No thanksgiving today, please

 

Not today.

I'm not in the mood.

See, I don't feel very well.

My head is pounding and my heart is, too. I can hear my own pulse in my ears, and I even feel a little nauseated. I'm super tired, too, because I haven't been sleeping well.

No. No thanksgiving today. Try me tomorrow.

Today, I am depressed about the situation my child (or spouse, or neighbor, or prayer partner) finds themselves in. I can't fix it for them, even though I want to. Goodness knows, I have tried. I think I can even see the little dark cloud that is blocking the sunshine and following me around.

Oy vey. We don't typically volunteer to jump on the thanksgiving bandwagon, do we? We are so focused on ourselves . . . we need to realize that genuine thankfulness, like that in Psalm 33, is all wound up like a ball of string -- around a big center piece called TRUST. We can never truly thank God until we truly trust Him. That's how we get to have that grateful heart that David is showing in the psalm. We must recognize that we are dependent upon Him for all that we have.

Oh, and wait a minute. By nature, we are not trustful creatures. Am I right? We are creatures of necessity. Trust God? Oh, I've GOT this myself. Ummm, no. We typically trust God when we are forced to. When our problems are beyond our abilities. The rest of the time, we get along just fine by ourselves! Hey, we can solve this problem by ourselves . . . no need for prayer or for talking to and trusting God . . . we don't need to trust Him. We've got this. Oh, dear believer, it's only when we come to the end of our rope and cast ourselves in total dependence on the Lord that we even start to experience genuine praise.

This psalm was addressed to those who are "righteous ones" and to the "upright." In other words, it was written to those who know God personally. Those who are seeking to please Him by living obedient lives. So why do these people need to be exhorted to "sing for joy in the Lord"? Why encourage them to "give thanks" and "sing praises"?  Refer to the paragraph above to answer those questions. (Grin)  David sure had learned the lessons of this psalm. He had been in situations where every, single prop was knocked out from under him. He'd been forced to trust in God alone. 

And God had delivered him. And he had been overwhelmed with thankfulness and praise.

He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
    out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
    and gave me a firm place to stand. (Psalm 40:2)

Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress. (Psalm 107:6)

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

The key to a thankful, worshiping heart is to trust and rely completely on the Lord. . . . as the kids say, "FROG!"  Fully Rely on God!!

But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:57)

Verses that inspire

Let your light shine.

Don't hide your light under a bushel basket. (Or under a smaller basket, either!)

Go into all the world . . .

Be a witness.

Love your neighbor.

Love God, love people.

All of these things swept through my mind recently as I attended a small, informal discussion group at a local breakfast eaterie. 

I was there to assist with setting some goals for our precincts in our county; we want to identify and elect conservative people at the local level, and then push from the grassroots to elect conservatives "up the chain." 

It was a bit like herding cats. No, make that herding kittens.

Little by little, we were able to steer our thoughts toward what would make our grassroots movement appealing to even more people. Recent data suggests that there are political groups who are becoming more conservative - to be explicit, people "of color" and gays are all swinging over to the conservative party's tent, because the platform includes many values that they believe in. I was so disheartened to hear someone discourage our reaching out to the homosexual community, and to say that the objection came from the Bible. This person's attitude was harsh, and unforgiving. They sounded cold, even spiteful when they spoke. My eyebrows went up! Yes, we believe in the Bible, and it says that the lifestyle is wrong. It's sinful. BUT. BUT. Didn't Jesus give us examples of how to "hate the sin, but love the sinner"? You may disagree with me, dear reader, but that is my interpretation. (I feel it's necessary to insert here, that I'm not singling out any one sin. I'm not "picking on" or harassing anybody for their lifestyle or choices. I'm just saying that my faith tells me that some things are sinful. This post could just as easily be about lust, or gluttony, or any other sin that besets humans!)

