Your Biggest Problem, and What to Do About It

[Your Biggest Problem, and What to Do About It]( Current Teaching Series [The Seven Greatest Words of Love]( [Listen to Today's Broadcast]( [Your Biggest Problem, and What to Do About It]( By Rick Warren — 03/10/2021 [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( “It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you.” Isaiah 59:2 (NCV) Today, most cultures don’t think sin is ugly. In fact, many people think sin is fun! Think about media. TV shows, social media memes, and movies use sin for humor. This is Satan’s strategy: to get you to laugh at the same things that put Jesus on the cross. Satan disguises sin to make it look attractive, desirable, and fun. Rarely in media do you see the consequences of sin. If you want to know how ugly sin really is and the damage it does, look at Jesus bleeding on the cross. Jesus’ suffering shows you just how much it takes to pay for your sins. The cross shows the damage sin does. Sin has all sorts of consequences in your life! Here are just three of them. Sin alienates you from God. Why? Because God is holy, and you are not. Sin creates conflict and puts distance between you and God. Isaiah 59:2 says, “It is your evil that has separated you from your God. Your sins cause him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you” (NCV). Sin always leaves estrangement in its wake, even between you and God. Sin causes enormous amounts of stress in your life. One of the greatest sources of stress is unrecognized and unresolved guilt. King David said, “My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear” (Psalm 38:4 NIV). Holding on to sin takes an emotional toll. When you break God’s laws, it leads to worry, fear, guilt, and insecurity. You wouldn’t experience this if you always did things God’s way. But you don’t, and you can’t. This is the reality of sin. Sin condemns you. When you violate God’s laws, there’s always a penalty—in both self-condemnation and judgment from a righteous God. Psalm 7:11 says, “God is a righteous judge and always condemns the wicked” (GNT). You may think your biggest problem is a relationship conflict, health issue, or trouble finding a job. But the reality is, your biggest problem is that you’re at war with God. That’s why you’re so frustrated! That’s why you don’t sleep well. That’s why you’re stressed out. You weren’t made to live out of harmony with your Creator, who loves you. He made you, and he sent his Son to die for you. He wants you to be in harmony with him. Repent of your sin today—and every day—so that you can be at peace with God. [PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>]( Talk It Over - When you find yourself laughing at sin, what are the lies you’re telling yourself? - How do you make light of sin through the TV shows, movies, books, and social media you consume? - In what ways does understanding the severity of sin affect how you view and understand God’s grace? If you haven’t trusted in Jesus and committed to following him, why wait any longer? Your sins separate you from God. And it is only God’s grace that can get you back into right relationship with him. The Bible says, “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV). If you’re ready to make peace with your Creator, then pray this prayer: “Dear Jesus, I don’t want my sin to separate me from you any longer. You have promised that if I believe in you, everything I’ve ever done wrong will be forgiven, I will learn the purpose of my life, and you will accept me into your eternal home in heaven one day. “I confess my sin, and I believe you are my Savior. You have promised that if I confess my sin and trust you, I will be saved. I trust you when you say salvation comes by grace, through faith, and not by anything I do. I receive you into my life as my Lord. Today, I’m turning over every part of my life to your management. “I want to live the way you created me to live and use the rest of my life to serve you instead of serving myself. I commit my life to you and ask you to save me and accept me into your family. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.” If you just prayed to accept Jesus, please email me at Rick@PastorRick.com and let me know about it. I’d like to send you some free materials to help you start your journey with Jesus. The post [Your Biggest Problem, and What to Do About It]( appeared first on [Pastor Rick's Daily Hope](. [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Email]( [Get the Journey with Jesus Deluxe Book when you give a gift to support Daily Hope]( Imagine tracing the very footsteps of Jesus as he made his way through Jerusalem on his sacrificial journey to Calvary. With Pastor Rick’s book, Journey with Jesus, you don’t have to imagine. Through gorgeous custom mosaic artwork and beautiful photos, you’ll see the story of Jesus come to life like never before. Get deep biblical insight into the most important event in human history as the narrative takes you to each stop on the path Jesus took to save us. This stunning deluxe edition, available only through Daily Hope, features a soft, vegan leather cover, 148 high gloss pages, and makes a perfect gift to help both Christians and seekers step into the greatest love story ever told. [LEARN MORE]( [Complete Audio Series (Purchase)]( Includes 7 full-length messages from Pastor Rick's series The Seven Greatest Words of Love. [LEARN MORE]( [Series Summary]( Message 1: The Word of Forgiveness Message 2: The Word of Assurance Message 3: The Word of Love Message 4: The Word of Substitution Message 5: The Word of Humanity Message 6: The Word of Victory Message 7: The Word of Trust [PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST]( Pastor Rick Warren [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [Linkedin]( Enjoy today's devotional? Listen to Pastor Rick’s daily audio teaching at [PastorRick.com]( Did someone forward this devotional to you? [Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional.]( As the founding pastor of Saddleback Church with his wife Kay, Dr. Rick Warren leads a 30,000-member congregation in California with campuses in major cities around the world. As an author, his book [The Purpose Driven Life]( is one of the best-selling nonfiction books in publishing history. It has been translated into 74 languages and sold more than 50 million copies in all formats. His book [The Purpose Driven Church]( was named one of the 100 Christian books that changed the century. Rick also founded [The PEACE Plan]( to address five global issues—spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, poverty, disease, and illiteracy—through the power of ordinary people in the local church. You can listen to Pastor Rick’s Daily Hope, his daily 25-minute audio teaching, and sign up for his free daily devotionals at [PastorRick.com](. © 2021 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe by clicking the link below. Sent to: {EMAIL} [Unsubscribe]( Pastor Rick's Daily Hope, 23182 Arroyo Vista, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688, United States