Give Us Hearts Strong for this War - Poem

Give Us Hearts Strong for this War

Blessed among women,

Chosen that The Most High could breathe into her a new Adam,  

Uncorrupted DNA, untainted by sin, God infused flesh,

Nourished in Mary’s womb.

This babe is, a light born in darkness, heralded by angels,

The heavenly host singing at his birth,

His blood to become the sacrament of eternal redemption, Life without end,

The entrance into heaven, Our only salvation.

Yeshua saves his people.

A lamb whose shed blood redeems for him sheep

Who will follow in this new way of love.

I am naked but for the leaves on the tree, but for the bark on the wood,

But for the branches on the limbs.

Meaning,

We all fit together in this Holy Kingdom.  All called to follow him.

All called to royal diadems that we will lay at his feet.

We are honored to be chosen for this battle,

To carry forth the gospel,

To live this life as His people,

To be refined in this crucible,

To share in His spoil,

Because of the victory that he wrought for us, Church.

So I am no longer alone but your partner in this fight,

Your brother in this warfare, fellow shield bearer and your succor,

Your servant and your foot washer,

The binder of your wounds,

The singer of your songs,

As we bless our enemies, heaping coals upon their heads.

We kneel before the Sacred Light and vow our lives a living sacrifice:

Marrying and bearing babies,

Working and fighting,

Praying and forgiving,

Planting and watering,

Growing and reaping,

Baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Three in One.

Our God and King.

Our Father who art in Heaven, give us hearts strong for this war.

Psalm 73:24-26 (ESV)

You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

The Tenant/Landlord Relationship & Courtship - Essay

I have noticed that courtship and marriage are much like the tenant/landlord relationship, and I learned this from a young woman in my church many years ago. She was quite attractive in that dreamy blonde sort of way, but her temperament was all business.  When she told me about her engagement, she also informed me that she had only agreed to marry “John” if he would promise her that she wouldn’t have to work outside of the home after they were married.  I found this strange for a number of reasons. First of all, I had never heard of a woman making a condition before accepting a marriage proposal before. (I have since found out that this is not so unusual.) Second of all, the young woman’s mother was a very well known and successful business woman. Third, even though many married Christian mothers stay at home, many others enjoy working outside of the home for extra income, because they love their profession, or they just want a break from housecleaning and childcare.

“Mary’s” fiance was a passionate and earnest young man in a successful line of work. He quickly agreed; I suspect he would have agreed to any condition she had requested including jumping over the moon.  Now, many years later, they are still happily married and quite a force in the community.

I do not have much experience in marriage; however, I am an experienced tenant, and her conditions reminded me of what I have learned in the tenant/landlord relationship.  When looking for a home to rent, both the tenant and the landlord do some checking about each other. The landlord checks references and makes sure the potential tenant has adequate resources to pay the rent.  The  renter decides if she would like to live in the property and if the owner takes adequate care of the property.

There is one trick I have learned about landlords. If you, as a tenant, want something fixed on the property- make sure it is done before you sign the lease.  Once the lease is signed, very few landlords, in my experience, are quick to make repairs or changes to the property.  If you want the carpet cleaned or a new carpet, get it done before you sign. If you want new locks installed, a new refrigerator, a better washer and dryer, you need to make sure the landlord agrees to everything before you sign the lease.

This is the time when the tenant possesses the most power. The landlord thinks she will be a good tenant; he’s ready to be getting some rental income.  The tenant must be wise.  So it is with the young woman who is contemplating a marriage proposal. A much more serious and lifelong contract to be sure. Perhaps the young man in question spends much of his weekends watching sports on tv. Now would be the time to get an agreement of how much time he plans to spend on her or on mutual projects during the weekends post marriage.  Perhaps he is a slackard in the going to church department.  I would suggest then maybe she just needs to find another apartment, or er, man.  Women need to value themselves as much as my young friend did.  We are one of the most valuable gifts a man will ever receive in his life: we should make sure he knows how to take care of his gifts.  Just a thought before you sign that lease.