I say that because of several verses that inspire me:

And have mercy on some, who are doubting; 23 save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh. (Jude 1: 22-23, NASB)

Go easy on those who hesitate in the faith. Go after those who take the wrong way. Be tender with sinners, but not soft on sin. The sin itself stinks to high heaven. (Jude 1:22-23, MSG translation)

It's my belief that these verses tell us to extend mercy and compassion for people, and hate for the sin. God is holy and just; He can perfectly hate sin in holiness while also perfectly loving sinners and drawing them to repentance and forgiveness. As humans, we can't love perfectly -- and we can't hate perfectly -- when we "hate the sin" it will often come across as spitefulness, harshness, a totally un-loving attitude, instead of the compassion that we need to show to others who don't yet believe . . .  

Looks like we NEED the reminder to love the sinner and yet hate the sinful action. We need to read and re-read some verses that will inspire us.

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (I John 4:8-10)

God loved us before we loved Him. We should follow that example with those around us. 

Some folks get all upset trying to figure out how to love the sinner, but still keep ourselves "unstained by the world." (James 1:27)  It's pretty simple, really: we need to show people respect:

Show proper respect to everyone, love the family of believers, fear God, honor the emperor. (I Peter 2:17)

And we need to pray for them:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— (I Timothy 2:1)

And we need to lovingly tell them about Jesus - regardless of their apparent or hidden sins:

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. (Ephesians 4:15)

As long as we can show respect and love for a person, it is not wrong to prayerfully point out the sin in their lives. In fact, we are being unloving to people if we allow them to remain in sin and we don't tell them that there is mercy and forgiveness waiting for them at the cross. And it takes courage to approach another believer and respectfully point out that their attitude is not an example of Christ's teachings and compassion! But sometimes it is necessary!

Whether we are talking with believers or with unbelievers, we show love to people by treating them with dignity and respect, and by caring enough about them to share the truth of Christ. We hate sin by not condoning it. We also hate sin by not excusing it.  In both our love for the sinner and our hate for the sin, we must be careful to act and speak in a way that honors God. 

We must be gentle and reasonable:

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. (Philippians 4:5)

And we must show respect:

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, (I Peter 3:15)

See, it's not rocket science! It's compassion, gentleness, and respect. If we follow these guidelines, we won't be strident or harsh. We'll be that light of the world.

We'll love God and love people.

What's in YOUR heart? (Psalm 33)

 

Hasn't been too long ago, there was a series of commercials that asked the viewer, "What's in YOUR wallet?" I think it was a credit card company that wanted everyone to have their card in their wallet. 

I would like to ask each of us, "What's in YOUR heart?" 

What in the world is Snoodles talking about, you may say . . . 

Let's read Psalm 33, shall we? (All twenty-two verses!)

Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
    it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
 Praise the Lord with the harp;
    make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
 Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully, and shout for joy.

 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
    he is faithful in all he does.
 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of his unfailing love.

 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
    he puts the deep into storehouses.
 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the people of the world revere him.
 For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
    he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
    the purposes of his heart through all generations.

 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people he chose for his inheritance.
 From heaven the Lord looks down
    and sees all mankind;
 from his dwelling place he watches
    all who live on earth—
 he who forms the hearts of all,
    who considers everything they do.

 No king is saved by the size of his army;
    no warrior escapes by his great strength.
 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
    despite all its great strength it cannot save.
 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
    on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
 to deliver them from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

 We wait in hope for the Lord;
    he is our help and our shield.
 In him our hearts rejoice,
    for we trust in his holy name.
 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,
    even as we put our hope in you. (Psalm 33)

Anybody want to say "hallelujah" with me? (Grin)

David is definitely having a praise and worship service here! 

I've often wondered about people who claim to be atheists . . . it must feel awfully empty to look around at the beauty of God's creation but not have Someone to thank. No One to praise for the awesome things we see, hear, taste, and feel. 

I think that is the whole point of this psalm. To encourage us to have thankful, worship-filled hearts. Paul tells us to give thanks in everything:

 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (I Thessalonians 5:18)

We're going to study this week about being genuinely thankful. What's wound up in that? I'm glad you asked! We'll explore it!

Do me a favor please? Make it a point to read and savor the psalm right now. Do it once more before you fall asleep tonight, and then once more when you wake . . . then we'll dig in to our studies!

Friday slowdown

Forgiven!

Thank you, Lord!

Let's be honest

Yesterday, we were discussing our prayers of confession; when we are burdened by guilt and the knowledge of our sin, we can confess our sin to God and receive the blessings of a clear conscience, instruction from Him, and a joyful, peace-filled heart.

