Restoring The Joy of Your Salvation by Dr. Leslie Hollon

2 Samuel 12 & Psalm 51:1-12

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

Psalm 51:10 & Psalm 51:12

Moral chaos breeds chaos.  David’s immoral behavior would bring calamity on his household.  David’s forceful taking of Uriah’s wife made it more likely that women in the palace would be vulnerable to another man’s violation.  Weakened from within, David was not able to protect those dearest to him.   What happened in the palace would be mainstreamed “in broad daylight for all Israel.”

Violence begets violence.  Despising God brings God’s judgment upon oneself.  How could David have fooled himself into believing he could “take” Uriah’s wife as his own!

Thus confronted, David repented.  Remorsefully he confessed,  “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam. 12:13).  God accepted David’s sorrowful lament.  Nathan replied, “The Lord has taken away your sin.  You are not going to die” (2 Sam. 12:13).  David’s life could have been “taken” from him, even as he had taken Uriah’s.  David could have lost the right to rule as king, even as did Saul, whom David was anointed to replace.  David and Bathsheba would also endure the additional grief of their firstborn child’s death.

God doesn’t want us to visit the dark side. When we go there, he doesn’t want us to stay there.  Recovery through repentance from sin is the way out.  This good news applies to all sins; adultery is not excluded. Broken trust can be restored.  An afflicted husband and wife may have to work hard for years to get through the pain, but by God’s grace it is possible “to love and to cherish…for better or for worse” and go forward.

David wrote Psalm 51 in remorse for what he had done.  With guilt and shame, he owned up to his sins before God.  Re-establishing trust is built on remorse, repentance, and renewal.  Remorse stops us in our tracks.  Repentance turns us from going in a sinful direction to living godward.  Shuv, the Hebrew word for repentance means literally “to turn around and go in the opposite direction.”   Renewal is the result of our misdirected life being redirected.

Our life is determined by the choices we make at home, at work, and in our community.   Believers are sinners saved by God’s grace.  The work I do as pastor includes helping people who are caught in sin by showing them that there is a better way to live, and to begin living that way.  When Nathan said, “David, you are the man who has done this!”  He showed David  the consequences of his sins. But God’s amazing grace saved the shepherd king.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Have you become enslaved to habitual sin? Can you see God’s escape route? Are you feeling salvation’s joy at home, at work, and in your community? Are you enjoying life by dancing to the rhythm of God’s grace?

PRAYER: Lord, I get Your message.  The purer my heart, the more I can see of you.  By being with you in prayer, I trust that you will burn away the impurities in my  heart. Have your way with me so that I will live in your ways. David’s prayer becomes my prayer, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and renew a right spirit within me.” Amen.

A Note from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/restoring-joy-your-salvation

Guilty as Sin by Dr. Leslie Hollon

2 Samuel 12:1-13

Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man!  This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul.'”

2 Samuel 12:7

When news of Uriah’s death reached David, he deceived himself into thinking he was beyond the reach of God’s judgment and the people’s disgust.  So he took Bathsheba as his wife.  He acted as if everything was okay when it was not.

Chapter 12 opens with God taking the initiative to correct the situation.  He sent Nathan to confront King David. Nathan had helped David before, but this time his assignment would be more challenging.

The harsh reality is that sin damns us if we do not trust God’s grace for forgiveness.  As the Apostle Paul wrote,  “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God…the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 3:23; 6:23).  To realize his guilt, David had to be confronted by Nathan.  Nathan’s access to the king did not protect him from the king’s vengeful wrath.  David could have had Nathan killed.

Nathan used a parable so the king would let down his defenses.  As Nathan told the story of a rich man who had “taken a poor man’s beloved lamb” and used the lamb as banquet food for a traveler, “David burned with anger.”  David condemned the man who was rich in money but impoverished in mercy. David concluded the rich man deserved to die but mercifully David would reduce the punishment so the offender would pay for the ewe lamb four times over. (Zacchaeus applied this restitution principle in Luke 19:8).  Once the king gave judgment, Nathan took the opening to deliver his punch line, “You are the man” (2 Sam. 12:7).  The parable began as a window through which David clearly saw injustice; then the parable became a mirror by which David starkly saw himself as the sinful man.   David, the shepherd king, had become a ravenous predator, and only God’s mercy could save him.

