Author: Thetford, Richie

Sadly, far too many Christians have an evaporating faith as stated in Hosea 6:4: “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away.” But this does not have to be the case. Let’s strive to have a greater and stronger faithfulness to our God. So, how do we develop this greater and stronger faith? Basically, by studying the word of God and applying it to our lives in every way (not just the areas we want).

In order to cure or prevent the evil passion of envy, one needs to seek a renewed heart and dwell often on God’s divine love. We must learn to be content with what we have been blessed with by God. The apostle Paul wrote, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). We need to entertain lowly thoughts of ourselves while at the same time learning to admire the excellence in others, and regarding it as if it were our own.

What is sin? Sin is doing anything that violates God’s law of righteousness. In 1 John 5:17 it says: “All unrighteousness is sin…” and “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). When we transgress or do things that are against God’s law, then we have committed sin. It doesn’t matter what we do, if it is something that is not approved of by God, then it is sin, and all sin is BLACK.