogsed on Vimeo.
October 4, 2010 in
Failure, Forgiveness, God, Guilt, Life, Personal Stuff, Relationship with God, Sin, Thoughts, Weakness with
Letting go of the past is, well, not so easy. Looking back over my life, I could list numerous regrets and sins which I would be ashamed to admit; in fact, some of those things have been hard to release from memory. Although I have sought God’s forgiveness from my past sins, I still find it complicated to forgive myself. How could I be so stupid? Why did I let that area slip? I knew better. This morning as I was sitting down to pray and study for my Sunday message at The Summit, something from my past popped into my head out of nowhere. At first I wondered, “Where did that come from?” In that moment, I began an honest prayer to God and claimed His forgiveness. I know God had already forgiven me, but all the memories flooded my mind again. Through the years, especially when regret plagues my soul, I have often reminded myself that the past changes for no one. The page has been turned. Yesterday is out of reach.
If your past cannot be altered, why have you been so consumed with it? Don’t get me wrong, I understand that sin brings consequences, but does God really desire for you to live in a continual state of regret for things you cannot change? I really do not think so. Once you have turned from sin (repented) and received God’s forgiveness, you must release the sin. Isaiah wrote concerning this very topic, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Listen, you have done some terribly stupid things in the past. So have I. God knew you would break His commandments and sometimes stray away from Him, so He took drastic measures 2,000 years ago when He treated His own Son, Jesus, as if He had committed those sins you actually committed. Those very sins which have consumed your life, have been shouldered by Jesus Christ. He shouldered that divorce. He shouldered that lie. He shouldered your perversion. He shouldered your secret sin. He shouldered your cheating. He shouldered your deception. He shouldered your failings as a parent. He shouldered that lust. He shouldered that bitterness.
There are a few things you should know about my past, but thankfully my past has been erased.
September 23, 2010 in
Marriage, Readiness, Relationships, Reputation, Sin, Temptation, Thoughts, Weakness with
There is a sexually explicit story written by Solomon in Proverbs 7 which stars a naive young man and a prostitute. I don’t remember this one being told in my Children’s Bible Story Book. The story goes something like this. There was a young man who lacked common sense (7:7), so he decided to walk down a street known to house a prostitute (7:8-9). Dressed in a seductive outfit (7:10), the woman came out to meet the young man and greeted him with an embrace and a kiss (7:13). I’m sure he liked it. The woman flattered the youth by saying that she had been trying to find him and that he was the ONE for whom she had been looking (7:15). She was lying. She begins to describe in detail the bed that was awaiting them, how they could “drink their fill of love until morning,” and enjoy each others’ caresses (7:16-18). The immoral woman even put the young man at ease by assuring him that her husband had gone away on a long trip and would not return until later in the month (7:19-20). He couldn’t resist her scintillating words, so he gave into her advances (7:21). Solomon writes, “He followed her at once, like an ox going to the slaughter. He was like a stag caught in a trap, awaiting the arrow that would pierce its heart. He was like a bird flying into a snare, little knowing it would cost him his life” (7:22-23). Although these words were written thousands of years ago, this same scenario plays itself out in lives everyday. The characters may be different and the story may vary, but the process of temptation is the same for all. Temptation leads to lust. Lust leads to sin. Sin eventually leads to death (James 1:14-15).
In my mind, this young man made an avoidable mistake, which ultimately led to his sin. His mistake is found in Proverbs 7:8, “He was crossing the street near the house of an immoral woman, strolling down the path by her house.” He knew she lived there. Everyone knew where she lived.
If you want to keep yourself from walking into sin, you might want to quit frequenting the road of temptation.
September 9, 2009 in
Communication with God, God, Prayer, Random Thinking, Relationship with God, Sin, Unspecific Ramblings with
While spending some time alone with God yesterday, I felt the need to confess feelings of apathy I’ve been experiencing in certain parts of my life lately. As I was praying, I sensed the need to locate some Scripture which could serve as a challenge for restoration and revival in my personal connection with God, so I randomly opened up the Bible and it fell to Psalm 80. Here is what I read,
“Restore us, O God; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved! O Lord God of hosts, How long will You be angry against the prayer of Your people? You have fed them with the bread of tears, and given them tears to drink in great measure. You have made us a strife to our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves. Restore us, O God of hosts; cause Your face to shine, and we shall be saved!” (Psalm 80:3-7)
Even though this passage was most likely written as a prayer for the nation of Israel to repent of their apostasy and be restored to God, I am convinced that this principle is still applicable today. There are times when all of us become distracted or even blinded by apathy and need God to restore our hearts to the time when we first fell in love with Him. When I “randomly” opened up the Bible today, I believe God knew exactly what I needed and I’m now praying that He will restore me each day.