God knows our life story, and he knows that in order for us to be people who overcome, people who move from tragedy to triumph, we must be people who can also recover from sin.  Therefore, God connects us with a love that on his part will not let go.  In Hebrew this love is called “hessed.”  In the New Testament it is called “grace.”  This love is built inside our souls and tethers us.  This love motivates our conscience after we have sinned to feel remorse, to repent, and to be renewed.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Is God trying to correct areas of your life? Is someone trying to give you a message on God’s behalf? Are you repenting so you can be renewed?

PRAYER:  Lord, this is a conversation I have not wanted to have with you.  I have been afraid to tell you the wrongs that I have done.  Because if I did, I knew that I would need to change.  I know that you know this, but saying it to you brings it out into the open.  Forgive me.  I am sorry.  Thanks for lifting this burden from my soul.  Through your grace, I will live differently and try to make things right with others. Amen.

A Note from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/guilty-sin

Making a Bad Situation Worse

2 Samuel 11

Uriah said to David, “The ark and Israel and Judah are staying in tents, and my master Joab and my lord’s men are camped in the open fields.  How could I go to my house to eat and drink and lie with my wife?  As surely as you live, I will not do such a thing!”

2 Samuel 11:11

David chose to trust in his own power and mistrust God’s power.  That choice endangered his very soul.  He needed to be rescued from himself.  But this mess was of his own making, and he resisted calling on the promise of Psalm 23.  Have you been there?  Do you know what that’s like?

To enact his cover-up, David recalled Bathsheba’s husband, the great warrior Uriah, off the front line of battle.  Upon returning to the court of the king, David greeted him and said, “Go back to your home and wash your feet there.”  This phrase is a Hebrew euphemism inferring “to have sexual relations.”  It was made clear through Bathsheba’s purification bath that she was not pregnant before David “took her” (1 Sam. 11:2).  Her pregnancy was David’s responsibility.  David wanted Uriah and the public to think that the baby was Uriah’s.

The warrior remembered that King David had instructed the soldiers to abstain from sexual relations during seasons of combat.  So instead he slept in the servants’ quarters and did not go to his home.   The next night King David, trying to cover up further, got Uriah drunk.  Again Uriah refused to go into his own bedroom to be with his own wife. He was acting with honor, a Hittite more faithful than Israel’s King.  David feared that soon all the kingdom would be gossiping about his sins.    He then wrote a decree which Uriah delivered to General Joab. Ironically, the secret orders delivered by Uriah carried his death sentence.

David’s cover-up only made matters worse.  Satan (which means “the deceiver”) works through temptation’s distorted messages.  Sin harms.  Habitual sin destroys.  Once sin has its hooks in us, it won’t let go voluntarily.  We must yield to God.  Then our misdirected life gets redirected in God’s ways. Sin had its way with David, who then had his way with Bathsheba;  both of them were left in the dilemma of what to do next.  David had a choice to confess or to cover up by committing additional sins.

When we try to cover up sin in our own power, we fool ourselves.  Servants were involved in delivering David’s messages. People observed his behavior. They watched their king act in ways unbecoming of a king, and people began to talk. The rumors spread through all twelve tribes of Israel.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: When are you tempted to mistrust God’s power by trusting in your own power apart from his? Confess or cover-up, what is your preference? What are people in your home, workplace, or community seeing from your behavior?

PRAYER: Dear God, we live in a hard world.  Much of what goes on around us or in my own heart is directly opposed to you.  I am tempted to deal with this contradiction by hardening my own heart.  Please help me to lean into your strength so that I can be strong without being calloused.

A Note from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging. Amen.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/making-bad-situation-worse

When You Want What You Shouldn’t Have by Dr. Leslie Hollon

II Samuel 11

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace.  From the roof he saw a woman bathing.  The woman was very beautiful…

II Samuel 11: 2

King David sent his men off to battle but did not go himself.  This was the first time he did not lead his troops as they went on a major military campaign.  Why did he stay behind?  What was he feeling? He would fight more battles later; why not now?

When David went to his roof top and saw Bathsheba bathing, he was inspired by temptation not goodness. Temptation takes what is good and turns it upside down with the deceptive message that wrong is better than right (Isaiah 5:20).  Temptation whispers for us not to trust God. When we commit to temptation, we sin by trying to redefine “goodness” into what we want.  David risked the kingdom he had fought hard to win for God’s purposes.

