2020-01-13
Psalm 32:5 NLT
When God forgave David for adultery and murder, he wrote: ‘When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long…Finally, I confessed my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said…”I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone’ (vv.3-5 NLT). Unconfessed, unforgiven sin will make us feel guilty and ashamed. But after we’ve acknowledged it, taken it to God and received His forgiveness, we shouldn’t continue to feel that way. So why do we? We can often be brought up to regret our actions, and people around us can continually remind us of them. Our mistakes can become part of our identity, so we see ourselves as failures. But because Jesus died and defeated sin, God no longer looks at us and sees sinners. Instead, He looks at us through Jesus and sees His beloved children made pure. When we’ve done something wrong, we can bring it to God and ask for His forgiveness. The Bible says that love ‘keeps no record of wrongs’ (1 Corinthians 13:5 NIV). God is love (take a look at 1 John 4), so God doesn’t keep a record of the things we’ve done wrong. The Bible says: ‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1 NIV). The enemy wants us to feel guilty and ashamed so that we feel separated from God by our sin. He wants us to think we’ve messed up beyond repair, because that will stop us glorifying and serving God. But instead, we need to say the words of the psalmist: ‘You forgave me! All my guilt is gone.’ And then go out and live freely.
Exo 13-15; Matt 6:9-18; Ps 71:17-24; Prov 2:3-5
2020-01-12
Jude 24 NIV
Ever been in a situation where you knew the right thing to do, but the wrong thing was tempting? Each day we’ll face temptation to do things that aren’t God’s best for us. That temptation can come from our own desires, peer pressure, or the expectations society has of us. In these situations, we should turn to God for help. The Bible tells us that ‘no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it’ (1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV). When someone seeks to compromise our character, God promises to give us a way out so we don’t have to give in to temptation. We also need to make sure we’re surrounding ourselves with friends who want to encourage us to do the right things, rather than pressuring us to do what everyone else is doing. Sometimes, choosing to do the right thing can make us unpopular. We might lose friends. But it’s better to be alone and walk with God than to give in to temptation, go against His Word, and compromise our character. When we stand tall and do the right thing, we bring honour and glory to God. To live God’s way rather than the world’s way takes courage. It’s not easy. The easy route is just fitting in with everyone else. But God will give us the courage to do the right thing. Jude writes, ‘To him who is able to keep you from stumbling.’ God’s able to keep us from stumbling, so are we willing to be courageous and do the right thing?
Isa 61; Heb 12:2; Isa 35:3-10
