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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