July 16, 2012

"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, 2012

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 recently I wondered while I read and re-read his confession it occurred 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!     

Go To Right  Place - "Pre-pentance would have sent David to war with his army.

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!    

The Lustful Look and Thought - "Pre-pentance" would have had David look away after he first spied Bathsheba.

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 Costly

David Gave Into Lustful Thoughts And Acted Them Out - "Pre-pentance would have resisted the second look and come quickly off the roof.

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 – He 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".

July 14, 2012

^"1Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion  blot out my transgressions. ² Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ³ For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. ⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,  sinful from the time my mother conceived me. ⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place. ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.  ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;  let the bones you have crushed rejoice. ⁹ Hide your face from my sins  and blot out all my iniquity. ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence  or take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation  and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you. ¹⁴ Save me from bloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. ¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.¹⁶ You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.¹⁸ In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; build up the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Then there will be righteous sacrifices, whole burnt offerings to delight you; then bulls will be offered on your altar."  Psalm 51

To fully grasp the importance of repentance you really need to understand the destructive nature of sin. I'm sure David had an intellectual comprehension of why he didn't want to sin. He certainly had a front row seat observing King Saul's spiritual self-destruction. And I'm sure his passionate desire to please God gave him a hatred for sin.

But, despite those extremely strong aversions to sin - he sinned - TERRIBLY! And once he had fallen SO far and SO hard, he had a first-hand knowledge of how awful sin is and specifically, his sins. NOW he felt the desperate for forgiveness and was ready for true repentance.

What is involved in true repentence?

RESPONSIBILITY, Vv. 1-4

For repentance to matter it must begin by taking full and complete personal responsibility for your sin against a personal and holy God!

Face it! As a human parent you feel better when your child owns up personally and voluntarily to something they have done wrong. How much more so a God Who actually KNOWS the thoughts and doesn't just hear the words?

If you desire true forgiveness then offer true repentance beginning by taking full responsibility for your sin.

REMORSE, Vv. 1-4

Sincere repentance is demonstrated through sincere remorse. David shows that deep remorse as he cries out to God.

Real remorse goes hand in hand with taking responsibility. If you can't admit that you were very wrong then you can feel really bad about what you have done.

David did! You must, too!

RECOGNITION, Vv. 5-7

Repentance requires a stated recognition that God is holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful and you are not!

Recognizing that you have sinned because you are sinful is more than an excuse - it is a fact. It is agreeing with God about Who He is and Who He says you are!

I John 1:9 says that if we "confess" our sins God will forgive them and cleanse you. "Confess" means to "agree" with God about your sinfulness.

RESTORATION, Vv. 8-12

Once you have come clean with God and come into clarity of Who He is, then you must be prepared to receive all the mercy and grace He offers to pentitent children.

By faith, receive His forgiveness and His cleansing and His peace and His joy and His presence and His power, and His promises - in short - ALL THE RICHES OF HIS GRACE!

Like the Prodigal father restored his pentinent son in the familiar parable, God FULLY restores those who come come to Him in true repentance.

RECOMMIT, Vv. 13-14

One of the evidences of true repentance is jumping back into serving God. And who better to teach or witness about the grace and mercy of God than one who has experienced that grace and mercy?

REJOICE, V. 15

Another evidence of one who has truly repented in his joy! Joy is expressed in rejoicing!

There is a line from an old hymn that celebrates the fact that when all the saints of God are gathered in Heaven and are rejoicing over their redemption the angels will have to fold their wings because they don't know the joy our redemption brings.

Cetainly, this is not to say that you should sin just to know the joy of forgiveness - BUT, as sinners, we MUST repent in order to receive. And once received and restored, rejoicing comes natural!

RESTITUTION, V. 16

A third evidence of a true reptentant is restitution. Repentence involves making right those people you have wronged, returning what you have stolen, or fixing what you have broken.

When you have sinned against God there is no restitution you can do toward Him - other than repent.

But the good news is this - YOU DON'T HAVE MAKE RESTITUTION - Jesus did that on the cross!

