Sweeping

"Remember these things, O Jacob, for you are my servant, O Israel. I have made you, you are my servant; O Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you."

Isaiah 44.21-22

How sweet that God has removed our sins "like the morning mist." This beautiful imagery comes at the conclusion of a declaration against idols. As I read this chapter, I was challenged to think about the idols in my own life. They are there, even though I attempt to deny them their power.

Think about the morning dew: it is present for just a little while, its impact visible. Then it is gone. The idols and sins that we wrestle now will not last forever; these current foes will become memories as new ones take their place.

It is God alone who is able to clean up the messes within us. True, we will likely get messy again: we may fall into this or that puddle, we will wrestle with our demons. Yet still He calls: "Return to me, for I have redeemed you." My friends, dear brothers and sisters, let us not lose sight of the fact that God is bigger than our mess.

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Words, Thoughts, Actions

In preparing to teach recently at Ouachita River Fellowship in Malvern, I was debating what translation of the Bible to use. In the end I decided upon the New International Version.

Six years ago, I was using this copy of the Bible to preach through the Psalms. It was enjoyable flipping through the pages and seeing some of my notes. Because of my markings, I know exactly where I was at in the Psalms when God called me to pastor elsewhere. More importantly, I can see some of the exact things that I was thinking about and teaching on during that time.

In Psalm 19:12-14, we find these words:

"Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer."

We all have sin in our lives. This is something that neither individuals nor society as a whole particularly like to acknowledge. But we know that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). For those of us who have come to know the power and grace of Jesus Christ, we know that those sins have been forgiven. That does not mean, however, that we never did them, only that we will not be held accountable for them because of the sacrificial love of Jesus; it also does not mean that we will not struggle with them in the future.

As I look over my notes from teaching on this passage years ago, I want to share a couple of thoughts that I see in the margins. I do not take credit for these; sadly, the margins left little room for citing the original sources. Nevertheless, I feel that the reflection and sharing is necessary:

• secret sins may do deadly mischief; it is well to be in much prayer concerning them
• the final verse addresses both expressed ("words of my mouth") and unspoken ("meditation of my heart") words
• words are a mockery if the heart does not meditate

Sin draws our attention from God. It is relentless in doing so. And it can be fun, though that fun is short-lived. The sins which we think are hidden from men are exposed fully before God. Upon reflection, I think that it is those sins which we believe no one sees that draw us farthest from God; often these are the ones that we willfully choose, which increases their capacity to take hold of us.

That's why David offers the prayer which he does: "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer." If our words and thoughts are God-centered, our actions will be less inclined towards sin. None of us are perfect, but God has offered to make us a new creation through Jesus Christ. Today, let's turn our eyes towards Him and His divine purpose.

Bibliography

NIV Archaeological Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2005. Print.

Cleaning House

I have been in the process of doing some cleaning and work around my home. One of the projects I tackled was cleaning the bathroom. We all know how much fun this is. I started working on the shower with one cleaning product, but had to change to change to another when it ran out. The second was a bleach based cleaner.

A few hours later, I was reminded of this passage from Matthew 23:27-28.

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of the dead and all kinds of filth. So you also on the outside look righteous to others, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness."

We like things to look clean. But looking clean and being clean are two different things. Our hearts and minds are easily deceived, and we find ourselves thinking and even doing things that we know we should not. In his letter to the Romans, Paul asked the church if we should keep sinning so that grace may abound. His answer was a resounding "No!"- if through Christ we have died to sin, why would we want to continue in it (Romans 6:1-12)?

Friends, it's time that we do some cleaning. Each one of us who has been freed from the bondage of sin by the blood of Jesus Christ still finds ourselves wrestling with those sins which so easily entangle us. We all fall prey to hypocrisy. Christ wants more for us, and He offers it by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Perhaps you have not ever heard how much God loves you. We are coming up on that time when, each year, we remember and celebrate the great lengths that He went to in order to show His love while we were still sinners. Feel free to contact me or find a local pastor: we want to share this incredible love story with you.

May the God who has given His all to redeem us be honored today in our thoughts and actions.

Bibliography

The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. New York: Oxford UP, 1989. Print.