Forgiven
(NIV) Psalm 32
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the LORD does not count against them
and in whose spirit is no deceit.
3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy on me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
will not reach them.
7 You are my hiding place;
you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.
Do you think of David as being a hero, or is he too flawed? David was indeed flawed, but the thing that draws me to him was his innate understanding of Who God was and who David was in God.
When I first gave my life to Christ, I got it so wrong. I thought being a Christian meant I was to be sinless, which meant I had to be perfect. So, if I sinned I thought I had lost my salvation, or perhaps I never really had a saving relationship with God. Why didn’t someone tell me all I had to be was willing to ask for forgiveness? Why didn’t someone say to me that there are tools to help us live a lifestyle that is pleasing to God, and trying to be perfect was not one of them.
What are some of the tools David shows us in this psalm to enable us to live a Christian lifestyle?
- Be quick to confess your sins. David says when he kept quiet, he literally became sick. Sin does that, but Grace makes us whole.
- Seek out the Lord while He may be found. God never leaves us nor forsakes us, but the more we consort with sin, the farther we stray from God.
- Make God your hiding place. There is safety in the cleft of the Rock because that Rock is Jesus.
- Sing, sing, sing. There is deliverance in singing. My vocal cords are shot, but I can still make a joyful noise, and so can you.
May we find peace, forgiveness and joy as we walk daily with our Lord.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Living in the Light
(NIV) Incarnation of the Word of Life
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched —this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our joy complete.
Light and Darkness, Sin and Forgiveness
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.
I have long been enthralled by the relationship between light and dark. As a child I was afraid of the dark, going so far as to cover my head in bed so I would not be aware of when the lights were turned off. I think of the spiritual relationship between light and dark, and it is clear that what John says is so true—God is light and not only is there no darkness in Him, but He will not be in relationship with those in the darkness.
I think of Jesus walking in this glorious light, a light that emanates from Him, and holding hands with someone drenched in darkness—it just would not happen. Because you see the shadow cast by sin encroaches upon the light. No, for us to be in relationship with Jesus we must turn away from sin, and thus turn away from the darkness.
May we today and everyday live in the light of God’s mercy and grace as we share His love with others.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Joy, Joy, Joy
(ESV) Ps 100:1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!
3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!
5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.
Whenever I read this psalm, I feel total comfort and peace. Make a joyful noise, the psalmist says. Enter into His courts with praise. Bless Him.
These few verses assure me that nothing I do for my Lord is in vain. My service, my praise, are all a small part of being in a relationship with God. And today, following the second deadly hurricane to slam into the east coast in a week, I am especially thankful. Hurricane Milton was forecast to be a severe storm, even worse than Hurricane Helene that hit the prior week. This morning they are assessing the damage, but there was significantly less destruction than predicted.
When I was in Richmond, I wrote several songs. I call them songs even though I don’t know how to write music. So, basically my “songs” are just lyrics and the music is in my head.
True Praise
True praise is like a fragrance, expensive and so rare
Stored in the heart of the believer, marked “Handle with Care.”
But once the bottles opened and the aroma fills the air
There is praise, praise, praise everywhere.
Let my praise be like a fragrance carried high on angel’s wings,
Let the aroma drift toward heaven’s throne into the King of Kings.
Let my sacrifice be wholly acceptable my God to thee
Just let me praise Your name through eternity.
The ingredients are simple, start with a heart of love
Then you add a up of thankfulness to the Father up above.
Then add a measure of faith, we all have it don’t you know,
There’s just one last ingredient before your praise can grow.
You need a broken and contrite spirit, that’s the catalyst you see
For you can’t truly praise the Lord of all without humility,
And though the process may be painful, I’m sure that you will find,
Praise that comes from a broken heart, is the sweetest kind.
Let my praise be like a fragrance carried high on angel’s wings,
Let the aroma drift toward heaven’s throne into the King of Kings.
Let my sacrifice be wholly acceptable my God to thee
Just let me praise Your name through eternity.
May we focus our thoughts and our hearts on the Lord our God today and every day, giving Him the praise that He is due.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
You Are the Man
(ESV) Psalm 51:15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
“You da man,” this modern expression is a congratulatory phrase to acknowledge a person’s success in a particular venture. But when I read this psalm of confession and repentance, my mind goes to the story the prophet Nathan told David in 2 Samuel 12.
Samuel told the story of two men, one rich and the other poor. The lamb in the parable was precious to the poor man, yet the rich man stole the poor man’s lamb to feed to one of his guests. David was incensed when he heard the story, proclaiming the man must die. But Nathan said, “You are the man.”
Could there be any more chilling words? You are the man.
Today’s psalm is a direct result of Nathan’s accusation and of David’s realization of his sin. David did what a man after God’s own heart does— he repents. Being a man of God did not make him perfect, but it enabled him to turn back to God.
May we pay close attention to our choices, understanding that poor choices produce poor results. But God’s love produces forgiveness.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Protect us, O God
(ESV Ps 57:)1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who fulfills his
purpose for me.
3 He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
(ESV) Ps 46:1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Who can we turn to when storms threaten to overtake us? Often in the Bible, storms are a metaphor for troubles that overwhelm us. But sometimes a storm is just a storm, a physical disturbance of the atmosphere with occasional deadly results.
The southeastern United States is still reeling from one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever make landfall, and tomorrow they face one that portends to be even worse. Rather than try to inspire you with a devotional extolling the goodness of God, I am asking that whoever reads this post do two things: pray the above passages over anyone in the path of Hurricane Milton with the authority given you by God and pray without ceasing.
You see, there are things I have learned in my life. One thing I know is that our God is our protector. He created the heavens and the earth and He has authority over all things. So I ask that you join me in praying to God to protect those in the path of this deadly storm.
Father God, we come before You today praising Your holy name. We ask that You be merciful to to those in the path of Hurricane Milton. May they find refuge in you and hide in the shadow of your loving arms until the storms of destruction pass by. We cry out to the most high God, and ask that You station Your angels around those in the path of the storm to protect them. We ask that You turn this storm away from its intended path and when a multitude of people have been saved that all glory and honor will be Yours now and forever. We ask Your forgiveness that we sometimes fail to call on You before the storm hits, waiting instead to approach You after the damage has been done. But today we acknowledge You are not the god of the last resort, but You are the All Sufficient One and we bow before You. And when fear grasps us, we say boldly in Jesus’ name we will have no fear for You are with us. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Finally, pray without ceasing, which simply means to stay in an attitude of prayer. Let God overwhelm you with His presence today, and know, believe and understand that our God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we ask.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
