Sins of Omission, Commission, and Hidden Sin

Psalm 19

I have often heard sin described as being of omission (by NOT doing something I should do such as loving the Lord my God with all of my heart), or of commission (by doing something I should NOT be doing such as lying).  Here David describes another sin where we need protection.

The decrees of the LORD are firm,
   and all of them are righteous.

...

But who can discern their own errors?
   Forgive my hidden faults.
¹³ Keep your servant also from willful sins;
   may they not rule over me.

The only way we can be "free" of sin in terms of it being a chronic issue for us is to seek oneness and forgiveness with Christ and to seek purification and both life and heart transformation as only Christ can provide.  Christ can not only purify us of our sin that we can see but also the sin we can't see or our blind spots.

My Prayer: Lord, You are great as David proclaims here in this Psalm and You know everything about me and use all that I am good and bad - I marvel at how great You are and perfect Your will is.  Forgive me for my abrupt nature and how this impacts people as I know it is not your desire as you desire me to love all as you love me.  Purify me and transform my heart and my life.

God Rescues Us and Puts Us In The Zone

Psalm 18

David is full of superlatives here as he praises God for his protection and for the power God provides David (and all of us!).  One passage in particular strikes a nerve:

He brought me out into a spacious place;
   he rescued me because he delighted in me

This spacious place is a place I liken to "The Zone" which in sports psychology, is the place you want to be for maximum performance.

I'd like to be in "The Zone" with Christ of course and I know it is possible.  It's of course not the same kind of "performance" as I would seek in sports.  It's certainly not defined in that way.  It is a measure of my heart condition and the degree to which I am experiencing life change or life transformation through my heart condition.

As I go to God in prayer and with my reading, I often pray that God will purify me of my sin and transform my heart and my life.  This is indeed my desire.

My Prayer: You are my rock and my refuge.  I am surrounded on all sides by worldly temptations and by a world that seeks to tear me down.  Even with my own thoughts I face evil.  But You alone protect me and for that I am grateful.  Thank you Lord!  Please DO transform my heart and my life Lord.  Guide me and use me for I seek to love, serve and glorify You Lord Christ!

I Need Protection From Evil Every Day

Psalm 17

I don't often reflect on how evil exists during my daily life.  Yet, for starters I need to remind myself that my own nature is sinful - if one could only understand my thoughts.  We are fallen - all of us human.  On top of that, I am surrounded by those every day that either have not accepted Jesus as their savior or they don't live as if they do (sometimes I have to counted as part of this sample).

Therefore I need protection more often than not.

⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings
⁹ from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
   from my mortal enemies who surround me. 

Just as David writes above, I seek refuge from God.

My Prayer: Lord, You are all powerful and You love me.  How great is that!  Forgive me for my sin, whether it is sinful thought or sinful acts. Protect me from my sinful nature and purify me of your sin. 

I Must Remember That Joy Rests Solely In Love of Lord

Psalm 16

I am constantly either genuinely struggling with some aspect of my life or "saying that I am struggling.  However, my struggles pale in comparison with those who are truly struggling.   God reveals this to me through this Psalm.

⁵ LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;
   you make my lot secure.
⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
   surely I have a delightful inheritance.
⁷ I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
   even at night my heart instructs me.
⁸ I keep my eyes always on the LORD.
   With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
   my body also will rest secure, ¹⁰ because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
   nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
   you will fill me with joy in your presence,
   with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

The key for me is how I need to more frequently - day by day and moment by moment - be reminded of these words from God to me.  My "struggles" will wither away if I can be present to these words and these truths.

My Prayer: Lord, you alone truly are my portion and my cup.  In this moment my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.  You do make known to me the path of life and you do fill me with joy in your presence with eternal pleasures at your right hand.  Forgive me for my harshness towards others, particularly in my own family.  Lord please help me be mindful daily and moment by moment of how my heart is glad.  Purify me of my harshness and help me bless others as you bless me.

