RENEW A RIGHT SPIRIT IN ME!

RENEW A RIGHT SPIRIT IN ME!

Ps 51:10

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

           Spurgeon commented: A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now.

           The banner at the beginning of this Psalm says: “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-she'-ba.”

           David had sinned a grievous sin – actually sin(s). He slept with his neighbor’s wife and was caught at it because she became pregnant. Then he conspired to have her husband killed in combat. He covered his sins by celebrating Uriah as a war hero and then playing the hero himself by marrying his widow, Bathsheba. He thought his cover was perfect – tied up in a neat little package.

           Nathan, that pesky preacher, came and told him a story of extreme injustice and David responded with characteristic and practiced indignation. Then Nathan said “THOU ART THE MAN!”

           David did not fold his arms and purse his lips in continued rebellion! He rushed to the altar and asked for a clean heart and a right spirit. So should we!

Dear Lord, let us drop the charade of pretended normalcy and run to the mercy seat asking for a renewed spirit. AMEN

HE IS MY SOLID ROCK!

HE IS MY SOLID ROCK!

Ps 18:2

2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

           Because we are a fallen and willful people, life is full of trouble and disappointment. When the pressures of a sin-cursed world weigh heavily upon us there are some things we should remember. Remember first that many of the battles we fight are in our own mind.

Ps 19:14

14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

           Remember next to be temperate, balanced and truthful in our dealings with others. Don’t make a bad situation worse with your responses.

Eph 4:28-29

28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

           Never forget the eternal destiny of the believer is Heaven and that all the things that plague us now will be ended. All that is wrong shall be judged and ultimately punished. Injustice will not prevail and all that is dirty will be made clean.

1 Peter 1:3-7

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,

5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:

7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

           THE SOLID ROCK

His oath, His covenant, His blood

Support me in the whelming flood;

When all around my soul gives way,

He then is all my hope and stay.

Dear Lord! I can endure this disappointment also knowing that you are my Solid Rock. AMEN

MY PRECIOUS BURDEN!

MY PRECIOUS BURDEN!

Ps 55:22

22 Cast thy burden upon the Lord , and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

           Interestingly, the Hebrew word for “burden” in Psalm 55:22 is strictly translated “what is given.” It is something received. I think it might have been given intentionally! One of Merriam – Webster’s definitions of “burden” is “responsibility!” Perhaps your burden is your job or some illness. Maybe it is worry over a troubled teen who is struggling to find his or her way. Whatever it is, it has been given and you have received it.

           Because I write a devotional every day, I subscribe to several online devotionals myself. I often need a starter to pique my creativity. Well, the following is shamelessly stolen from the late Dr. Adrian Rodgers. I think it wonderfully fits.

 “I read about a man who had a very fine dog who loved the water. One day the dog was playing in the lake and the man decided to leave. He called the dog, but the dog wouldn’t come. He called him several times; he wouldn’t come. It was a well-trained dog, but he just would not come. The man finally threw a stick out in the water. When the dog saw it, he swam over, got the stick, and came back and laid it at his master’s feet. It just may be that God has given you a burden because He can’t get your attention. He wants you to come and lay it at your Master’s feet.”

So, today I will look at my burdens differently. I will see them as the ringing of my spiritual telephone. God is on the line and wants to talk. He is willing to trade my burden for a little of my time.

Dear Lord, Thank you for my burden. I am sorry that you have to resort to such means in order to get my attention. I love you, Lord. AMEN

FINISH IT!

FINISH IT!

Phil 4:7

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

           My desk is usually stacked with half finished projects. I dare not clear the clutter for fear that I will upset some project which must then be started over. It is a shameful admission, I know, but I suspect many of you can relate to this. I think it is because a new project is presented to me before the old one is done. This happens so often that soon I am hopelessly behind in my work.

           Paul, writing to the Philippians, urges them to finish the process of discipleship. They had been taught sound principles from the Bible and had seen them practiced by their teacher. Now it was time to do what they knew to do. The little word “do” is the Greek word prasso and means: “to practice repeatedly; to accomplish; to finish.”  Are you practicing repeatedly and habitually all the “Christianity” that you have been taught? The Apostles were given one final command before Jesus returned to His Father. We know it as The Great Commission.

Matt 28:18-20

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

James Ryle relates a story of Leonardo Da Vinci and one of his students. The Master had prepared a canvas, mixed the palette, sketched in the picture of what he was going to paint, and began applying his brush to the work — laying in colors and tones, shadings and hues that brought the sketch to life with every stroke.

Then, without any warning, Da Vinci turned to his student and handed him the palette and brush, saying, "You finish it." The student was taken back. "Your greatness," he said in true humility, "I cannot even presume to finish your work." And Da Vinci replied, "Will not what I have done inspire you to do your very best?"

Dear Lord, let me be inspired by your work and your sacrifice so that I may finish my assignment here. AMEN

WHAT IS HIS NAME?

WHAT IS HIS NAME?

Ex 3:13-15

13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?

14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

           Moses was having a conversation with a burning bush which commissioned him to rescue Israel from slavery in Egypt. Moses thought ahead to when he would announce that “God” had sent him and someone would surely ask: “What is His name?” It wasn’t God who was having an identity crisis but Moses. Moses was still struggling with whether he was a prince or a shepherd.

           There are no less than twelve names of God in the Old Testament but here the Lord offered a name that answered Moses’ question. If someone asked the name of God, Moses was to answer simply I AM. The Hebrew word translated I AM is the word hayah which simply means “to exist or to be.” Verse 15 offers a more detailed answer when God says: “this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” The word “ever” is translated from a word that means “time out of mind.”

           When God said his name was I AM, He was not simply saying that He exists from now on till infinity. He was saying that He exists from infinity to infinity. He exists from before the beginning till after the end. Such a concept, even when thoroughly explained, is hard for a time-dweller to grasp.

           There is continuity, consistency, stability, and singleness of purpose in a God who has neither beginning nor end. With God there are no yesterdays or tomorrows. When He confronts us He is as He always was. (Malachi 3:6) There is comfort in such a God.

Rom 11:33

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

Dear Lord, you are the same God who listened to my childhood prayers and calmed my childhood fears. You are the same God who heard my confession and saved my soul. You have led me until today and will see me through tomorrow. Your thoughts toward me have not changed. Your plans for me are sealed and fully determined. My destiny is sure because you do not change. Thank you, Lord. AMEN