Tag Archives: Jesus

May 26 – For Luke: Psalm 139

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Psalms 131, 138-139, 143-145

The newest member of our family, baby Luke, is scheduled to make his appearance in August. Right now he is an adorable bulge in his mommy’s tummy. A sometimes wiggly bump that stretches and turns and kicks so that those of us outside his world can see and feel that precious life, growing and developing fearfully and wonderfully.

So it’s no surprise that I thought of Luke this morning as I read the 139th psalm. “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast the sum of them!” God is thinking about Luke right this minute.

Psalm 139 is so personal and it expresses how intimate a relationship with God can be. It’s how God wants our relationship with Him to be. I hope you take time to read this Scripture today and let it speak to your heart.

For Luke, I pray he will accept Jesus as his Savior as soon as he understands what sin is and what Jesus did for him. I pray he will enjoy a close relationship with God his whole life. I pray Luke will be confident in the fact that God has searched him and knows him, that God encloses him behind and before, that God’s presence is with him even in the darkest times.

I pray Luke will allow God to defeat Satan in his life, that he will hate evil as God hates it, that he will follow God’s lead each and every day.

God knows the number of Luke’s days on this earth. I pray they will be days of blessing, and days that God is pleased to use for His glory because Luke is faithful.

 

May 14 – I Need A Shower

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Psalms 32, 52, 86, 122

David wrote psalm 51 after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba. I imagine everyone of us have felt like David felt while dealing with the guilt of sin. Psalm 32 says that when David held on to sin, even his body wasted away, he groaned all day long because God’s hand was heavy upon him.

Been there. Done that.

God doesn’t want us being ok with sin in our lives. That’s why He invented guilt. The feeling of guilt is a good thing. It can make us unhappy enough to ask God to forgive us, to take our guilt upon Himself, and set us free from that burden.

The psalms also express the joy that comes from confession, from the assurance our sins are forgiven, and we are guilty no longer.

Whiter than snow!!

The other day I decided to skip my morning shower. The forecast called for a chilly rain all day, so I figured I’d get up, do some housework, and not step foot outside. My nephew had a baseball game scheduled that evening, but I was sure they wouldn’t be able to play because of the weather.

Was I surprised when I got a text from his dad at the field, saying “Game On.”

Oh NO! No time to get cleaned up. So I put on a ball cap to cover my dirty hair, grabbed my umbrella and an extra jacket, and rushed to the game.

I felt awful! I felt dirty and ugly. I enjoyed watching my nephew play ball, but I was embarrassed the whole time.

When I finally stood under my shower and let warm water pour over my body, when I massaged that shampoo into my hair and felt the bubbles rinse down, I stood there and sighed. It felt so good! Every cell in my body relaxed.

That’s the feeling I get from reading these psalms. David, once dirty and ugly and miserable in his filth, allowed God to forgive him and wash him clean. What joy! What peace! What relief!

Are you carrying the burden of guilt because of unconfessed sin in your life? Give it to the Lord. Ask Him to forgive you, something He’s anxious to do. And enjoy the feeling of being really, really clean.

 

May 13 – Accepting Forgiveness

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2 Samuel 11&12, I Chronicles 20

King David had sex with another man’s wife. Then, when he found out he had gotten her pregnant, and that her husband had been away fighting David’s own war, he had the man killed. Then he married the woman.

By all accounts, this woman’s husband had been an honorable man. He certainly didn’t deserve the treatment he had received by his king.

When David was confronted with his sin, he repented. And God forgave him.

You might be tempted to think that David didn’t deserve to be forgiven. He was king. He took advantage of this woman and murdered her husband. Didn’t he deserve to rot in hell?

The answer is yes.

But so do we. Your sins, my sins, are as loathsome to God as David’s sins. I may not have murdered anyone, but that doesn’t make me less a sinner than David. I have fallen short of God’s holiness, and holiness is what he demands.

Enter grace.

When Jesus died on the cross, his blood bought our forgiveness. All of it. We are forgiven for stealing that paper clip, or for robbing that bank. We are forgiven for lying to our moms about eating that cookie before dinner, or for having an affair with our co-worker.

Do we deserve to be forgiven? Not in and of ourselves. But no sin is too small or too great to be covered by the precious blood of Jesus.

David repented and accepted God’s forgiveness. He didn’t try to justify his actions or convince himself he deserved to be happy. He recognized sin as sin, and asked God to forgive him. And God was faithful to forgive.

You are forgiven. David still had to make sacrifices, shed more blood, to fulfill the requirements for forgiveness. We don’t. Jesus died once and for all. His blood fulfilled all the requirements perfectly. All we have to do is accept it.

No excuses. No rationalizations. No denial. No thinking your sins are too great or too many for God to forgive. You might think you deserve to rot in hell. And you do.

But you don’t have to. Oh, God will condemn you to eternity without Him, to hell, if you refuse to accept His forgiveness. He doesn’t want to. He died so He wouldn’t have to. But He won’t force you to accept what is already yours.

If you have never asked God to forgive you, to allow Jesus’ blood to cover your sins, then do it now. What’s stopping you? You are forgiven.

Accept it.

April 21 – After God’s Own Heart

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2 Samuel 1-4

I think I see what Scripture means when it says David was a man after God’s own heart. In these chapters we see that David mourned the death of Saul. Yes, Saul. Saul who had spent years trying to kill David. That Saul. Yet David never thought, “Well good. It’s about time he got what he deserved. Karma, baby.”

In fact, David went so far as to say, in the song he wrote for Saul, “Saul and Jonathan, beloved and pleasant in their life…” Beloved? Pleasant? Saul? That’s what David sang.

David’s example as a man after God’s own heart, helps me understand that God does not take joy in the death of any of the people who reject Him. Jesus died for them. He took their sins upon Himself on the cross. The vilest offender, the most depraved, the most hateful terrorist is a soul whose salvation is bought and paid for by the precious blood of Jesus. It’s their’s for the taking up to the last breath they breathe. And somehow, I believe God mourns the death of anyone who dies without accepting Him, even more than David mourned Saul’s death.

So, dear one. If you have a secret desire that someone who’s wronged you will get what you think they deserve, stop it! That attitude cannot please God.

If we who are His children want to be people after God’s own heart (and I hope that is the desire of us all) we need to confess that desire for bad things to happen to someone, as sin. We need to pray for the person we hold a grudge against.

And we must never rejoice in the suffering of anyone, including our “enemy.”

If David can do it, so can I with the help of my Savior who loves that person to death.

April 18 – Out of the Darkness

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Psalms 17, 35, 54, 63

When you read these psalms you can almost hear the sadness in David’s voice. Life is not being fair. He is in despair. His enemies are real and fighting hard to destroy him. For no reason.

But you can also get a sense of the trust David has in God. David is not without hope. You can read about his torment. But listen to his words of faith:

17:15 As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Your likeness when I wake.

35:28 And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.

35:54 Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul. 

And here is the key to what I believe is David’s ability to completely trust God during the worst time of his life, during his darkest hours:

63:1  O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

If you don’t read anything else today, I hope you’ll read Psalm 63. If you are beaten down by the cares of this world, if you are being treated unfairly, if it seems like Satan is winning the war, turn your eyes toward Jesus.

The more you dwell on the problems in your life, the more power they have over you.

Does your soul thirst for God, or for something else? Does your flesh yearn for God? David tells us God’s lovingkindness is better than life itself. Do you believe that?

Allow yourself to rest in the shadow of His wing. Cling to God because His right hand can hold you up through these dark days. You’ll begin to see the light because Jesus tells us HE is the Light of the World. He’s the light of YOUR world.

When you take your eyes off the problem, when you spend time in God’s Word and allow Him to carry you, the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of the Savior’s glory and grace.

My Dear Comforter, I pray for hurting people today. I thank You that You inspired David to write these beautiful psalms that express what many of us are going through thousands of years later. And I thank You that David reminds us that You are able. You are righteous. You have our backs. And when we cling to You, You are able to give us exactly what we need to face today. May hurting people spend time in Your Word today. May they talk to You, the One who loves them to death. And may they allow You to bring them out of the darkness of the situation, into the light of Your Presence. Comfort them. Strengthen them. May we all look to Jesus only today.

April 17 – Forgiven and Blessed

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I Samuel 25-27

Abigail asked David for forgiveness. Yes, it was her husband Nabal who had refused to help David. But 25:28 tells us Abigail, after falling on her face at David’s feet said, “Please forgive the transgression of your maidservant.”

In verse 35 we see David granted her request. And later, after Nabal’s death, David brought Abigail into his home and made her his wife. She became the king’s bride.

As I read this today I saw a picture of my relationship with God. When I fell on my face before Him and asked Him to forgive me – he did! Then He lifted me up and took me for Himself. I am His. He is mine.

The Bible calls believers the Bride of Christ. That’s me. And all because I humbled myself and asked Jesus to forgive me. How blessed I am.

I pray you can say the same.

April 7 – Redeemed!

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Ruth

The book of Ruth is a precious love story. Naomi loved her daughters-in-law, and they loved her. Ruth loved Naomi enough to leave her own family and travel with her mother-in-law to Naomi’s homeland. And Ruth learned to love Naomi’s God.

One of the greatest declarations of love ever recorded is here in these chapters. You probably have even heard it read at a wedding or two.

Boaz demonstrated love toward Ruth in a lot of little ways, from making sure she had grain to pick, to seeing to her mid-day meals, to making sure she was safe.

But the main theme in Ruth’s story is redemption. As a widow, and a foreigner, Ruth had no claim on her husband’s inheritance. But when Boaz paid the price for her redemption, she belonged to him, became his wife, and was guaranteed a position in that family. She received all the blessings being part of that family afforded her.

I’ve been redeemed, too. As a sinner, I had no claim on heaven, or the inheritance promised to a child of God. But when Jesus died on the cross and paid the price for me, I was able to be redeemed through His grace and mercy.

I belong to Jesus! All in Him is mine. And He lavishes me with every good thing.

Redeemed! How I love to proclaim it.

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Redeemed through His infinite mercy.

His child, and forever I am.

(Fannie Crosby, 1882)

March 30 – Living With The Enemy

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Judges 1-2

Israel didn’t drive out the enemy like God had told them to do. Yes, it would have involved force, it wouldn’t be easy. But, like Judah who didn’t drive the enemy out of the valley because they had “iron chariots,” the Israelites chose to live among the enemy. Clearly not what God had wanted for them. (besides, what is an iron chariot next to God?)

God had promised them He would go before them in battle. God had promised them victory. Either Israel was too lazy, or they didn’t really believe God when He told them living with the enemy would cause them to sin.

So, the Jews lived among idol worshipers. And the result? The Bible tells us that their children were “another generation after them who did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done for Israel.” (2:10)

Oh, their kids knew about Baal. But they didn’t know God.

I have lived six decades. In my lifetime I have seen the decline of morality and the reverence and fear of a Holy God. I have seen worship turn into entertainment, and the Truth replaced by a lie.

God is speaking to me today. I am a part of the decline of Christianity. Have I cleared out my own Promised Land like God has commanded me? Have I eliminated sin from my life, or do I live with a hint of jealousy? Do I watch that one ungodly TV show? Do I take God’s name in vain on occasion? Am I too busy to read God’s Word and pray, replacing my worship of Him with busyness?

Do I love this world a bit too much? Have I grown numb concerning sin, accepting sin or tolerating it?

God would have me clear out the land. He has said that living with the enemy can only turn out badly for me… and for the dear ones who come after me.

God, reveal those areas in my life where I have allowed Satan to exist. I don’t want anything to do with him. I don’t want his influence to have any hold on me. I want to be free from the bondage that results by allowing sin to exist in me. You died to free me. Forgive me for squandering that. I don’t want to live with the enemy. I want my life to be just You and me.

March 27 – How long?

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Joshua 16-18

God had given the land to the Jews. All they had to do was take it. Some tribes went right in and cleaned out the cities in order to occupy what God had given them.

Other tribes held back. Joshua asked them: How long will you put off entering to take possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your Fathers, has given you?” (18:3)

It’s Easter Sunday morning. Jesus is alive! His death on the cross bought our salvation. He was buried to carry our sins all the way to hell, separated from the Father.

But He rose again, and offers us new life. Eternal life. A life free of guilt and hopelessness. He did that for me. He did that for you.

Some people have accepted God’s provision. We’ve repented of sin and allowed Jesus to be our Savior, the very thing He was born to be.

Others stand there looking at the gift, like the Jews in Joshua 18 stood looking at the land. But they just haven’t taken that step toward accepting what Jesus bought for them, what He freely offers to them with open arms.

God is saying to you, “How long will you put off taking possession of what is already yours? How long will you refuse what Jesus died to give you?”

Dearest Jesus, we celebrate You today. We sing about the fact that you defeated death itself by dying, then living again. That tomb is empty. We praise You. We worship You. I pray for any reading this blog who are still standing there with that precious gift in front of them. May they reach out and accept what you have already paid for. May they repent of sin this minute, and allow You to forgive them, that which you are so eager to do. May each of us know the blessed reality of having the risen Savior walking with us today.

March 24 – When The Walls Fall Down

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Joshua 5-8

I remember when I was in college, someone tried to convince me of the scientific principle behind the collapse of the walls around Jericho. It went something like this:

The Jewish parade around the city once a day for six days began to weaken the foundation of the wall because of the vibration of their footsteps on the ground. Then, when the people marched around the city seven times in one day, and shouted, and blew the trumpets, the already weakened foundation was unable to handle all that vibration. And the walls came tumbling down.

Whatever.

What I see in this story is a loving God who gave the people of Jericho multiple chances to repent. They had heard about Israel’s God, the miracles that accompanied the Jews on their travels from Egypt, including the parting of the Jordan River only days before.

They could have bowed their knees and accepted God. They could have been saved. Rahab and her family believed, and they were saved. But the rest of the city didn’t bow. And they were the ones who paid the price.

God, maybe like a child blowing out a birthday candle, blew on those walls and they fell. Yes, He used the children of Israel to get the attention of the people within the city. But it was God who caused the walls to crash to the ground.

God tries to get our attention every minute of every day. He doesn’t exact punishment on us the first time we sin. He is slow to anger. He is patient and kind. He is not willing that any of us should die in our sin.

So he continues to use people and circumstances and nature and guilt and peace and war and health and sickness… to draw us to Himself. It’s not until we take our last breath that His attempts to win our souls stop, until the walls we thought would protect us come tumbling down.

So, Christian, keep praying for that loved one who still resists the Lord. Keep circling, keep reaching out. I mean, Rahab was a prostitute and she was saved. God is not done with your loved one no matter how far you think they’ve fallen. Neither should you be.

And if you are one who is still inside those walls of Jericho, surrender. Those walls can’t withstand the wrath of God. Get out while you can and run to the God who loves you and gave Himself for you.

On which side of the walls will you be when they finally fall down? You have only this lifetime to make that decision. And it’s the most important decision you’ll ever make. It’s the only decision that will matter in eternity.