Tag Archives: sin

June 14 – Lovingkindness That Lasts Forever

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2 Chronicles 6-7, Psalm 136

It’s kind of hard to read about God’s lovingkindness after the murder of 49 homosexuals in Orlando over the weekend. It’s understandable that people who don’t know God might look at Him as cruel in situations like this. And sometimes Christians say things that really don’t help.

I’m taking a chance here. Not wanting to make matters worse, I think we need to look at God’s lovingkindness, especially in light of this tragedy.

The 136th Psalm is like a congregational reading. The leader reads a phrase, and the people respond with, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.” But look at some of the phrases that received that response:

Verse 10: To Him who smote the Egyptians in their firstborn

Verse 15: But He overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea.

Verse 17: To Him who smote great kings

How can God’s lovingkindness be seen in the deaths of babies and kings, or 49 homosexuals?

I think God’s lovingkindness is revealed in the fact that we all haven’t met the same fate. There isn’t a one of us who deserves ANY good thing from God. He is holy. He has given us rules to live by, and we’ve broken every one. We’ve ignored Him. We lie about Him. We serve other gods, and have placed ourselves as gods.

We deserve God’s wrath. But His lovingkindness has me still breathing today. And His lovingkindness wants to use this Orlando tragedy to speak to your heart, to draw you to Him.

Some of you will step further away from  Him out of anger. Don’t do it. God didn’t kill those people. An evil man did. Satan would have you focus on the situation, and ignore God’s love to you, personally.

Here’s a picture of God’s lovingkindness: It’s Jesus, bruised and beaten, hanging on a cross because YOU sinned. He died because YOU deserve death. He offers Himself to YOU today because of His everlasting lovingkindness.

I heard someone say those 49 people got what they deserved because of their sin. But wait. If that’s how God works, you’d be taking a bullet, too. And so would I.

Here’s another example of God’s lovingkindness: It’s found in 2 Chronicles 7:14. It says if we repent, God promises to heal our land. It’s the same promise we find in I John 1:9. If we confess our sins, if we repent, He WILL forgive. He WILL cleanse us.

And that’s a lovingkindness that lasts forever.

Dearest God, Thank You for who You are. You are good. You are kind. You are full of grace. You love us with an enduring love that sent Jesus to the cross. I pray for the families and friends of those who were killed in Orlando. Dear Father, wrap your arms around them. May they be drawn to You, find strength in You, recognize Your lovingkindness even in their pain. I pray that many people will come to Your saving grace because of this tragedy. May we who know You represent You in a way that honors You. I also pray that we who know You will humble ourselves, repent of sin in our lives, and open the path for You to heal our land.

June 5 – Attitude Check

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Proverbs 7-9

It’s Sunday morning and I’m getting ready to go to church. I hope you are, too.

As I read these chapters in Proverbs, God has nudged me to consider my attitude before I walk through those doors today. Solomon tells us a foolish man gets angry when faced with the truth of sin in his life. He goes so far as to say don’t even bother to reprove a scoffer, or that scoffer will hate you. It seems to be the kill-the-messenger mentality.

Solomon also says that when a wise man is corrected, he increases his learning. So when I enter the Lord’s House this morning, I want to go as one who is wise, one who is ready to hear the truth even if it hurts my feelings. I want to have the attitude that invites the Lord to convict me of sin so that I can confess, repent, restore and strengthen my fellowship with Him.

I want to walk out of church cleaner, wiser, better than I was going in. But in order to do that, I must check my attitude.

Am I worshiping today as a wise person, or an idiot?

May 29 – I Did It My Way

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I Kings 1-2, Psalms 37, 71, 94

Several years ago I attended the funeral of a co-worker, a man who died of a heart attack two weeks before school started in August. He was only in his 40’s and left a wife, two daughters, and an entire school community devastated by his loss.

He and I had had a good working relationship, but I never really talked to him about where he stood with the Lord. As I sat at the funeral home before the service, my heart ached. I was struck by the choice of music playing in the background. He had been a country music fan, and all the songs were country. None of them had anything to do with God.