He had seen Bathsheba before but not like this; not when he was in transition and she appeared so vulnerable and beautiful before his wandering eyes.  Out on the balcony, David’s body experienced a flash flood of testosterone.  His sexual drive became fully activated when he looked out and saw beautiful Bathsheba bathing.  He saw her as a pawn for his taking and not as a loyal family friend.   Bathsheba’s family had been faithful and true to the king.  Her father, Eliam (2 Sam. 23:34), was likely one of David’s more heroic leaders.  Uriah, her husband, was one of David’s most valiant soldiers (2 Sam. 23:3a).

In this transition moment, David yielded his heart to sin and decided that his own selfish desires would make him happy.  The story is told honestly and graphically in 2 Samuel 11.  The king commanded a servant, “Bring her to me!”  This Hebrew phrase means “to take.”  David, motivated by lust, in a lonely moment, abused his kingly power.  Bathsheba went into the palace to meet the King.  David, caught in sin’s thrill of rebellion, did not care that his actions displeased God.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Does your love for God help you to focus on doing what is right? Does fear of painful consequences warn you to beware of sin? Can you let go of that something you want, but that you shouldn’t have?

PRAYER:  God, I wish my heart wanted what was always right, but it doesn’t.  In this struggle I become double minded.  So right now I am going to trust you enough to release “the other” from my heart.  Please fill my heart with the joy of your presence so I won’t feel so lonely and want to take back that which I have just relinquished. Amen.

A Note from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/when-you-want-what-you-shouldnt-have?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheHighCallingDailyReflections+%28Daily+Reflection+%26+Prayer%29

How Solomon Became The Ruler Of Israel

Now when David was old, Adonijah thought, “I will be ruler of Israel.” So he prepared for himself chariots and horsemen and fifty men to run before him. His father, David, had never in his life troubled him by saying, “Why have you done thus and so?” Adonijah was very good-looking and was the next younger son after Absalom. He also had made an agreement with Joab and with Abiathar the priest to help him. But Zadok the priest and Benaiah and Nathan the prophet, as well as Shimei and Rei and David’s famous warriors, were not on his side.

Adonijah held a feast and killed for it sheep, oxen, and fat beasts by the Serpent’s Stone, which is beside the Fuller’s Spring; and he invited to the feast all his brothers and all the royal officials of Judah; but he did not invite the prophet Nathan nor Benaiah nor the famous warriors nor his brother Solomon.

Then Nathan said to Bathsheba the mother of Solomon, “Have you not heard that Adonijah has been made ruler without David our lord knowing it? Now, therefore, let me advise you that you may save your own life and the life of your son Solomon. Go at once to David and say to him, ‘Did you not, my lord, solemnly promise your servant that Solomon your son should rule after you? Why then has Adonijah been made ruler?’ While you are still talking with him, I will come in and repeat your words.”

So Bathsheba went into David’s room; he was very old, and Abishag the Shunamite was caring for him. When David said, “What do you wish?” she said to him, “My lord, you solemnly promised your servant by Jehovah: ‘Solomon your son shall rule after me.’ But now Adonijah has been made ruler without your knowledge, my lord! Now, my lord, all the Israelites are looking to you, to tell them who shall rule after you. If you do not tell them, then, when my lord dies, I and my son Solomon will be treated as criminals.”

While she was still talking with David, Nathan the prophet came in. And they told David, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he came in and bowed before David with his face to the ground. Then Nathan said, “My lord, have you said, ‘Adonijah shall rule after me?’ For he has gone down this day and killed many oxen and fat beasts and sheep and has invited all your sons and the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest; and there they are eating and drinking before him and saying, ‘May the new ruler Adonijah live!’ But he has not invited me, even me your servant, nor Zadok, the priest, nor Benaiah nor your servant Solomon. If you have done this, my lord, you have failed to show your servants who is to rule after my lord.”

David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came in and stood before him. Then David made this solemn promise; “As surely as Jehovah lives, who has delivered me from all trouble, as I have solemnly promised to you by Jehovah, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall rule after me’; so I will certainly do to-day.” Then Bathsheba bowed her face to the earth and said, “May my lord live forever.”

Then David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada.” When they came before him, he said to them, “Take with you the servants of your lord. Let Solomon my son ride upon my own mule, bring him down to Gihon, and there let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet make him ruler over Israel and blow the trumpet and say, ‘May Solomon the ruler live!’ Then you shall go up after him, and he shall go in and sit upon my throne, for he shall rule after me; and I have appointed him to be chief over Israel and Judah.” Benaiah answered David, “So may it be! May Jehovah confirm the words of my lord. As Jehovah has been with my lord, even so may he be with Solomon, and may he make his throne greater than the throne of my lord David!”

Then Zadok, Nathan, and Benaiah together with the Philistine body-guards, went down and put Solomon on David’s mule and brought him to Gihon. Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the tent and poured oil on Solomon’s head, and they blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “May Solomon live!” Then all the people followed him and the people played on flutes and rejoiced so loudly that the earth seemed to be shaken by the sound that they made.

Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it just as they had finished eating. And they were terrified and each rose up and went away. But Adonijah in his fear of Solomon went and caught hold of the horns of the altar. When it was reported to Solomon, “See, Adonijah fears Solomon the ruler, for he has caught hold of the horns of the altar and says, ‘Let Solomon solemnly promise me first that he will not kill his servant with the sword,'” Solomon said, “If he shall show himself a worthy man, not one of his hairs shall be touched, but if he is found guilty of disloyalty, he shall die.” So Solomon had him brought from the altar. And he came and bowed before Solomon the ruler. And Solomon said to him, “Go to your home.”

Then David died and was buried in the City of David, after having ruled over Israel forty years.

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/How-Solomon-Became-The-Ruler-Of-Israel.shtml

When Does Temptation Become Sin? by Dr. Leslie Hollon

Psalm 37:4

Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37: 4

Preface from Mark Roberts: This week’s reflections have been written by my friend and fellow pastor, Dr. Leslie Hollon, Senior Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Leslie (known also by the nickname Les) is a noted preacher, pastor, professor, and author. He is a gifted biblical teacher who connects the deep truths of Scripture to the realities of daily life. Every time I hear Leslie preach, I am encouraged to consider in new ways how the Word of God speaks to me. I know you will find Leslie’s reflections on temptation to be challenging and encouraging. – Mark

When our daughter, Rachel, became a teenager, she asked me one night, “Dad, tell me a story from the Bible, not a story of good people doing good things.  Tell me a story about when the people messed up.”  She wanted to know how God helps us when we are tempted to do wrong.

Temptation presents the possibility of sin, but it is not sin in itself.  Sin begins when we form plans to put the temptation into play.  Once begun, sin seeks to become a habit in our lives at home, at work, and in our community.

A person healed from his addiction with Internet pornography said to me, “It consumed my time, my energy.  It was destroying my relations with my wife.  I was wasting my life.  Now for three years my life has been freed up from that.” He realized, what we all must realize, sinful pleasure never satisfies for long.

Sin expands one’s appetite for more sin.  David’s sinful trail began when he stood looking out from his fancy corner office and coveted his neighbor’s wife. That led to adultery, lying, and murder.  David’s unraveling did not stop until the prophet Nathan confronted him about his abuse of authority and convinced him of his sins.

Repentance is our only hope to be released from this deadly cycle.  Repentance begins with soulful remorse and ends with soul-filled renewal that extends to every part of life.

David’s attempt to insulate himself from guilt’s stinging indictment meant his sinful actions did not stop with sexually manipulating Bathsheba.  He had to do something about Uriah, her husband.  Sin does not stop on its own power.  Only God’s power is strong enough to stop sin’s destructive force.  Repentance opens us to change when we yield our will into God’s will so our desires can be reshaped.

QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: Where are you most vulnerable to temptation—at home, at work, or in your community? How have you learned to recognize the deceptive nature of temptation? Are you entrusting your desires to God?

PRAYER: O Lord: I need You.  I want You.  I freshly give myself to You.  Please shape the desires of my heart so that I will delight in You and serve you in all that I do.  Please give me the eyes of faith to recognize temptation’s deceptive nature.  Help me to see Your warning signs so I may beware of sin by being aware of You.

http://www.thehighcalling.org/reflection/when-does-temptation-become-sin

A Rich Man Who Was A Thief

One evening, while Joab was besieging Rabbath Ammon, David rose from his bed and walked upon the roof of the royal palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing; and she was very beautiful. And David sent to ask about the woman; and some one said, “Is not this Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?” Then David sent messengers to bring her; and she came to him, but later returned to her home.

