Exodus 23:29-30

"I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild animals of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased and inherit the land" (Exodus 23:29-30 SAAS).

I think this is a great verse to remember whenever you are getting impatient with a certain sin or passion that you cannot overcome (and it can actually apply to any prayer that you think is unanswered). Many times we ask God to do something and expect it to be done after we say "amen" at the end of our prayer. But we don't always think about the implications of the realization of those expectations. We don't realize the dangers (primarily spiritual in nature) that may sometimes entail instant gratification of our requests and desires, such as pride or a lack of patience. We don't understand that patience teaches us to trust in God more and that having our requests granted instantly can lead to pride and selfishness. But we must trust that God works for our best all the time and will answer our prayers in the most appropriate and fitting way.

Genesis 4:7

"If you do well, you can hold up your head; but if not, sin is a demon lurking at the door: his urge is toward you, yet you can be his master." (Genesis 4:7)

What God told the first person to be temped with sin [outside of the Garden of Eden], and what he tells all of us when are about to sin.

And yet, we do not take the advice of God. It is not because of weakness; the Lord states we can overcome sin and be his master. The Lord has already given us the power to trample upon serpents and scorpions. It is because of our lack of trust in God, and our false trust in ourselves and our weakness, when time and time again it fails us.

Trust in God. Christianity is solely composed of simple concepts that take a lifetime to master; it is the faith that levels all humans, to be equally foolish and equally wise in the eyes of God.

Psalm 116

I was reading this psalm earlier and to me it sounds like the psalm one sings when entering into paradise, when they have received salvation, when they have won the race, when they have been saved by grace. Psalm 116.

I love the LORD, because He hears
My voice and my supplications.
Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live.
The cords of death encompassed me
And the terrors of Sheol came upon me;
I found distress and sorrow.
Then I called upon the name of the LORD:
"O LORD, I beseech You, save my life!"
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;
Yes, our God is compassionate.
The LORD preserves the simple;
I was brought low, and He saved me.
Return to your rest, O my soul,
For the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
For You have rescued my soul from death,
My eyes from tears,
My feet from stumbling.
I shall walk before the LORD
In the land of the living.
I believed when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted."
I said in my alarm,
"All men are liars."
What shall I render to the LORD
For all His benefits toward me?
I shall lift up the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I shall pay my vows to the LORD,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people.
Precious in the sight of the LORD
Is the death of His godly ones.
O LORD, surely I am Your servant,
I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid,
You have loosed my bonds.
To You I shall offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And call upon the name of the LORD.
I shall pay my vows to the LORD,
Oh may it be in the presence of all His people,
In the courts of the LORD'S house,
In the midst of you, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!

Genesis 3:8-12

When they heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of the day, the man and his wife hid themselves from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. The LORD God then called to the man and asked him, "Where are you?" He answered, "I heard you in the garden; but I was afraid, because I was naked, so I hid myself." Then he asked, "Who told you that you were naked? You have eaten, then, from the tree of which I had forbidden you to eat!" The man replied, "The woman whom you put here with me--she gave me fruit from the tree, so I ate it."

When one sins, the moment he realizes he has sinned, he should confess it to God right away. He should not let the guilt hold him back from repentance and talking to God, because either way, we can never hide anything from God, so letting guilt delay us will only allow the sin to multiply.

Look at Adam. He sinned, realized he sinned, felt the guilt, and tried to hide from God. Instead of admitting his mistake, delaying his repentance gave him time to think about his wrong actions and justify them, letting the guilt fade away, and end up blaming it on someone else.

God first asked him why he was hiding, essentially asking why he was letting the guilt consume him and not repent. Later, God asks him why he sinned and disobeyed him. God will not first ask us why we sinned, because He knows why we have sinned, but instead why we did not repent. Our excuse for that question, which will never be a valid excuse, will only lead Him to question then, why did we ever sin in the first place? And to answer that question, it is too late for repentance, and thus we will only be digging ourselves deeper because we will have no excuse for our sins. Our only excuse for our sins is the blood of Christ, which will only redeem us if we repent.

Letting it dwell in your conscience will lead you to think about it. Thinking about your sin leads you to thinking about yourself. Thinking about yourself leads you to doubt the power of God to strengthen you against sin. Doubting the power of God will lead us to despair in ourselves, thus looking outward for the solution, thus blaming others. It all just starts a cycle of pride, furthering you away and away from God.

God forgives. Always. Just ask and you’ll be free and strengthened. You can’t do ANYTHING good on your own, so love Him. Trust Him.

Romans 7:21

So I find it be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand.

When you underestimate the power of sin, you are underestimating the power of God.

Romans 2:24

For it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."

This reminded me so much of something Mahatma Gandhi said: "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” and again of what St. John Chrysostom urges us on with:

Live in a way that won’t blaspheme the name of God. On the one hand, don’t care about human reputation. On the other hand, don’t give reason for others to speak poorly of you. But be moderate on both issues. As Scripture says, “Among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” For Christ left us here to be lights. We are here to teach others and be like leaven in dough. We should go about as angels among people, as adults among children, as spiritual people among those who are natural. In this way they can profit as we become seeds bearing copious fruit. There is no need to speak if we shine through our lives. There is no need for teachers if we only demonstrate through our works. There would be no unbelievers if we were the Christians we should be. Everyone would convert to godliness if we generally kept the commandments of Christ, suffered through insults, allowed others to take advantage of us, blessed when we were cursed and did good when treated poorly. For example, Paul was only one man, yet how many followed him? If we were all like him, how many worlds could we have following us?

Do you know real Egypt?

Watch these videos and spread the awareness...

Copts Under Seige Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6r2NnLZBEzk
Copts Under Seige Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmIuqgMrUFo