Archive for the ‘Church’ Category

The Power of Sin

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

Psalms 51:1-5 NIV For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have 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.

The background of this Psalm is when David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Many of us quote verses 10, 12 and 17 at various times.  I want you to think about the Psalm in the light of what David had done.  The story is found in 2 Samuel chapter 11. The power of sin is mighty over our lives especially when we least expect it.  Sin at any moment can knock on your door and present us with a temptation that is hard to resist.  This is also shows us just how crafty the devil is in trying to get us to sin, David probably had no intentions of committing adultery that night, after all he had wives that he could have slept with any time.  But this particular time something got his attention, it was a beautiful women bathing and it stirred up something in him. Listen to what James 1:13-15 NLT says And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong and He never tempts anyone else.  14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away.  15 These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

Just about the time you think you got it all under control, something comes up and grabs your attention and gets you to thinking about it and then all of sudden we find ourselves doing or saying something we shouldn’t and all along we know it was wrong.  It is obvious from the Bible that David knew what he did was wrong because he was doing everything he could to cover it up and get the guilt off of himself.  The result of David’s sin was that an innocent man died and also the offspring of their union.  The last part of James 1:15 says that if sin is not dealt with it will eventually give birth to death.  How many times have we given in to temptation and knowing committed sin before God and then had all the consequences to deal with no matter how repentant we are.  Sometimes one moment’s quick decision to do something leads to a life time of consequences to be dealt with.  It is very painful sometimes.

David didn’t repent just because he got caught, he repented because he knew he was guilty (2 Samuel 12:13).  He didn’t try to make excuses and try to blame someone else, he said “I am guilty and whatever punishment you give I deserve.” (Psalm 51:4).  David felt that he was very dirty and defiled after this so he ask the Lord not to cover up his sin, but he ask for God to “blot” it out and to “wash” him and to “cleanse” him from this sin.  David realized how awful sin was before God and that he needed to be totally cleansed of this.

The temptation of sin is always present before us and is waiting for the opportune moment to lure us into committing sin.  God is full of compassion and mercy and loving-kindness and He is more than willing to forgive and cleanse us from our sins.  But the question we need to ask ourselves the next time we are faced with a temptation is, “Am I willing to live with the consequences of what I am about to do, knowing that I may be going to not only harm myself but others also?  And am I willing to accept that I am not just sinning against myself or someone else, but I am sinning against God himself.

God is always ready and willing to forgive and cleanse us from our sins, but David seem to realize that wasn’t the end of the matter, he realized that even though God would forgive him and restore him; he was going to have a hard time forgiving himself.  (Psalm 51:3) Also he realized that something was lost during all this and it was the fact that he knew he was weak and venerable.  In Psalm 51:10 he ask the Lord to create in him a pure heart or a clean heart and one that will be steadfast and loyal to God.   Then in verse 12 he asks God to restore the joy of God’s salvation to him.  The New International Reader’s Version of verse 12 says Give me back the joy that comes from being saved by you.  David had lost something that was priceless to him and that was his joy of being saved.

Sin is not something we want to mess around with in our lives, because every time we do, we are faced with issues that we weren’t counting on.  Sometimes it takes time for us to get over our choice to sin, God forgives but our lives can be scared for a long time especially when we can’t forgive ourselves.  Sin is not worth the price it cost us!!

I am convinced that David was forgiven and the joy of God’s salvation was restored to him and I believe  God’s mercy and forgiveness made David a stronger person in the Lord, but I am also convinced that David probably never forget the child that died because of his sin.

So consider the high price of sin when it knocks on your heart’s door and be assured that God is there by the Holy Spirit in you to help you overcome sin.

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If My Life Ended Today

Sunday, July 5th, 2009

Psalms 39:4 4 “Show me, O LORD, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life.

 Have you ever thought about how it would be if you knew the exact day that you were going to die?  It is quite sobering isn’t it?

Just think about it if you knew the exact day and moment that your life was going to end on this earth and you were going to step into eternity; how different would you live your life.  Think about all the things that you would do now knowing that the end is coming.  Think about all the kind deeds you would do that you have been planning on doing when you got the time.  Would you now be saying all those things to your family, friends and others that you thought about saying but just never did?  Would you be telling your family how much you loved them and would you be not only saying it but showing them also?

I have always said each time I officiate over a funeral, “death has a way of bringing reality to life.”   When a family member or close loved one passes away it just life to a realization that you don’t see in just everyday living.  It shows us just how short life can be and the fact that we don’t know when we will leave this world.  Listen to what the Psalmist said 5 You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you.
Each man’s life is but a breath. Selah 6 Man is a mere phantom as he goes to and fro: He bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up wealth, not knowing who will get it.

