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Friday, September 12, 2014

No Matter the Transgression we can be Forgiven



Verses: Psalms 32 : 1 - 11

Song inspired by the chapter:  Song has been uploaded from YouTube.com and is not my original.




My thoughts about the verses:

This psalm is a teaching tool that touches on the fact that nothing can truly keep us from God.  There are many of us that have a deep down fear that we can do things that keep us away from God.  Yet, we have one thing to remember is that nothing that we do will separate us from God.

There are three different terms used for sin in this Psalm.  Understanding the different terms helps us understand the power that God has in our life.  We also have to understand that no matter what we do that we cannot build a wall that cannot be broken between God and us.

The first sin that is mentioned is that of transgression.  Transgression is when we rebel against God.  If you are like me the first thought is if I transgress I am acting out on God.  I am personally choosing not to do what God wants us to do.  The next thought is can God forgive me because I deliberately chose not to do God’s will.

Steps back a second and look at your own life.  What happens when we hit our teen years?  If you are like me and a lot of others you started doing the opposite of what your parents or other adult role models wanted.  It is easy to forget the times that you stepped out of line during those moments in your life.  Yet, think back to what happened to you.  The majority can say that it was hard on our parents or others raising us.  Yet, in most cases our parents were right there helping us to get back in the straight and narrow.  Even if they disagreed totally with what we were doing they were concerned about us. 

If our earthly parents can help us when we are rebelling why would God be any different?  I bet most of you hadn’t thought about it that way.  In fact, I hadn’t ever realized that my rebellion to God could be compared to the things that I did growing up.  Yet, if you look at it in this new light you will see that it is truly the same.  

Therefor no matter how far we try to struggle the one that created us will be there to guide us back to where we need to be.  Jesus was the way that was given so that we could be forgiven.  Unlike most of our caretakers as children God doesn’t remember the transgression once we ask Jesus in our life.  It doesn’t matter if we did it ten years ago or just today the rebellion is forgiven and forgotten as long as we have asked Jesus in our life.  Think on this the next time you step off the path that you should be following.

Now the next thing mentioned is that of sin.  This word strikes a fear of rejection harder than most words.  We are told over and over when we are in situations with other Christians how bad it is to sin.  Yet, let us look at the actual word sin.  The word used for sin in Hebrew and Greek is simply not hitting the mark that is expected.  Now I don’t know for you but this helps me further understand how sin can be forgiven.  Missing the mark is a lot different than rebellion. 

We have all sinned and come short of the goals of God.  Yet, we have to understand that even though we haven’t done exactly what we should have done God is willing to overlook it.  The way God overlooks it is when we ask Jesus to come into our lives and change us.  When we ask God to forgive us for the things that we did not do right we are forgiven.  When we truly ask God for eternal grace we are given grace.  Our sins are washed out of our lives.

Think of it like this.  How many of you have ever played a sport?  My sports were basketball and softball. When you play team sports there is this feeling that you have not to upset the apple cart.  To make sure that every time you play you are giving your all.  Knowing that a wrong throw or a missed basket could end the game without the results the whole team wants.  Yet, everyone on a team knows that there will be mistakes.  They have all had that moment that they could have done things a little better. 

Even coaches who raise their voices and put people on the benches know that it isn’t the end of life.  I had coaches that after important games would tell us all that we did our best.  When you have a coach that understands that people don’t always perform at the top then you can make mistakes without the fear of doom.  The coach will just make sure you practice whatever you didn’t do right so the next time you are on the court or on the field you will hopefully not make the same mistake.

If people in general can forgive us when we don’t do things just right what makes us think God is any different.  God wants us to do our best in all things.  When you do sin you need to ask God to help you not to commit the same sin again.  To help you keep closer to the goal at hand.  Once we ask Jesus to be our life coach.  To cover us with the gift of eternal forgiveness we are blessed with the best coach ever.  No matter what mistake you make Jesus will be there to guide you.  Since you have asked Jesus to come and cover your sins they are not only forgiven but forgotten.  The key in this situation is to make sure that you have asked for the gift of forgiveness so that you can walk a closer walk with God.

Iniquity is different in that it is deliberately walking off the path that God has laid out.  It is a true intent to not do what God wants you to do.  It is choosing to deliberately not be what you are called to do.  Yet, we can all be cleansed from our iniquities.

I imagine this to be like breaking a law that has been passed.  Theft, murder and abuse of ones in your care are all laws that we all know exist.  We know in our hearts that doing these is in direct violation of what we are supposed to do in society.  We know that when we do them there will be a consequence that we will face. 

In the justice system hard judgments can fall on people that have broken these laws.  Yet, there are some judges that will go lenient on someone if this is their first time.  They will probably go to prison yet; they may be able to be paroled.  Judges believe that people can feel remorse and also be rehabilitated.  If our justice system can do this why would we think that it would be different for God?

God is the most supreme of all judges.  With that being said I want you to think upon this one thought God is not revengeful.  Even though we did not deserve a way out of our iniquities the Son came to cover them.  Jesus’s death on the cross is truly the power of redemption in our life.  If we ask for our iniquities to be covered by the blood of the Perfect Lamb they are covered.  Nevermore will we have to worry that we are not good enough to be loved by the Creator.  The wrath of God will not fall on those that have truly asked Jesus to come in their life and be saved.

To sum things up I want you to think about the elements that are the same in these three scenarios:
1.     We have done something that is against the will of God.
2.     God loves us no matter what we have done.
3.     Our wrong doings can be forgiven and forgotten if we ask Jesus into our life.

Prayer:

Precious God we thank you for loving us.  We thank you for sending Jesus to die so that we could be forgiven.  We praise you for sending the Holy Spirit to guide us one we accept Christ into our hearts.  Help us today to walk close to you.  Help us turn our lives over to you.  Help us be the children that you want us to be.  God forgive us for the things that we have done wrong.  In the name of the Savior we pray.  Amen

Questions:


Have you accepted Jesus into your life?  Have you turned your life over to the one who can wash away all of your sins?  Is today the day that you ask the Savior into your life?

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