A Covering

You know, it's funny what some people think about God.  A.W. Tozer said something that I totally agree with.  He said, "The most important thing about a person is how they think about God."  Whether folks think highly of God will determine how they live their lives.  It is really simple, if we understand God's holiness and God's sovereignty, then we understand that we cannot bring trash to God and expect Him to validate it.

Yesterday in church, after the sermon, a woman came to the altar and asked for a covering.  It seemed innocent enough.  She was someone that did not look familiar to me and my initial thought was that she was from out of town and wanted to be under watchcare at our church.  This all changed when she asked our pastor if she could say something.  She began talking about her life and how she wanted to make a change.  She talked about being shot at and stabbed.  Then she dropped a bomb, she said that some of the people in the church should know her because she "worked" on that side of town.  She talked about "continuing to live her life because it was the only way that she could take care of herself."  She proceeded to ask the women of the church not to be angry at her if she had been with their men because, "they came to me, I didn't come to them."  This is the point where our pastor stopped her dead in her tracks.

He immediately picked up on this unclean spirit.  This woman was basically asking us to pray for her that she would be covered while continuing in her sin.  This was bold and he immediately rebuked the spirit and we came down from the pulpit and joined him and prayed for this lady.  It was amazing that she would actually stand there and ask for the church to condone her sin and pray for her/cover her while she wilfully lived in rebellion against God.  She didn't ask for us to pray that she would turn from her sin, but rather that she would be kept alive as she continues her sin.  That says a lot about what she actually thinks about God and what she thinks God desires. I would even go so far as to call that absolute lunacy.  I'm not judging her, we have all had issues in life, but coming to God without repenting or even the desire to repent is like modeling a fur coat in the store but walking away without it.  There is no exchange because repentance is a requirement if we are truly going to be transformed.  If we come asking for forgiveness, repentance is implicit. 

God is holy and will not sanction sin.  Habakkuk 1:13 "Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?"  God's holiness will not let Him accept sin.  His holiness will not let him accept anything less than holiness.  That's why it is so important to have a relationship with Jesus because every Christian's holiness and righteousness comes from Jesus.  Will you join me in prayer for this sister, that she would come to her right mind?  God's grace and peace be upon you.