Monday, July 30, 2012

July 31, 2012

"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer."  Psalm 32:3-4

Forgiveness is such a good thing because sinfulness is such a bad thing.

You can almost feel the pain as you read these verses. His bones feel "wasted away".

He "groans" all day long. I am guessing he groaned most of the night as well.

The hand of God rests "heavy" on him because of his sin. His sin was crushing the life out of him like having a elephant perched on his chest.

Because of the guilt and remorse over his sin, his "strength" had ebbed away and left him weak as a puppy.

I know those awful feelings of guilt and shame that suck the hope out of me. You do too!

There have been  a few times in my life when I lived under the terrible tyranny of my sins. I felt guilty because I was! And I felt so shameful and condemned I could hardly walk. My legs felt like lead and my heart like concrete. While I didn't groan audibly my spirit was screaming out for some relief.

My last thought at night was about my sin and upon awaking the next morning my despair was waiting to torment me for another day.

Separated from God by my sin, hope was waning and life held no joy.

I tried to rationalize my sin away but the guilt remained.

When I compared myself with others I judged more sinful than myself, I despised us both.

Sin is so terrible and debilatating I could hardly bear it any longer. If only I could find relief!

The pleasure of sin lasts for moments. The pain of sin endures for months. The scars of sin can last a lifetime.

To know the blessing of forgiveness you must have known the bondage of sin.

Forgiveness is great because sin is so bad.








July 30, 2012

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalm 32:1-2

This is a GREAT Psalm!

Why?

Because it reminds you that you can live life in "3-B"!

Shouldn't that be "3-D"?

No, it is "3-B", as in "three times blessed"!

How so?

Look at those first two verses of Psalm 32. Blessed is he whose:

1) "transgressions are forgiven"

2) "sins are covered"

3) "sin the Lord does not count against him"

Doesn't that sound good?!

Let me make it sound even better!

Transgressions refer to the deliberate disobedience of a known law of the God. It is severe because it involves a willful sin against God.

Sins involve doing what I want without considering what God wants. It means satisfying the flesh at the peril of the spirit.

The other reference to sin denotes an act committed in a moment of anger or passion. It is something done thoughtlessly that hurts you, others and God.

Some believe that this Psalm was written in regard to David's terrible sin with Bathsheba and against her noble husband, Uriah. In committing those despicable acts he sinned willfully, he sinned selfishly and he sinned in a moment of unchecked passion.

Imagine the shame and guilt that came as a result of those heinous acts. His remorse is evident in the 51st Psalm as well as in this one.

No wonder David rejoiced in the "3-B" grace he received from his God. Imagine the joy of having his transgressions forgiven, his sin covered and his sin not counted against him!

He lived life in "3-B"!

What about you? Are you living in "3-B"?