I Want To See His Face

Psalm11

David indicates here that the righteous will see the Lord's face:

For the LORD is righteous,
   he loves justice;
   the upright will see his face.

Indeed, I DO want to see His face.  I also want to hear His voice.  For this of course to happen, I must be righteous.  Righteousness, as defined in the dictionary, is "to act in accord, with the law" of course as defined by the Lord.  To this end, I seek to repent from my sin and I seek to be purified by my sin - this is first and foremost.  I must also seek Him - to delight in His word and His ways.  All of this is tied together.


My Prayer: Lord, Your blessings in my life are unmistakable.  Yet I am broken and I don't deserve such blessings.  Forgive me for my critical nature of others and purify me of this sin.  Help me also have wisdom for new career opportunities and help me glorify you with you I go about this process.  Help me seek you out and to delight in Your word and Your ways.  Help me love and serve You with all of my heart.

Respect and Emulate the Lord

Psalm 2

In Psalm 1 it is  written to "delight in the law of the LORD and to meditate on the law day and night."  Here in Psalm 2 it is written to "respect" the Lord.   We are to live in fear of the Lord because His might and wrath is great for those who rise up against Him.  As we are all sinners we are all guilty of rising up against God.  Perhaps we can rationalize that our sin is not as great as those who more prominently seek to rise up against God but that is not our judgement to make. 

While it is written hear to be fearful -

Serve the LORD with fear
   and celebrate his rule with trembling.

- my view is that we are not so much to live in fear of a God that angry, but instead to live with a healthy fear of God.  The healthy fear starts with a recognition that He is God of all and capable of all.  We then appreciate how He created all of us and loves each us as His children.  And He died for us to give us a new life - one that is hopeful and eternal.  We take in all of this and can only be left with respect and admiration to the extent that we must try and emulate in our own life the ways of Christ; with a goal to glorify Him.  While I can appreciate that God can strike me down at any moment, I am not driven in my daily life by this fear.  Instead I am driven to know and love a great God that cares for me and wants to bless me (as He has already and will continue to).  This is the balance I see between Psalm 1 and 2.  Delight and fear.

My Prayer: Lord, you ARE creator and ruler of all.  Forgive me as I "rise up" against you daily by seeking other Gods, whether that is through my own reason and powers, or other Gods that I employ as masters in my life.  Please forgive me Lord.  Help me focus on You as creator and ruler of all - a God that has created me and loves me beyond words.  Help me emulate you and serve you.

You Must In Your Heart of Hearts Acknowledge and Accept God's Greatness and Sovereignty

Job Chp 42

Through his trials, you can see questioning of Job's faith.   After surrounding himself with the words of his friends Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, Elihu - a much younger man and one who is not expected to have the wisdom of the three friends, speaks truth to Job and lays the groundwork for a softening of Job's heart.

“I am young in years,
   and you are old;
that is why I was fearful,
   not daring to tell you what I know.
⁷ I thought, ‘Age should speak;
   advanced years should teach wisdom.’
⁸ But it is the spirit in a person,
   the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding.
⁹ It is not only the old who are wise,
   not only the aged who understand what is right. (Job Chp 32)

Elihu reinforces that we should be prepared to allow anyone t o speak truth to us as truth can come from any source.

Once Elihu is done speaking, the Lord speaks directly to Job and confronts Job for his righteousness.

“Who is this that obscures my plans
   with words without knowledge? 

Once the Lord confronts him, Job acknowledges that his faith weakened and he repents.  He also acknowledges how faith is a matter of in your "heart of hearts" you must truly acknowledge and accept God's greatness and sovereignty.

My Prayer: Lord, I acknowledge both Your greatness and your sovereignty.  Forgive me for my questioning of this and for my weakness.  Please help me strengthen my faith and purify me of earthly distractions and also of my own righteousness.  Help me in my "heart of hearts" truly acknowledge and accept your greatness and sovereignty and love and serve you with all of my heart.