Here is the thing, we know that we are not going to live forever here on this earth and that means we only have a certain amount of time to live our lives here on this earth, we have only a brief time to love those around us and to show kindness to others.  We only have this time to live our lives for God here and to show the world who Jesus is.  We don’t need to waste our days do we, we need to make every moment worth something and especially to our families, we need to be doing things for them and with them that is going to continue to speak on in their lives after we are gone.  I am sure that Michael Jackson didn’t realize that his final moment was coming in his life and I would almost be sure that if he had he would have done many things different.

In Luke 16:19-31 there is the story of the Rich man and Lazarus, the rich man had everything in this life that anyone could want or so he thought.  Lazarus didn’t have much in this world, but he did know God obviously and when they both died, Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man went to hell.  In hell the rich man finally saw and realized that he missed it, that all that he had while in this world meant nothing now, he finally now was concerned about his family and he didn’t want them to come to the place that he was in.  He now faced eternity with a vivid realization of regrets and hopelessness.

My encouragement to you to day is to live your life with purpose and meaning.  Live life making every moment count knowing that just as the Psalmist said, our life is just a breath.  Remember this: Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: (Psalm 37:3-5)

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Independence or Dependence

Saturday, July 4th, 2009

Psalms 42:1-2 NIV  For the director of music. A maskil of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  2  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

 Today is the Fourth of July, a day in which we as Americans celebrate the establishment of our nation.  Our forefathers declared their independence from British rule especially in the area of religious freedom.  They may have declared their independence from Britain, but they did not declared independence from God.  They knew very well that this nation would never survive unless it had a dependence on God and His ways.

 Sadly today America has wonder far from our founding fathers original design and purpose.  We have become a nation of people who want our independence from everything including God. 

This should not be the case for us as Believers; we should never want to be independent from God.  In the Psalm 42, the psalmist indicates how much he needs and desires God.  He uses the illustration of a deer panting for water.  I remember when I was a teenager I went to work with a friend of mine who was working on the Interstate 20 at that time, I was asked to be a flagman for dump trucks bring dirt to a particular location that day.  I didn’t bring anything with me to drink or eat that day and it was one of those hot summer days and as I stood there on a busy highway flagging for those trucks I become thirstier and thirstier as the day went on.  My mouth just became parch and finally after I couldn’t stand it any longer I ask one the truck drivers if he would bring some water.  When I got that water it was like a refreshing renewal for my body, I just could stop drinking it, I wanted more and more.

 This is how I associate with what the Psalmist is saying here, he is so thirsty for God he couldn’t wait until he could meet with Him.  He knew he needed God and that he was dependent on God for his very existence.  The Psalmist did not just desire the hand of God, but he wanted to see His face; in other words he wanted to have a moment with God and just bask in who He was. 

Let me encourage on this Fourth of July to not only be thankful for this nation that we live in and we can freely worship in, but let us remember how much we need to be “dependent” on God and how our very existence depends on Him.  Give Him thanks for Him giving Himself to you everyday day.

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Do You Love His House?

Wednesday, July 1st, 2009

Psalms 26:8 NIV  I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.

David had a great desire to be in the place where God’s presence dwelt.  We know that David was greatly concerned that he lived in a fine palace but God only had a tent to dwell in.  He wanted to built a house for God’s presence to dwell in.  Even though God didn’t let David build the temple, he did let him guide his young son Solomon in the building of the place where God’s presence would dwell.  The children of Israel place great importance on the Tabernacle because it represented God’s presence among them.

I know that God doesn’t dwell only in buildings and no where else, he now lives in each of us, each of us carries around the presence of God within us. 1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  However, there is something special about coming together in the House of the Lord and worshipping together as the Body of Christ.  Many people say that they can worship God anywhere and this is true, but there is something that happens when we come together in one place and in unity that can happen no where else.

I have had people tell me that they don’t miss out on God when they don’t come to the House of the Lord; well I disagree I think you miss out greatly when you are not in the House of the Lord regularly.   The Bible says in Hebrews 10:25 NIV  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  It is hard to live the Christian life and not be a part of a local fellowship.  There is strength and joy that comes from worshiping together.  When we stay away from the House of the Lord we are isolating ourselves and anytime we isolate ourselves we are playing right into the Devil’s hand.  1 Peter 5:8 NIV  Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

 Don’t let the Devil convince you that staying at home or doing other things on the Lord’s Day is more important, have the heart of David and a desire to come together at the House of the Lord and expect His presence to be there and expect to receive something from the Lord as we worship together.

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