Then, when Frank Sinatra began singing “My Way” I could hardly hold back the tears. I am not judging this dear man on the basis of the songs played at his funeral. I don’t know what he said to God before he died. His heart’s condition is between him and the Lord. But I find it sad that, at the end of any life, the idea of living that life “my way” is even mentioned, much less sung about.

I read about Shimei this morning. He had taken sides against Solomon, and although Solomon spared his life, he put Shimei on house arrest for the rest of his life. Shimei agreed to the terms: stay within the walls of Jerusalem. Don’t leave for any reason. If you do, you will die.

Shimei was good with that, and obeyed the conditions of the agreement for three years. I don’t know, maybe he got too comfortable. But eventually Shimei took a quick trip to a neighboring town to retrieve some runaway slaves, most likely thinking his was a legitimate reason for breaking the agreement. And he was only gone for a short time. He went right back to Jerusalem with his slaves.

What’s the harm?

The harm was that he’d stepped outside the boundary. He did things his way, and it cost him his life. Solomon kept his end of the bargain.

God has given us boundaries, too. He has set out his demands, he even provided forgiveness for when we break the rules. But if we want that forgiveness, we must do it His way. We must repent, accept Jesus as our Savior, and allow Him to live in and through us. There is no other way, no other Name by which we must be saved. That’s not a popular concept for many. But God isn’t asking our approval of His plan.

We might pride ourselves on living this life our way, we might even fashion another way to the Father. But in the end, we will find that doing it our way leads to death. Solomon kept his end of the bargain.

So will God.

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.

May 11 – Red Rover, Red Rover

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2 Samuel 10, I Chronicles 19, Psalm 20

Have you ever played Red Rover? Two teams line up opposite each other. One team invites an opponent to “come over” and try to break through their strongest defense. If the opponent is successful, he takes one of the defensive team members to join him on his team. If the defense holds, that player must join the defenders and become part of their stronghold. (ah-great memories of Oxford Street)

I Chronicles 19:19 says, “So when the servants of Hadadezer saw that they were defeated by Israel, they made peace with David and served him. Thus, the Arameans were not willing to help the sons of Ammon anymore.”

Red Rover, Red Rover, let the Arameans come over!

Got me thinking about people who consider themselves enemies of Christianity. I understand why they hate us. They hated Jesus, and Jesus told us they’d hate us, too. But I’m wondering if we give them reason to come over to our side.

Why should they want to join us if we don’t look or act any differently than they? If we are as miserable, or as dishonest, or as self-satisfying as they, what would draw them to our Savior? And if they are more loving and generous, if they look at us as ignorant or prejudice, why wouldn’t they put themselves above us? They certainly won’t see a reason to change.

God is asking me about my own stronghold. Is it grounded in Scripture? Do I know what I believe and why I know it’s true? Am I totally committed to Jesus? Do I call sin sin and still love the sinner?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:16 that we are to let our light shine in such a way that people will recognize our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.

Does that ring true in my life? Do I, by my words and actions and attitude and faith shine a spotlight on my Savior? And when I ask someone to join me, will they see that what I have with Jesus is so much better than what they have without Him?

Father, I am convicted this morning. I want to be Your voice, Your arms and legs. I want to represent You in such a way that people are running toward You to be on Your team. Forgive my tendency to hold on to the world just a little bit, weakening my stronghold with You. Forgive the sin in my life that would keep people away.  Help me to love them like You love them, to be ready to give an answer for the hope I have in You. And may Jesus be glorified.

May 10 – Our Only Hope

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Psalm 50, 53, 60, 75

I am once again in awe of how relevant God’s Word is today, thousands of years after it was written. God still has no use for sacrifices or service from people who say they follow Him, but whose hearts are still unyielding. How dare you even speak God’s Word, He asks them. I think God must hold a special contempt for those who use His Words to rationalize their evil.

The psalmist says it’s a fool who denies the existence of God. I read some blogs where so-called atheists spout their intellectual sounding opinions, and realize how true God’s Word is. They don’t even know how foolish they sound. God is real whether we want to believe it or not. And he is no fool. Don’t you be.

I look at our world with its terrible unrest, our own country with two arrogant, ungodly presidential candidates, our churches where blatant sin is tolerated and even proclaimed, and recognize what the psalmist says in 60:1.

O God, you have rejected us. You have broken us. You have been angry. O restore us.