Sin is awful! Salvation from sin is awesome!

July 13, 2012

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight," Psalm 51:3-4

As I mentioned before, it is frightening to me that someone as passionate toward God as King David could do these dastardly deeds.

In a lustful moment, he ordered another man's wife to his bedroom. She had no choice when the King's men showed up to carry out the King's order.

So, David sinned against Bathsheba. He essentially kidnapped her and then assaulted her.

Of course, as King, David was above the law - he WAS the law. But he was not above God's law.

And, David sinned against Bathsheba's husband., Uriah. He was a loyal soldier serving the very King who was defiling his wife. David was supposed to be in the battle with his troops, but instead, he was home disgracing himself while his brave and loyal soldiers were defending their King.

When David found out that this woman was pregnant, he gave orders to bring Uriah home from the battle front with the assumption he would lay with Bathsheba and cover his sin. But Uriah was such a loyal soldier to his troops and his King, he refused himself the comfort of his wife while his men were facing the rigors of combat.

Once it became apparent to David that Uriah was not going to be with his wife, he sent him back to the battle with orders to station him in the fiercest part of the combat and then withdraw all the other troops leaving him alone against the enemy front line. Of course, this brave man was overwhelmed by the enemy and killed - betrayed by the very King he courageously served.

So, David sinned against Uriah again!

How ugly! How treacherous!

The same man who penned so many beautiful and inspiring Psalms also committed adultery and then murder to cover up the adultery. He sinned grievously against Bathsheba and Uriah.

But when confronted by the prophet Nathan and convicted of his sin, his repentance was directed to God, "Against You and You only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight."

In spite of the lives his sinfulness had ruined, his sin was primarily was against God. All sin is primarily aimed at God.

Sin is personal with God. He takes it personally and He takes it seriously.

God took these sins personally because David saw Bathsheba accidently the first time. But then he looked again and even sent his servants to enquire about her. So he premeditated this sin before he committed it. Knowing well that this was against God's will, he deliberately and thoughtfully committed this evil - PERSONALLY AT GOD!

It is personal because it offends His holiness and it breaks fellowship with Him. It is personal because the atonement for sin cost Him His Son, Jesus.

Sin is serious because God loves people - He loved Bathsheba and He loved Uriah - and David's sin caused them great pain. It cost Uriah his life. It cost Bathsheba her husband.

So, when David repented and cried out for God's mercy, He went called on God directly. He repented to God because he had sinned against God. He fell on the mercy of the very God he had willfully sinned against.

When his sin was crushing him and he was in desperate need of forgiveness, He cried for mercy to the God he had defied.

He found God's mercy and forgiveness. How thankful he was for a gracious God!

Your sin is no less personal or serious toward God than David's. Your repentance must be as humble and sincere as his. Have you repented to Him? You won't find mercy without repentance.

July 12, 2012

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion  blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;  so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge."  Psalm 51:1-4

If it were a modern politician it would be a major scandal.

If it were a movie it would be "R" rated.

If it was an average citizen it would have been a capital offense.

If it was a modern soap opera it would be a hit.

What am I referring to?

I am referring to a heinous deed involving adultery and the murder of a brave, loyal and innocent man.

How deplorable!

Who would do such a horrible act? What sort of an evil and cold-blooded criminal would perpetrate such an evil act?

None other than King David, the greatest King of Israel and one of most passionate followers of God.

David, the Psalmist?

Yes, that David!

How do you ever recover from such a shameful act?

That is what Psalm 51 deals with. He repented with great sorrow and sincerity. God accepted his repentance and had mercy on him.

While God graciously forgave David He didn't deliver him from the considerable and painful consequences of those sins. David suffered significantly from his sins for the rest of his days.

This story is very uplifting because of the way it demonstrates the incredible grace and mercy of God.

However, it is extremely unsettling because the thought of a man as passionate about God and in possession of such a high level of character is capable of committing such despicable sins, who is safe from falling?