Samson & Failure - Essay

“By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.  And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak,Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight,” (Hebrews 11:31-34).

Samson seems an unlikely hero to be mentioned in Hebrews’ acclaim of the faithful.  Of all the Old Testament prophets, Samson is probably most recognized for his spectacular failures. An angel announced his coming birth to his parents; his awesome strength was clearly a supernatural gift from God, yet at almost every point of the story of his life found in The Book of Judges,  Samson was consistently disobedient.  His infamous weakness for Philistine women proved to be his ultimate downfall.  He also broke his Nazarite vows in numerous other ways besides sleeping with prostitutes and marrying outside the faith. He touched the dead body of a lion he killed, and he consumed wine - both against Nazarite vows.  My bible commentary attributes Samson’s escape of God’s judgement until the end of his life as a testimony to the patience and grace of God.  However, scripture itself tells us the reason for Samson’s continuing failures.

When Samson asked his parents for his first Philistine woman (from Timnah), his parents rightly protested for she was from the “uncircumcised.” The writer of Judges then goes on to say, “His father and mother did not know that it was from the Lord, for he [God] was seeking an opportunity against the Philistines,” (Judges 14:4).  After each disobedience or failure on Samson’s part, disaster happens, and Samson has an opportunity to strike down 1000’s of Philistine men. Samson’s last act, after he has been blinded and enslaved, is to topple the Philistines God’s temple and eliminate the ruling Philistine class. Despite his repeated failures, Samson’s life was an amazing success.  The Angel of the Lord (whose name is Wonderful) told Samson’s parents of the soon to be born baby’s mission.  “He [Samson] shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines,” (13:5). If Samson had been an obedient Jewish boy, married the nice Jewish girl, and followed the law all of his life, it seems unlikely that he could have destroyed as many Philistines as he did or have had a more wonderful story to share throughout the generations.

Samson doesn’t seem like the best example of Godliness or faithfulness that the author of Hebrews could have used.  We only hear him communicate with God once in his story, and it is to ask for personal vengeance against the Philistines for poking out his two eyes. An event which happened because of Samson’s blatant disobedience and stupidity.  

Despite his many shortcomings and inability to learn, God honors Samson as a man of faith because  Samson was an instrument in the hands of the Lord. A grievously faulty instrument that the Lord was able to use anyways.  I find it strangely liberating that God’s plans to use my life are not dependent on my perfect obedience (especially since that doesn’t exist!) May all the Lord’s followers have the faith to believe that we are being used by God despite the sins and failures that beset us.

Amen.

Book Review: Amen, Amen: Religion and Southern Self-Taught Artists in The Mullis Collection Organized by Paul Manoguerra

I have to begin this review by saying that I’m a little upset. This collection of outsider art was at the Jundt Art Museum of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington where I live - and I missed it.  The funny thing is, my biggest complaint about this book is that some of the art pictured in the book is just to small to see well and to appreciate.  Obviously if I had gone to the exhibit, I could of studied each piece in leisure and in depth. However, the photos that are large enough to view adequately are a window into that strange world of religious art whose traditions go back millenniums.

Carl Mullis is an avid collector of 20th Century art. He ventured into the folk art field because it is more affordable than art done by better known regionalists, yet Mullis was also drawn by the color, drama, and emotion of these self taught artists.  Many of the works in this book drew a strong emotional response from me.  The childlike simplicity of Hugo Spear’s work, Creation, 1977 has a delightful joyous quality. The animals seem to line up and watch in fascination as a muscular God shows the crying Adam and Eve the way out of Paradise.  Howard Finister’s From Earth to Hell is appropriately scarey. Although the book does not do his painting justice, I discovered that I could go on-line and find much bigger pictures of his work. (Apparently he has a number of paintings of hell - I think his work is brilliant.)  The saddest piece is without doubt Annie Wellborn’s Annies Angles {her spelling}. It shows a young girl in an open coffin with two joyous angels above. It looks like it was painted on wallpaper or wrapping paper of upside down flowers.  Despite the sadness of a young person’s funeral, the painting manages to convey a new possibilities after death.  