August 21, 2009 in
Anger, Attitude, Funny Stories, Sin, True Stories, Weakness with
Traffic is never a factor in our city; sure, we may have occasional delays and minor traffic jams, but I’ve never been more than 10-15 minutes late because everyone was trying to get to the same place. Having grown up in a large city (shout out to Charlotte, NC), I know the difference between minor and major delays so it really perturbs me when people in my small town get ticked about slight hangups on the roadway. For instance, I was on my way to work the other day and, by chance, I glanced into my rear-view mirror when I noticed a gentleman who appeared a bit agitated at another driver causing an inconsequential hindrance to this man’s route. Next thing I know, the impatient man pulls up beside the other driver, rolls down his window, and gives him the ol’ “one finger wave.” The fast-fingered driver then sped up and pulled over behind me, which is the wrong place to be because I cannot go fast for fear of another speeding ticket. I awaited my own close up of this man’s middle finger; however, after a brief episode of tailgating, he finally put his turn signal on and pulled into the parking lot…of a behavioral physician. I thought to myself, “That makes sense.” A guy who obviously cannot manage his behavior on his own needs help from someone outside himself.I have a lot in common with that guy.”Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” – the words of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:24-25
August 17, 2009 in
Fear, Funny Stories, Life, Relationship with God, Sin, True Stories, Weakness with
Learning to ride her bike this summer was one of the big accomplishments for my seven year old daughter, Lexi. She began with riding around in the driveway and eventually moved to the streets of our neighborhood…with our supervision, of course. A couple days ago, both her and my son went riding together on the next street over from us, but I could still see them from the backyard of our house. Lexi was enjoying her leisurely ride until a very poofy white dog, who was not on a leash, came running after her. Lexi is not scared of that much, but loose dogs (big or small) freak her out! Instead of pedaling faster to escape the pursuing canine, she abandoned her bike and began to run as fast as her little feet would carry her; however, it wasn’t fast enough. By this time in the chase, all I could hear was Lexi screaming and crying as the dog closed in on her and finally backed her into a place without an escape route. About this time, the owner of the dog showed up and saved the day but Lexi was not impressed with his neglect to keep his dog on a leash. Needless to say, she was pretty shaken up.
As Lexi gets older, I hope she learns the importance of staying on the bike because sometimes running isn’t the best way of escape.
August 4, 2009 in
Failure, Fear, Funny Stories, God, Guilt, Relationship with God, Sin, True Stories, Weakness with
Several years ago we had guests at our home for a weekend, which usually means an adjustment in our daily habits. I’m not talking about bad habits but normal, everyday things you can only do around your own family. Since our house is two levels (and also includes a basement), most of the adjustment only takes place on the ground-level floor. Normal activity resumes on the second floor where it is immediate family only. There is one slight connection between the ground level and the second floor by way of the stairs so that if you stand at the very bottom of our stairs, you can see straight into the upstairs bathroom if the door is open.
On Sunday morning, I got up early to take a shower and upon finishing I exited the bathroom with just shorts and no shirt on; however, as soon as I exited, I noticed that the female guest in our home was about to make her way up the stairs to the bathroom because she thought I was already done. Unfortunately, she saw me without my shirt on and I was extremely embarrassed. Although some guys may not think this is a big deal, I did because I’m not one who enjoys mowing the lawn with his shirt off or playing a basketball game where the teams are divided by shirts and skins. It’s just not me…it makes me feel as if someone has seen a part of me that was not meant for them to see. Now that you know my true feelings, I’m sure this will put to rest all the rumors flying about me being the shirtless model plastered on the wall of Abercrombie & Fitch!
Setting aside the physical aspect of this thought, I believe many of us can identify with the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects. When someone catches an unauthorized view of a particular area of our life, we often retreat in shame. No one enjoys being exposed because of a weakness, a seemingly uncontrollable addiction, or an area of extreme vulnerability. Through years of experience, many have become experts at covering up these undesirable parts without realizing that “the eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). This means that God sees you – all of you…but He loves You anyway. Paul writes that God demonstrated His love toward us, that even though we were sinners, Christ still died for us (Romans 5:8).
