Saturday August 21, 2010

Read Psalm 51

Imagine a bride on her wedding day. She’s beautiful and ornate and perfect in her silk dress, with roses in hand, baby breath in her hair. Everything’s perfect. But as she’s about to walk down the isle picture the bride noticing a stain on her dress. Doh! It’s there for all to see!

Sin is like that stain on a wedding dress. It’s a blemish on the beautiful relationship we have with the Lord through Christ Jesus. Sin stains, defiles and destroys the relationship we have with God through Christ Jesus. We should no more walk with sin in our lives as a bride should not walk down the isle with a stain on her dress. We need to deal with sin in our lives immediately.

King David in this Psalm teaches us how to deal with sin. We need to go first and foremost to the Lord to seek His forgiveness. When we sin, even against others, we have sinned primarily against the Lord. We need to seek His forgiveness first and foremost. Then we can seek restoration and reconciliation with others. As we come to the Lord we need to tell Him (or confess) our sins. We need to seek His forgiveness and cleansing. There are no excuses, no justifications, for our sins.

We should ask God to purify our heart, to create a new heart within us. 1 John 1:9 promises this for New Testament believers. And finally, we need to receive the forgiveness of the Lord, being filled with joy that He has washed us clean, that He has forgiven us. We need to forgive ourselves at this point, knowing that if God has forgiven us, we have no right to withhold forgiveness from ourselves. We need to bask in the joy of God’s forgiveness.

But notice vs 13? As we enjoy the forgiveness of God we need to make opportunities to share with others who need that forgiveness. If we have tasted that the Lord is good, let us share that sweet goodness with others.

Before church starts tomorrow take some time to seek the Lord’s forgiveness. Spend time confessing your sins and asking God to purify your heart. Come to God tomorrow with a clean slate.

Prayer:-

ü Pray that more and more people would understand the joy of the Lord’s forgiveness. Pray that you and your brothers and sisters would have chances to share the forgiveness of God with those who desperately need it.

MEAT 4  THE MATURE

Spend time confessing your sins to the Lord.

If you struggle with sin or addictions or bad habits, ring  a mature Christian and make a time to sit together and to pray about this and to seek  the Lord’s power and enabling to end the dominion in your life.