Many of the art pieces contain writing and some of the artist/writers are of obviously limited education.  The written word is, however, an essential part the pictures. The Devil’s Vice, also by Finster, is a “sermon in paint.”  The man who is caught in this literal shop tool has his many sins revealed in writing on the vice itself. The popularity of “self taught” artists can be fully appreciated when compared alongside someone like Jean Michel Basquiat whose fame and reputation in the art world only continues to rise. (His paintings regularly sell for over 10 million dollars.) Like these Southern self taught artists, Basquiat’s neo expressionist painting also combine iconographic symbols, words, and images that suggest layers of meaning.  If a Basquiat had been included in this exhibit, it would certainly not have seemed out of place.

In an effort of full disclosure, I too am a self taught artist that paints and does collages of religiously themed art, filled with angels and words. So I feel like I am writing about my compadres here. Mullis attributes the Southern background of these artists as their commonality. I, however, find a different interconnectedness.  When I look at most of these works, I have not only an instantaneous recognition of what they are trying to express, but I also recognize  their slightly screwed mindset.  There's something strange about the worlds these artists are portraying: faces in clouds and eyes on angels’ robes, demon dogs and superhero artists,  crucifixion scenes with polar bears or in cotton fields.  These are bizarre images, and I suspect that it is this lack of normalcy, that makes up quite a bit of their charm.  The world of these artists for me is not about regionalism in the sense of North or South, but more about regions seen with eyes of the flesh or eyes of the spirit.  This is a fun art book, which in itself is a rarity, and makes it worth the purchase.

Valley of Achor's encouraging Christians songs

Morning Walk on The South Hill - Essay

Walking in Manito Park is always a pleasure but especially on a gentle July morning.  The formal gardens of Duncan are just beginning to enter their summer glory. This summer has been especially hot, and the begonia are huge and red.  The black eyed Susans are in full flower already, and the petunias shine.  I took a path along the few dirt trails in the park, winding through the new and lovely shade garden with hostas, ferns, and some unplanted beds of what I hope will be native shade lovers.  As I wind up the Perennial garden, I spy a ligularia planted beneath a Ponderosa.  Its yellow flower spikes are faded but iridescent in the shade.

I walk quickly up the hill and decide to continue into the surrounding neighborhood.  I’ve walked in Manito Park hundreds of times, but less often in the neighboring streets.  As I cross Bernard, I enter a heavily shaded area. The first half dozen houses are lovely matching white colonials with large windows and well proportioned dimensions. I stop and gaze at the silver maples planted in front of one of these houses. It is a different species than the weedy Norwegian maple that have self-seeded everywhere, and unlike most trees on the South Hull, it has been carefully pruned, probably 20 or 30 years ago; the branches are marvelously decorative and spread out, giving light through the leaves.  Further down the block are some adorable cape cod houses with their steeply pitched roofs.  Like the homes, the trees there are also older: beautiful sycamores, with their mottled bark of grey, beige, and copper line the street. As I turn the corner there are more cape cods, then, on the next block, the craftsman homes begin. Each one unique with the colors and materials used: brick, stone, and wood, with tapered pillared porches, paned doors, and low pitched roofs. One front yard is planted with a gay display of bright pink, violet, and blue annuals and perennials which I have to stop and admire.  Then comes a monstrosity.  A 70’s or 80’s house built among these craftsman beauties. It is boxy, plain, painted bright blue, and has a flat roof, and no decorative elements anywhere. What were the builders thinking?