Then David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it by Uriah. In the letter, he said, “Place Uriah in the front line where there is the fiercest fighting, then draw back from behind him, that he may be struck down and die.” So Joab, in posting guards over the city, sent Uriah to the place where he knew there were brave men. When the men of the city went out to fight against Joab, some of the soldiers of David fell, and Uriah the Hittite was killed.

Then Joab sent to tell David all about the war, and he gave this command to the messenger: “If, after you have finished telling the ruler all about the war, he is angry and says to you, ‘Why did you go so near to the city to fight? Did you not know that they would shoot from the wall? Who struck down Abimelech the son of Jerubbaal? Did not a woman cast an upper millstone upon him from the wall, so that he died at Thebez? Why did you go near the wall?’ then say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also.'”

So the messenger of Joab went to Jerusalem and told David all that Joab commanded him. Then David said to the messenger, “Say to Joab, ‘Let not this thing trouble you, for the sword takes one and then another. Go on fighting against the city and capture it,’ and encourage him.”

When Bathsheba heard that Uriah her husband was dead, she mourned for him as was the custom. When the mourning was over, David sent for her, and she became his wife and she had a son.

What David had done displeased Jehovah and he sent the prophet Nathan to David. Nathan went to him and said, “There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had many flocks and herds; but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb which he had bought. He fed it, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his own small supply of food and drink out of his own cup, and it lay in his bosom and was like a daughter to him.

“Now a traveller came to the rich man; and he spared his own flock and did not take an animal from it nor from his own herd to make ready for the traveller who had come to him, but took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the guest who had come.”

Then David was very angry, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as Jehovah lives, the man who has done this deserves to die; he shall repay seven times the value of the lamb, because he showed no pity.”

Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Jehovah the God of Israel declares: ‘I made you ruler over Israel and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives to be your own, and I gave you the nations of Israel and Judah. If that were too little, I would add as much again. Why have you despised Jehovah by doing that which is wrong in his sight? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword shall never cease to smite your family, because you have despised me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'”

David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against Jehovah!” Then Nathan said to David, “Jehovah has also put away your sin so that you shall not die. Yet, because by this deed you have shown contempt for Jehovah, the child that is born shall surely die.” Then Nathan went to his house.

And Jehovah smote Bathsheba’s child so that it fell sick. David prayed to God for the child, and ate no food but went in and lay all night in sackcloth upon the earth. The older men in his house stood over him to raise him up from the earth; but he would not rise nor eat with them. When on the seventh day the child died, the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, for they said, “While the child was yet alive, we spoke to him and he paid no attention to our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead, for he will do some harm!”

But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, he knew that the child was dead, and said to his servants, “Is the child dead?” They replied, “He is dead.” Then David rose from the earth, washed and put oil on himself, changed his clothes, and went into the temple of Jehovah and worshipped. After that he went to his own house; and he asked for bread, and when they set it before him, he ate.

His servants said to him, “What is this you have done? You ate no food and cried for the child while it was alive, but when the child died, you rose and ate bread.” He replied, “While the child was yet alive, I ate no food and cried aloud, for I said, ‘Who knows whether Jehovah will have mercy, so that the child will live?’ But now that he is dead, why should I eat no food? Can I bring him back? I am going to him, but he will not come back to me.”

http://kids.ochristian.com/Childrens-Bible/A-Rich-Man-Who-Was-A-Thief.shtml

Totally Clean

A friend was updating me on his past year—a year in which he had been receiving ongoing medical treatment for cancer. The smile on his face was a powerful testimony to the good news he had just received. He said that at his one-year checkup the doctor announced that the test results all pointed to one thing: “You are totally clean!” What a difference two words can make! To my friend, totally clean meant every trace of the disease that had threatened his life only months before had been wiped from his body. We rejoiced to hear that he was totally clean!

King David, after his moral failure with Bathsheba, longed for a similar thing to happen in his heart. Hoping for the stains of his sin to be washed away, he cried out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10). The good news for him and for us is that our sins can be taken care of. When we need cleansing, John’s familiar words bring hope: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

We can’t cleanse our own hearts; only God can do that. If we confess our sins to Him, He promises to make us totally clean!