In addition to agreeing with God about our sin, as we talked about before, we also need to be honest and work to remove it from our lives.

Not just uncover it. Forsake it.

Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord does not count against them
    and in whose spirit is no deceit. (v. 2)

Sin can deceive us. It can harden us so much that we have trouble knowing right from wrong. Ane we can be deceitful, in that we don't intend to follow through after our confession.

Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,
    but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy. (Proverbs 28:13)

It's dishonest to confess sin if we have no willingness to forsake it. The Hebrew word used here has some rich meanings: forsake carries with it the nuances of "cast away" and "leave behind."  In other words, we are going to throw the sin away from us, and then walk away, leave it behind.

Let's be honest here . . . we may not feel like forsaking it. In that case, we also need to confess that to the Lord. We may be overwhelmed and not know how to forsake the sin -- it may take prayers and soul-searching on our part, or counsel from a godly friend before we know how to leave the sin behind. But we haven't really confessed our sin in a way that will allow us to receive the blessings of forgiveness, until we are ready and willing to forsake it. This doesn't mean that we'll never commit this particular sin again -- wouldn't that be nice, if it were that easy? But it means that it's our sincere desire to forsake it, that we are seeking to leave it behind and making actionable efforts to cast it away.

Being honest and accepting responsibility for our sins also may mean confessing to others we have wronged. True accountability is more than just a buzzword for us humans, it is also biblical instruction on sin. We cannot ignore this. David doesn't include it here in this psalm, but it's a part of the process of confession and forgiveness. If we have sinned against someone else, we must first confess it to God, but then when it is practicable, we should confess to that person and seek their forgiveness.

Whoa, pardner, not so fast! Rein in that horse and let's look at something. God will forgive us regardless of whether or not we talk with the other people involved. There are times when confessing our sins to those we've sinned against can be helpful; there are times when it can be hurtful. Will confessing the sin to this person help them in some way? Will it reconcile a relationship? Or is the confession solely for our benefit? 

The Bible seems to indicate that confession will be a necessary part of believers' lives. In Matthew 18, Peter asked the Lord Jesus how many times he must forgive a person who sinned against him. Paul tells the Ephesians:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)

Our guiding principle in these matters could be this: "love thy neighbor as thyself." If we confess our sin to our brother or sister in Christ, will it cause them more pain? If the sin was committed in our heart, and the person would be truly hurt and disheartened by knowing about it, then it may not be necessary to tell them. In that case, it would seem that the whole point in telling would be to make ourselves feel better, without regard to the effect on our fellow believer. To conclude this portion of our study, I feel that we need not confess every sin to those involved: there are times when it will harm the other person far more than help either one of us. However, if in our prayers (and consultation with a trusted, godly friend) we have peace that it will be helpful to both the sinner and the person wronged, then yes . . . reconciliation is needed. Confession to those involved in that case will offer a picture of handling sin in a godly manner. Of course, if our sin has deprived another person in some way, we may need to make restitution. I think that Paul added another layer to the "should I go and confess to that person?" question, when he told us:

If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all people. (Romans 12:18, NASB)

This is a thorny subject, and many people have opinions on it, so I hope we have clarified our responsibility to confess and forsake our sins. The blessings of forgiveness and the wonderful freedom from guilt that Christ offers to us can change our lives! 

We can be free from guilt before God today. There is no greater blessing than that of having our transgressions forgiven, our sins covered by His blood. That blessing is available to all of us if we will confess our sins and agree with God, and then be intentional about forsaking them!

Confession is good . . .

 

My grandma used to say, as I held the half-eaten cookie behind my back, that confession "is good for the soul." (Grin)

And she was right -- the great blessings of forgiveness are given to us as we confess our sins to God. 

David confesses his sin in verse five, and then he encourages us to do the same in verse six:

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
    and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
    my transgressions to the Lord.”
And you forgave
    the guilt of my sin.