As I head back to my car, I take a longer route to a yard sale, but it’s a baby sale: strollers, cribs, clothes: it would be a perfect sale if I was 35 years younger and pregnant.  Spokane is a beautiful city.  This South Hill neighborhood in particular reminds me of the lovely midwest neighborhoods of my youth.  As I walk, I muse on my weekly bible contemplation.  I am contemplating Grace.  I am dieting (again) and had eaten very low calorie for a couple of days and was not feeling deprived.  This is grace, I realized.  God giving me the power to do what I ought.  It was like the Holy Spirit was showing me his name, his character: Grace.  I felt and feel incredibly grateful for this gift of grace, in not just dieting, but in everyday life.  Anytime I choose to do what is good over what is bad, is Grace.  Grace has been called the undeserved and lavish favor of God.  Amazingly there are only two requirements to receiving it: believing in Jesus Christ and in being humble (Ephesians 2:8-9 & James 4:6).  

Paul often prays that this grace be multiplied to followers of Christ. In Romans 5:2, he refers to it “as the grace by which we stand.”  I have been a Christian for over 30 years. I am just now contemplating and trying to understand Grace.  Perhaps that is why my Christian walk has been full of troubles.  I was not fully walking in Grace.

Yesterday I saw a photos on the internet of 2 street signs crossed. One said Mercy and the other, Grace. In scripture, Grace often partners with mercy and often with peace or power. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy and grace to help us when we need it most,” (Hebrews 4:16).  In Romans 1:7, and many other verses, the Apostle Paul says,“May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.” Grace and power are mentioned together in two places: Ephesians 3:7  “By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.”  And in Acts 6:8,“Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people.”

All these qualities in the above passages are ones that I need, that the church needs.  And the connection I will make is that the more I believe in the Lord Jesus (which requires humility, for he is Lord and I am his servant), the more grace, mercy, peace, and power I will receive to further glorify him.

Grace is also convicting.  I was starting to approach God for my singleness - thinking of a friend who, like me, was a never married single woman with 2 children born out of wedlock.  God brought her a husband who provided and protected her and her children, so she did not have to raise those children by herself.  Why did God not provide that for me? How much better would have been the life of my children if I had had that. And haven't I proved to be more faithful? In grace, he rebukes me. He taught me things that I could only have learned in my singleness, certainly my faith has grown because of my utter dependence on him. I also made some grave mistakes with my children; I often fed on despair and food, rather than His grace and mercy.  At times, I was self-indulgent. Grace reminds me that I cannot boast even of my faithfulness. I only stand in him at all because of his gift of grace and mercy, not by my own merit or works, (Ephesians 2:8).

As I reach my car, I think about what I will eat for breakfast and how many calories it will be.  I am tired from my walk and refreshed at the same time.  Jesus once said he didn’t come to save the righteous people but the sinful ones. The sick ones who knew that they were in need of a physician.  Grace is the ointment that heals the sick. Grace is the salve that touches our soul to make us whole and holy.  Grace forgives us our trespasses, and grace gives us the power to forgive those who trespass against us.  This is why the songwriter said,

“Grace, grace, God's grace,

grace that will pardon and cleanse within;

grace, grace, God's grace,

grace that is greater than all our sin!” 

A Growing Tree - Essay

Another parable put He forth before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven

is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and

lodge in the branches thereof,” (Matthew 13:31-33 KJV).

The Kingdom of Heaven is beautiful because her king is good and kind.  Our God is quick to forgive.  He is a loving father who welcomes us with open arms when we come to him. He is a mother hen who gathers her people under the shelter of her wings. Not only do we trust in the omniscient and omnipotent goodness of our Lord, but we also rejoice in his victory.  We know that that the meek shall inherit the earth.  We know that his will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We know that “he will cause justice to be victorious.And his name will be the hope of all the world,” (Matthew 12:19-21 NLT).

I collect flower seeds, especially zinnias. For the last 3 years, I note which of my zinnias have the biggest and prettiest flowers (I prefer soft gold, deep orange, pink, and violet), I wait till the flower heads are fully dead and dry, then I gather them to save for the following spring.  From fifty or so flowers that I save, I have hundreds if not thousands of seeds. There are zinnias everywhere in my garden: among my vegetables, at my entrance, in pots, in any empty corner. The zinnias have also invaded my daughters’ gardens and some of my friends. In this abundance I remember Jesus’ parable: “the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest,” (Luke 8:15 NLT). What is our harvest? Souls for Christ  and the spreading of the Kingdom of Heaven.  Some of my zinnias produce bad seed. Nothing sprouts from them. Only the good seed multiply and spread in God’s kingdom.

