Monday, July 15, 2013

July 16, 2013

"The Lord is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?" Psalm 27:1a

One of the first things I remember being afraid of was the dark. Maybe you were too.

My mind could conjure up all sorts of frightening creature lurking in the darkness. It was comforting to have even the small amount of light that a night light could emit. That always seemed to be enough to keep the monsters and ghouls at bay.

In the ancient days of the Psalmist, darkness WAS fearful. Robbers, murderers, and thugs lurked along dark roadways, alleys and corners. Respectable people avoided the dark as much as possible.

In addition to the human miscreants there were demons that haunted the night. Night time held great terror for people of those days. Rightly so!

Here in this favorite Psalm, we are reminded that we have a light to help us not fear the darkness. That is good news since we live in a very dark world!

What IS this light that we enjoy from our Lord?

It is the light of His presence. He IS the Light of the world! "God is light and in His is no darkness at all!"

And, it is the light of His Word. The Word gives light from His knowledge that can guide our steps.

His salvation removes the spiritual darkness from our hearts and opens our spiritual eyes.

Then, there is the light of fellowship with other Christians. His followers are people of the Light so gathering with them helps remove the fear of the darkness! I John 1:7 urges, If we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin!"

Believe the Psalmist when he assures you that you need not fear the darkness when God is your Light! Walk in the joy and freedom of His light today!













July 15, 2013

As you know, Psalm 51 is one of the most honest, intense and heart-felt chapters any where in the Bible. It is also a text book example of how repentence should happen. 

Meditating on this Scripture this week I wondered while I read and re-read his confession it occured to me, "Why didn't he think about these things BEFORE he did the awful deeds? If he had bothered to think with his head instead of his lustful heart, this Psalm would have been unnecessary."

 

That is when I came up with the phrase "pre-pentance" - or confessing the moment the sinful thoughts took shape in his mind. Had he taken each of those THOUGHTS captive by confessing them to God it would have kept him from committing those sins that ruined his life and ended Uriah's.

You and I can certainly learn from David's failure and make a promise to God and ourselves that we will defend against destructive sin in our lives by learning "pre-pentance".

 

Here's what I mean:

 

The story begins in 2 Samuel 11:1-4

 
Let's break it down!
 
1"Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out to battle, that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem."

MISTAKE #1 – Wrong Place!   
 

Pre-Pentance – Go To Right Place

 
2 "Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king’s house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance."
 
MISTAKE #2 – Another Wrong Place!   
 
Pre-Pentance – Repent of Lustful Look and Thought

3 "So David sent and inquired about the woman. And one said,“Is this not Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?”

MISTAKE #3 – First Look Was Free – Second One Was Sin.
Pre-Pentance – Repent of Lustful Action and STOP NOW!

4 "David sent messengers and took her, and when she came to him, he lay with her; and when she had purified herself from her uncleanness, she returned to her house."

MISTAKE #4 – Totally Out of Control Now – Abused His Power To Use This Woman AND Betray Her Husband, Who Was One of His Loyal Soldiers. 
 
Pre – Pentance – TOO LATE NOW!
 
Repentance is the only way to be freed from the guilt and bondage of your sin. True repentance to God allows Him to come in mercy and power to cleanse your sin and restore your spirit.

But you could render repentance a rarity in your life if you would train yourself to "pre-pent".