Monday, March 31, 2014

Kansas City, Missouri, Untied States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Humility from Forgiveness” – Monday, 31 March 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 32:1-11

Kansas City, Missouri, Untied States - Reflecting God – Embrace Holy Living - “Humility from Forgiveness” – Monday, 31 March 2014 - Scripture: Psalm 32: By David. A contemplative psalm.
1 Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn’t impute iniquity,
    in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me.
    My strength was sapped in the heat of summer.
Selah.
5 I acknowledged my sin to you.
    I didn’t hide my iniquity.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh,
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
Selah.
6 For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found.
    Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.
7 You are my hiding place.
    You will preserve me from trouble.
    You will surround me with songs of deliverance.
Selah.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.
    I will counsel you with my eye on you.
9 Don’t be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding,
    who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.
10 Many sorrows come to the wicked,
    but loving kindness shall surround him who trusts in Yahweh.
11 Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous!
    Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!
“Humility from Forgiveness” by Kevin G. Smith
As a child, I could not determine whether getting in trouble or being forgiven was harder to take. Punishment is not so bad, but knowing that your parent, though feeling pain and disappointment, could turn and say, “I love you.” That’s a powerful statement! In the same way, God knows where we are in need of forgiveness, and He is more than willing to provide that mercy. However, we often sense a burden for the wrongs we have done before God, and this burden is magnified at His compassionate touch.
Listen to the Psalmist: forgiveness is not the bone-crushing burden we believe it to be. Our iniquities press down upon us until the Lord grants His forgiveness. This forgiveness is a blessing, not a burden; it is the lifting of life–destroying weights, not the stacking on of more.
This forgiveness can then lead us to extend such mercy to others, showing them, through our own experiences, where life can go awry and how the grace and mercy of God brings healing. Such forgiveness need not lead us to feel a false burden of guilt, but to an experience of God’s forgiveness resulting in gratitude and humility, visible to others.
Hymn for Today:
“I Lay My Sins on Jesus” by Horatio Bonar
1. I lay my sins on Jesus,
The spotless Lamb of God;
He bears them all, and frees us
From the accursed load.
I bring my guilt to Jesus,
To wash my crimson stains
White in His blood most precious,
Till not a spot remains.
2. I lay my wants on Jesus:
All fullness dwells in Him;
He heals all my diseases,
He doth my soul redeem.
I lay my griefs on Jesus,
My burdens and my cares;
He from them all releases;
He all my sorrows shares.
3. I rest my soul on Jesus,
This weary soul of mine;
His right hand me embraces,
I on His breast recline.
I love the Name of Jesus,
Emmanuel, Christ, the Lord;
Like fragrance on the breezes
His Name abroad is poured.
4. I long to be like Jesus,
Meek, loving, lowly, mild;
I long to be like Jesus,
The Father's holy Child;
I long to be with Jesus,
Amid the heavenly throng;
To sing with saints His praises,
To learn the angels' song.
Thought for Today:
“We cannot fix the darkness within us without the light of God’s grace” (Jim Edlin and Janelle Mackay).
Prayer Needs:
Developing Christian leaders in the Philippians!
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