The kingdom of heaven is organic, natural, it grows slowly and steadily.  If the tree produce a wild branch that is not true to its origin, it is chopped off and burned.  The Lord created this whole earth. He reveals himself in nature. Our love of creation is also a love of the creator. In The Book of Revelations, The 24 Elders in heaven who sit on their thrones before God say:

“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,

   the One who is and who was,

because you have taken your great power

   and have begun to reign.

The nations were angry,

   and your wrath has come.

The time has come for judging the dead,

   and for rewarding your servants the prophets

and your people who revere your name,

   both great and small—

and for destroying those who destroy the earth,” (Revelations 11:17-19).

The earth is the Lords’. Woe to those who destroy her!  

His followers are also promised a new heaven and a new earth. Everything will be renewed. Paradise will be restored. All of God’s creation and creatures will once again live in harmony. Pollution, greed, cruelty will be none existent.

So what is the problem? Why do people rebel against Eden?

We rebel against having a Lord & King.  We want to be God of our own lives. We do not like seeing ourselves as sinners in need of a savior. We justify our sin and think it part of our personality. When actually sin separates us from God and enslaves us.  We are so sick with sin that we need a holy, perfect, and just man to die for our redemption.

We are also products of our culture. We live comfortable lives in an entertainment soaked world. It is easier to go along with the flow. We choose “free love.” We choose relative morality; we choose “to spend my time having fun because I felt that there was nothing better in all the earth than that a man should eat, drink, and be merry, with the hope that this happiness would stick with him in all the hard work that God gives to mankind everywhere,” (Ecclesiastes 8”14-16 NLT).

However Jesus says  “Heaven can be entered only through the narrow gate! The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide enough for all the multitudes who choose its easy way.  But the Gateway to Life is small, and the road is narrow, and only a few ever find it,” (Matthew 7:12-14).

Seek and find the small Gateway. Seek and find the Gateway to heaven.  Taste the fruit from the Tree of Life and see that the Lord is good. Read the Book of Matthew for yourselves. Then read the Book of Acts which records the deeds of the early church. Find a Godly Christian and ask your questions. Or find a church which is vibrant and filled with friendly people. Enter the community of faith and follow Jesus. The church is filled with sin sick people who have asked the Lord to cleanse them from all sin and to clothe them with the righteousness that only comes from a Holy God.

Glory to His Name.

Ancient Paths - Poem

“Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths,

where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your

souls,” (Jeremiah 6:16 ESV).

To find the ancient ways we must look with more than our eyes. We must turn to guidance from those who still remember..  Who remember the God of the Decalogue: the God who spoke from heaven; Yahweah is his name. The Lord God Almighty.  

To remember the ancient paths, we must turn off the tv and open up the Holy Book, the ancient book, The Word of God. He still speaks today. Yahweah is his name.

We must remember that we are dust, and he is the One who breathed into us; who gave us life; who gave us his word. He who demands our acknowledgement of him, our gratefulness, our obedience.  He is not silent.  

We are commanded to bow before him and not to any other gods. To no one else to do we give our obeisance.

To rewrite the laws of God to curve around our pressing need… our creeping sin… to exchange our worship for him with something that is created… is a graven image sin. A death warrant, stoning sin. A diabolical deceiving sin which wraps around us suffocating, stealing, the breath of life from our very heart and lungs…

Yahweah you alone are great! You alone are worthy to be praised.  You alone are worthy to be named King and Creator.  Yah there is no other god before you.

Thank you for this revelation.
Thank you for calling me to know you.

Thank you for leading me in your ways, for teaching me your truth, for claiming me as your own, for never letting go. For bringing me back to you when my fickle heart strays, for chastising me, for comforting me, for warning me, for rewarding me with your Holy Presence and your Holy Spirit, and with more knowledge of your ancient paths that I may follow you all of the days that you have given me on this dry and weary land, on this lonely dusty road, on this narrow narrow way.  Thank you.