Is restoration even possible at this late date? Scripture gives us one example after another of restoration. When God’s people humble themselves, when they call on God and repent of sin, He heals every time.

Get on your knees, Christian. We are the only hope for this world.

May 6 – My Psalm

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Psalms 89, 96, 100-101, 105, 132

The psalms, which are written praises to God, often reflect on Israel’s past; how God blessed them because of His promise, and how the people often sinned in spite of God’s goodness toward them. As I read this morning, I had glimpses of events in my own past. I remembered times of blessing. And tears fell as I remembered my many sins.

I’m not a poet, and I certainly don’t consider myself a psalmist. But I want to take a moment to observe God’s hand in my own life. Here is my psalm:

O Lord, You have blessed me beyond what I deserve, beyond what I could ever imagine. You are good. You are kind, and loving, and patient, and precious. I adore You.

You blessed me from the beginning with parents who loved me, who made sacrifices so that I and my sisters could have everything we needed and more. They taught me about considering others before myself by the way they put us first. You heard my mother’s prayers and provided when it seemed hopeless. You honored her commitment to You, and lifted her up.

You never gave up on my dad, although he was quite the fighter. I praise the Hound of Heaven for continually nipping at his heels until he humbled himself and accepted Your saving grace.

How I remember the times I disappointed them, disrespected them, hurt them. Forgive me. I pray they knew how much I loved them. Thank You for the assurance that they are living with You now, and forever. I will see them both again. Hallelujah!

You blessed me with four amazing sisters. There was a lot of laughter in our home. Barbies. Freeze tag. “Hankie Down”, our pool in the backyard, swinging so high on swingsets the legs came off the ground, jumping on the trampoline, singing while we did the dishes, Sunday drives, skipping stones, riding in the bucket of Dad’s bulldozer, dancing on his flatbed. You kept us safe, O Lord, and surrounded us with love.

You blessed me in my youth with a church family who helped me grow, who challenged and encouraged me, who welcomed me, and made me laugh. Youth group, quiz team, choir. Blessings every one.

My entire family sacrificed so that I could go to college. O how I wish I could do it over. I’d be more appreciative, instead of thinking I was entitled. I’d study harder, practice more. I’d make every dollar it cost my family mean something. Forgive me, Father, for taking them for granted.

O God, I remember the idols I worshiped, the sins I committed, the times I grieved and angered You. I deserve Your wrath. I remember missed opportunities to share You with people, times I misrepresented You, times I flat out ignored You.

But You have never given up on me. The precious blood of Your Son, Jesus Christ, has covered me, cleansed me, made me pure. I see, in part, how Your hand has been evident in the events of my life, how You guided, and nudged, and closed doors while opening others. You’ve kept Your promise to never leave me nor forsake me. I am Your child, loved, and forgiven.

I praise You. I worship You. I love and honor You.

May my life be a vessel through which You are seen and glorified. You alone are worthy.

April 24 – The Church: A Laughingstock

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Psalms 43-45, 49, 84-84, 87

43:1 caught my attention right away this morning: Vindicate me, O God, and plead my case against an ungodly nation; O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man.

Genderless public bathrooms? That’s just the latest insanity running rampant in our ungodly nation.

I want every Christian in America to read this psalm and let it be our anthem. So much is happening these days to undermine decency and truth. (I just realized my spell-check doesn’t recognize the word “Christian.”  What’s up with that?) It’s tempting to throw up our hands in defeat.

Let this be our prayer: O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead (us). (verse 3, emphasis mine) It goes on to say our hope is in God.

44:13-16 describes where the Church is today. We’ve become a reproach to our neighbors, labeled as judgmental haters. The psalm continues to say we are a “scoffing and a derision to those around us,” a laughingstock.

Christians are not taken seriously. We are a joke to those who declare themselves to be “enlightened” or “progressive.”

Dear one, let’s allow God’s light and His truth lead us. Let’s hope in God alone. Let’s not cower because some have said what we know to be true according to Scripture is old fashioned or irrelevant or laughable.

Oh God, may You find us faithful in the face of an ungodly nation, in the hands of deceitful and unjust men. Lead us by Your Truth. And may Your will be done in the hearts of Your children, and through us in this great nation.

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.