No one! Not you, and  not me! Each of us are selfish and sinful by nature.

Take caution! Be careful! Stay humble and surrendered!

July 11, 2012

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."James 2:26

Interesting isn't it?

 

 

Christianity is known as a "faith" or a "religion" or a "belief" and yet James closes out this chapter by declaring that faith without deeds is dead. In short he says, "Believing alone is not enough! The thing that gives life to your faith is what you do to give expression to what you believe."

 

 

The Book of James is known as being the guidebook for practical Christianity. You might say James is "Christianity 101". And it is written to the Church spread abroad following the persecution in Jerusalem. So, he is telling them that they are the first generation of the Church and of believers that their communities are going to see. What their neighbors think about the Church and the Faith will largely depend upon them!

 

 

Those things being true, you might think James would have spent more time dealing with doctrines and Biblical insights. But, instead, he gets right down to the issue of their witness and their testimony. How are they to live out their faith? What actions and lifestyle will they demonstrate as validation for their faith? That is what matters to James.

 

 

I believe that is what matters to your neighbors and your boss and your co-workers - how do you live? Are your actions and attitudes saying more than your words? Because if they don't, your words will have no credibility.

 

 

Too often, Christians allow themselves to get caught up in the debate over this doctrine or that doctrine or what version of the Bible is best and lose sight of the fact that it is their personal witness that will convince the unbeliever. I have seen Christians ignore obvious bad behavior among its members and then hammer them because they don't line up with some insignificant Biblical point.

 

 

Is James saying that it doesn't matter what you believe? Is he saying that we should fake it even if we don't believe it?

 

 

Obviously not! The point is very simple and basic, your faith is only as valid as the actions and attitudes it develops in you. You won't act right if you don't believe right. But your belief needs a means of expression and that is how you act. If you testify to godly beliefs but live like the devil it will do no good!

 

 

James was not from Missouri but he knew we live in a "show me" world. He is telling these first generation Church members, "show 'em what you got"!

 

 

How about you? What will you show to day? Will your actions animate your faith or kill it?

July 10, 2012

"You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2: 20-26

James uses two very disparate examples to illustrate the same truth and then summarizes with a significant statement that "deeds are the spirit of faith".

Let's examine the two examples: Abraham, the hero and patriarch of all Jews. The words "Abraham" and "faith" are almost interchangeable! Every Jew wanted their boys to grow up and be like Abraham. No problem there!

But Rahab? A prostitute? What is she doing in the same sentence with an icon like Abraham?

There is one huge common denominator! FAITH! Each of them acted in a way that proved their faith in God. Each of them put something at risk. Abraham risk the very future of the legacy God had promised him and Rahab risked her life!

In addition, I think James is communicating the vital truth that faith is a growing and ongoing experience. Abraham had been on a long faith journey with God. He had walked with God and followed God for decades. He had demonstrated his faith time after time. The crowning achievement of his faith was his son, Isaac. It had taken a series of faith decisions to receive this son of promise. Now God tested his faith once more by asking him to sacrifice this precious son. This was no entry level faith! This is faith 501 or 601! But Abraham passed the test!

In contrast, there was Rahab. While there is some dispute over the exact nature of her profession, some say prostitute, some say innkeeper, and some say she ran a restaurant. But of no dispute is her kindness to the Israelite spies that preserved their lives and allowed them to complete their crucial mission into Jericho. She would have been dragged into the street and publicly executed had she been discovered hiding the spies. It was risky what she did but she understood it was her chance at salvation and she took it.

As far as we can tell, this was her intial act of faith. This was Faith 101 and she passed with flying colors. You can be sure their were many other tests to follow.

So in Rahab we have demonstrated that we enter into salvation by an act of faith. And in Abraham we learn that faith is always being tested. Our faith grows as the tests grow because the spirit of faith is our obedient actions!

Whether you are at the Rahab level or the Abraham level there will never be a time when faith is easy or unnecessary! You please God because He has become pleasing to you!