“   when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with

his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those

who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good

News of our Lord Jesus, (2 Thessalonians 1:7-7 NLT).

The Age of Accountability & The Hardening of the Heart - Essay

The Age of Accountability & The Hardening of the Heart

Since Yahweh “chose us in him before the foundation of the world,” all of our sins will be and are covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. So at what age then, did I become accountable for my sins?

When I was young (15-21?) and seeking adventure, I didn’t know what sin was or that I was even a sinner.  Yet even then, I could feel the father’s calling on my life (this began when I was 9).  I prayed to Him, and he would answer me. I often felt him watching over and protecting me.  However, I listened more diligently to the world, the flesh, and the devil getting myself into many bad situations. Until at 24, I became convicted of my sin and realized my need for a savior. I repented for my unbelief and rebellion, became a believer, and was baptized.

Now at 59,  I sin differently but not less grievously than before I became a follower of Christ.  All sin separates us from a holy and pure God. Now I hate sin: I see it's relentless, corrosive, death inducing affect on all creation and her creatures.  So when I fall short of the glory of God, I try to quickly confess and ask forgiveness.

Christians often speak of “an age of accountability” when youth become responsible for their sin.  Supposedly at this point, there is no longer the child’s assurance of salvation. When did I become accountable for my sin? At 13, I became interested in spiritual things (mostly eastern religions). I remember picking up a bible at a hotel my family was staying and trying to read it.  It was like reading a brick wall; it made no sense to me.  Once I became saved at 24, I couldn’t read and study God’s Word enough. Could not the Lord have opened my eyes to his Word when I was 13? Why did he allow me 11 more years to experiment with eastern religions, the new age movement, drugs, sexual immorality, and have 2 children born out of wedlock who have truly suffered for my sins? I was not particularly rebellious at 13. My heart was not hard, on the contrary. My father passed away of lung cancer when I was 12. I was sensitive, open, and grieving. On vacation, I met this long haired philosopher with his model pretty wife on a fishing deck at Gulf shores. He spoke to me of mystical meditative experiences, and I was hooked. Perhaps if I had met some Christians, all would be different.

 I feel like I became more accountable and knowledgeable of my sin, my resistance, and my rebellion against a holy God after I became a Christian. Fortunately we also receive a new heart when we are born again: a heart that wants to please God. God touches our hearts and gives us a desire for him.  Yahweh sees all my sin from the lusts of my youth to the unpleasant attitudes of my middle years. I am at once accountable for all of them and freed from all of them by God's grace and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross.  

There comes a time in our lives that when we reject the Lordship of Christ ("for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23), and we become more accountable for our sins.  If this refusal continues throughout adulthood,  “The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day,”  (John 12:48).  This hardening of a heart could happen at any age, but the main reason that “little children” enter the kingdom of God is their soft and open hearts.  In my opinion, each individual has to make some explicit refusal or rejection of God or his ordained authority to become accountable.  Not in the unthinking manner of a two year old beating the floor because s/he didn’t get a cookie before dinner, but in the deliberate and calculated manner of a reasoning adult.    This rejection can happen in a number of ways: We steal something we know we shouldn’t take, and we know it is against the law. We are cruel to someone more vulnerable than ourselves, even though our heart condemns us, we continue. We deliberately refuse to obey a righteous rule given to us by our parents for our own protection, despite knowing the unpleasant consequences of rebellion.

There is only one unforgivably sin: denying the sacrifice and Lordship of Jesus Christ to our dying day. That is a hardened heart. Before that there are degrees of rebellion and hardening that only the Lord understands, so we can’t judge another’s person’s heart.  Who in the early church would have believed that Saul would become one of the greatest apostles of the church? From their position, it probably looked like his heart was permanently hardened.  We need to examine our own hearts before the Lord, and then “let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water,” (Hebrews 10:22).  The Love of God is the greatest prevention against the love of sin.