 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
    while you may be found;
surely the rising of the mighty waters
    will not reach them. (Psalm 32:5-6)

A couple of notes here from studying these verses . . . bear with me for a moment, won't you? The first thing I noticed here is there seems to be a window of opportunity for repentance. Now, be careful, I don't mean there's a set time or there's a certain number of sins that can be forgiven, or anything like that. What I mean is that there is a window of opportunity when God is appealing to our conscience. If we repeatedly refuse to turn to the Lord, there can be consequences. We may be hardened and calloused beyond remedy. 

Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
    will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy. (Proverbs 29:1)

If we do not confess our sins, they can have a cumulative effect on us. They can desensitize our conscience and make it difficult to even distinguish right from wrong. This is what happens to a sinful, hardened heart.

Here's an example of this, so that you can better understand what I mean: remember Pharaoh? Moses went to him again and again. He tried to explain to him the consequences of his sin. He clearly spoke the Word of God to him, and gave him a proper, humble view of God. Pharaoh refused to listen.

In fact, Pharaoh doubled down! He was already a prideful, arrogant ruler, and rebellious against YAHWEH. But finally, he crossed the line:

Pharaoh’s officials said to him, “How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?” (Exodus 10:7)

Pharaoh's heart was set like stone against God. It was so hardened, obstinate, and calloused that he could no longer understand truth. A deeply hardened heart is like the "seared" conscience that Paul speaks of in I Timothy. God's Word tells us that if we are relentless in our pursuit of sin, there will come a time when God may give us over to our "debased mind" and let us have it our own way. And Paul even writes about the possibility of God's anger and abandonment in his letter to the church in Rome. He says that godless and wicked people "who suppress the truth" are eventually given over to the desires of their sinful hearts (read this passage: Romans 1:18-24).

Does this sound too hard? Unlike a loving Father God? We must remember that God gives everyone many, many opportunities to repent. He "woos" us with the Holy Spirit and calls us to Him. Jeremiah said in the days of old, that God sent His prophets "again and again," to call sinners (Jeremiah 35:15). Ezekiel spoke the Word of the Lord, too:

 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live! (Ezekiel 18:30-32)

See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,
    do not harden your hearts
    as you did in the rebellion.” (Hebrews 3:12-15)

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

The second thing that I noticed is that David confesses his sins directly to the Lord in verse five. He doesn't confess to a priest. He doesn't confess to the ones whom he wronged -- not at this point. That can come later . . . Sin is first and foremost against the Lord. He is our holy God, so we must confess it to Him. If one is helped by telling someone else, that's ok. Some people are, so a priest or a therapist can listen. And after we have confessed to the Lord, it is sometimes possible to go to the ones we have wronged and set things straight again. But the issue of sin and our repentance (turning away from our sin) is one that is first taken care of between us and our Lord.

What does it actually mean to confess? What is a prayer of confession like?

First, let's look at the Hebrew word -- it has the meaning of telling forth, of openly acknowledging one's sins. In other words, we need to uncover our sins before God. Pull back the tarp, rake the leaves away, turn on the light . . . whatever analogy we want to use, it means the same thing: we must acknowledge them to God. That verse in I John has the added nuance of "agreeing together" with God about our sins.

We need to call sin "sin." We don't need to do as so many do today, and explain it away!

Not "well, I had a dysfunctional family..."

Not "well, I had a moment of weakness...."

Not "well, you know, I'm only human ....."

Instead, we say, "Lord, I'm sorry, I sinned." And the sooner we say it, the better.

We also need to see sin as serious. The closer our walk with the Lord, the more seriously we will see sin. Our sins put our Savior on the cross, and sin causes damages -- sin can cause damage to the name of Christ, to other believers, and to ourselves. You see, sin becomes a barrier. A huge wall between us and God. And between us and other humans. So we must take it seriously, not casually.

Lastly, our prayer of confession thanks Him for His forgiveness. No sin is too great for God's mercy. If we have sinned and repented sincerely, and we still feel guilty, it's not the Lord, but the "accuser of the brethren" who is troubling us. We can tell the devil to leave, for the blood of the Lamb fully satisfies the demands of God's call to righteousness. We can rest in His promise - He is indeed faithful and just to forgive all our sins.

Today may send us hunting band-aids for our toes, but after the Spirit treads on our toes, He also gently reminds us of our Father's compassion and love -- He is always listening to our prayers of confession, and always forgives us when we repent!