Search me, O God, and know my heart today Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray. See if there be some wicked way in me; Cleanse me from every sin and set me free. —Orr

Confession to God always brings cleansing from God.

https://trinityspeaks.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php?post_type=post

Temptation (3)

“The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”           1Jn 2:16 NKJV

Temptation enters through three doors: “The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” That’s how it entered the Garden of Eden. “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), that it was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise (the pride of life), she took of its fruit” (Ge 3:6 NKJV). Satan has no new tricks, he just dresses up the same old temptations in new attire. “The lust of the flesh” is anything you recklessly go into debt for, manipulate for, or violate your integrity for. “The lust of the eyes” has to do with your perception. By the time you start seeing clearly, you’ve lost a great relationship or walked away from an opportunity, only to look back and say, “I was foolish. If only I’d waited.” “The pride of life” is the most subtle, therefore the most dangerous. You need a certain amount of pride to succeed in life. So when does pride cross the line? When you start exalting yourself; when you neglect God and think your success is the result of your own effort; when you can’t admit you’re wrong; when you’re willing to go all the way to the bottom, fighting and blaming others. Someone who cannot repent cannot be restored. After his affair with Bathsheba, David wrote, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise” (Ps 51:17 NIV).

https://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/06/16/temptation-3/

Leaving Sin City

“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” Psalm 32:5

A seriously disturbing commercial made its way to TV sets across America recently. The ad begins with a chauffeur opening the door of a stretch limousine for a woman who is dressed for a night on the town. As the limousine cruises to the airport, the driver looks back and tries to make conversation with the woman, who appears to be attempting to seduce him. As they continue along, the divider window in the car goes up and the camera cuts away to a shot of the car pulling up to the curb, where the driver gets out and opens the back door for his passenger. She climbs out of the car, hair neatly pinned up, dressed in a business suit, chatting away on her cell phone. While on the phone she leans in for one last flirtation with the puzzled driver, and then continues off to catch her flight. The commercial fades to the tag line: “What happens here stays here. Las Vegas.”

The message is obvious. Las Vegas is a place where you can pursue your lust and greed with abandon, somehow disconnecting it from the rest of your life and hiding it from friends and family. Check your morals at the door and revel in unbridled freedom. No guilt, no fear, no consequences. It is, they claim, an adult playground, existing solely for your indulgence and amusement, where your secrets are kept.

Before you start taking the bait “hook, line, and sinker” you need to know that what you do in Las Vegas—or anywhere else for that matter—doesn’t stay there. What you do is a part of you, and you’ll take it all home with you!

The words of King David provide ample warning for us. I would suspect that, with much of his kingdom away in battle, David assumed that “What happens in the palace stays in the palace.” However, his secret fling with Bathsheba was exposed all too quickly with the expanding signs of her pregnancy. His attempts to cover his tracks led him to one desperate scheme after another. Yet in the end, with the blood of Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah, on his hands, he found himself face to face with the prophet Nathan and the consequences of his sin exposed to all. His reign and service to the Lord would forever be marked by that tragic moment in his life.

More tellingly, Psalm 32:1-11 records that, even before the sin was publicly exposed, the pangs of David’s conscience kept him in anguish. “When I kept silent,” he writes, “my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer” (Psalm 32:3-4). He didn’t leave his sin with Bathsheba behind in the bed of adultery; he was crushed by the guilt and shame that he carried with him.

When we choose to sin, we do not leave the sin behind without a trace. If you belong to God, the indwelling Holy Spirit will sound the alarm. And though no one knows, we will be haunted by the fear of discovery and the loss of self worth. As Scripture says, “You may be sure that your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23)!

So join King David. Know the joy of being done with the cover-ups and finished with the secrets. Genuine confession before our loving and forgiving God will trigger His grace and forgiveness and will enable you to leave Sin City far, far behind!

YOUR JOURNEY…

• Did the Holy Spirit spotlight any area of your life that needs to be brought into the light? Go before the Lord in genuine, heartfelt confession, acknowledging your need of His forgiveness.
• What other lies does Satan try to feed us to convince us that sinning is worth the toll that it takes on our lives?
• How can time in God’s Word and in prayer help us to more quickly recognize areas of sin and struggle in our lives?

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