Focus Letter - S
Pray for:
Five things you are grateful for that begin with the focus letter
Five people whose first or last name begin with the focus letter
A place that begins with the focus letter
A characteristic to grow in that begins with the focus letter
Dear Lord - Please help me to hear Your everpresent voice and grant me the strength to obey.
Psalms 19
"May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." (vs. 14)
If I can please anyone in this world, if anyone is going to be happy with my life, I want that person/being to be God. I know I can't please everyone, and sometimes even pleasing those closest to me seems impossible. I used to worry about this quite a bit and compromise myself trying to make everyone happy. I wanted everyone to like me but in striving for this, I became someone even I didn't like. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't worry about it anymore. I had to live with myself and my conscience, and so I had to have integrity. I needed to be true to the one who matters the most - God.
Now I want everything about me to be pleasing to Him. How can I have this in my life? How can my words and even the thoughts of my heart be good and be pleasing to God? I fail so much in this area and I know that I only see the tip of the iceberg. As I mature as a Christian, I continue to see how far away I am and it seems impossible, but it is not.
"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me." (vs. 12-13)
God knows we fall short. He can see all of it. I think He is so kind to us in letting us see only what we can handle. If we could see the complete depth of our sin and depravity all at once, I think that would be the end of us. Thankfully, He has mercy. But we do need to deal with our sins if we want to be pleasing to God.
In the verses written above, the author points out two types of wrongdoings that must be forgiven and dealt with. First he mentions our hidden faults. I equate this to what is often referred to as iniquity. These are those character issues and predispositions; those deeper controlling factors that lead to our outward sins. Often they can stem from family issues and perhaps even biological factors. A deeper study of this might be of interest. I know there have been times that I have done things and then wondered why on earth I did them. There was no conscious reason but there was a driving force hidden somewhere in me. We need these forgiven. We need to pray to be transformed and to have the deep core iniquities uprooted.
Next there are the willful sins. The psalmists asks God to keep him from them. The willful sins fall into two categories - sins of omission and sins of commission. Sins of commission are those things we do that we know we shouldn't. Basically, they consist of doing something wrong. They are spelled out by God in the Bible, so it is important we find out what they are. There are several lists of these types of sins in the New Testament. I have posted two of them below. One list consists of the "major sins"; the ones most people probably think deep down are wrong even if they are still doing them. The other is more intense as it lists the sins of the heart. Disobedience to our parents is on this list as is ingratitude and being a lover of ourselves. This list may surprise some as our society takes pride in many of them. The sins of omission are the second type. These are all of those things we know we should do and don't. This one is particularly frightening to me because I am excellent at having "good intentions". I always remember with trepidation the saying my mother used to tell me, "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."
So how can we deal with the sin in our lives so that we may be continually pleasing to our God? The first step is to turn to Him. The beginning of the psalm declares the awesome power of the Lord and the beauty of His creation. It reads as follows:
"The heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech, night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." (vs. 1-4)
When we turn our eyes to Him and His ultimate authority and strength, it makes more sense for us to obey and turn from our sins. Often we continue doing wrong because we do not realize the greatness of God and how He can fulfill us. We turn to sin to fulfill us and it cannot. We worry because we forget God. We turn to love in the wrong ways because we forget God has this love for us. We are mean and selfish because we forget God can take care of us. The root of all sin begins with us forgetting God and His power (Romans 1:18-32). So in order to deal with our lives, we need to remember God. We don't need the sins, we only need God.
"The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." (vs. 7-8)
Next, we need to turn to His words which give us the directions for life. They tell us what to do and not to do. God was gracious enough to spell it out. He is not a God of confusion. He is the ultimate God of peace and order. He shows us the way. We need, then, to obey if we want to be free from sin. It is not enough to just look at the Word, we must do what it says (James 1:22-25).
In dealing with sin, the guidance given in I John 1:5-10 is a good place to start. It states that we need to get things out into the light. We need to confess our sins to someone. The power of this is so incredible. I think that is why Satan does whatever he can to prevent us from doing so. We fear that if people really knew us, they wouldn't like us. The exact opposite is true. We think nothing will change even if we are open. How wrong that is. Even modern psychology acknowledges the benefit of openness, which is what therapy is all about. It works because it is God's principle. He really does know.
Secondly, we need to accept God's forgiveness. We need to let it go and move on. If we continue to dwell on something, the likelihood of it repeating itself increases. If God, who is perfect can forgive us, who are we to not. Thirdly, we need to fill ourselves up with good things, the fruits of the Spirit. It is not enough to just empty ourselves of evil because then we leave ourselves open for more evil and sin to come right back in. We need to stuff ourselves so full of God and His good benefits that there is no more room for the sin and iniquity in our lives. (Luke 11:24-26)
There is great reward in keeping God's word. The sins and iniquities that plague us can be things of the past. I love I Cor 6:9-11 because it mentions some of the more serious sins that can plague us (and I was guilty of some on the list) and then it says - That is what some of you were! It is true. Our sins and iniquities can be in the past. They can be what we were, not what we are now. What an awesome truth this is. I know. It is worth it to please Him. Let us strive to do so!
Verses for reference:
Isaiah 53:5-6
"But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His words we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
II Timothy 3: 1-5
"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than overs of God -having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
James 4:17
"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins"
Galatians 5: 19-25
"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I Cor 6:9-11
"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Prayer for the Day
Dear Lord,
We are so grateful that You deal with our lives. We want to change but are unable to on our own. We are so grateful for the promises in Your word about how we can be transformed into Your likeness more and more each day. We want to please You. Help us to recognize and turn from our iniquities and willful sins so that we can say that the meditations of our hearts and the words of our mouths are pleasing to You. We commit ourselves to You today.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen
QFT
1. Who am I striving to please? How do I know? Do my actions and words support this?
2. What sins do I need to deal with right now in my life? What are my sins of commission and omission?
3. What might be the iniquities in my life? How can I start to deal with them?
4. Am I being open about my life? Who am I open with? If I am not being open, is there someone I could open up to?
5. Am I accepting God's forgiveness? Is there anything in my life that I have not accepted forgiveness for? Is there anyone that I need forgiveness from? When will I ask them? If I am not ready to do so, how can I get myself in the place to do so? Do I need to forgive anyone? When will I do this?
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