Forgiveness

I forgive you. There is so much power in those three simple words. Yesterday at church during the meditation time prior to being served communion our pastor made a simple declaration. When he said it he spoke with the authority of scripture. Though the words came from his mouth and in his voice in reality it was the voice of God who spoke. He said, “I just want you to know this morning that you are forgiven.” He was explaining a simple fact that if you call Jesus Lord and by faith you believe that He died on the cross for your sins, then you are forgiven.   But the truth is so many of us Christians do not really accept that simple truth. We walk around in despair carrying the chains of guilt. For some of us its past decisions and lifestyles that we hang on to which take away our joy. Failed marriages, hurtful things we did to someone who maybe has since passed away and can no longer be corrected, or maybe a past abortion. For others of us it’s the struggle against our sins that weigh us down. Our addictions just won’t go away no matter how hard we try and no matter how many programs we complete. For some of us it is our own lack of forgiveness to others that have imprisoned us into the cell of bitterness.   But the simple truth is that if you are a Christian then you are forgiven. To not accept that fact can mean only two things. Maybe your confession of faith isn’t real. If that is the case then get on your knees right this very moment and confess that to God and ask Jesus to come into your heart. Ask Him to fill you with His Spirit and then begin a life dedicated to Bible reading and prayer. Go to church and seek counsel and friendship of the body. Get baptized if you did not ever take that step of obedience. The day of salvation is today and the Bible is clear.   Romans 10:8-13 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."   But what about those of us who have made the commitment to Christ and we still just cannot accept forgiveness? Far too often I have heard people say “I just cannot forgive myself” or “My sins are far too bad to be forgiven?”   If you are truly Christ’s then you need to confess and repent because to say those things is to call Christ a liar. To call Christ a liar is to reject the truth and authority of scripture. Romans 3:4 disputes this saying, “By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, "That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged."   It’s not about you and it’s not about what you can do. God through His mercy and grace has chosen to forgive you. But that forgiveness came with a price. The price was that God loved you so much He sent His Son to come down from the glory of the heavens and to forgo His own glory to be shamed, beaten, and then crucified. God took our punishment and allowed it to be inflicted upon His Son, Jesus Christ, so that God’s justice will be satisfied once and for all.   John 19:28-30 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.   Friends it is finished. You are forgiven. So the question today is this, what will you do now? You can continue on buying the lie of Satan and live out life in despair. Or you can rise up out of the water and live a new life having been born again. You can take the gift God has for you and go out and share it with others or you can hide it away in a closet like an unused dress. It’s up to you. But I can assure you no matter how vile you are that if you ask Jesus to be your savior, then you, my friend, are forgiven.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 13, 2015 - Day 150 - Psalm 150

I have a t-shirt from the Smoky Mountains that says “The Journey Is the Destination.” Certainly my journey into the Book of Psalms was each day, a destination of its own, but today marks the end of that journey. Psalm 150 is an appropriate ending to this quest. It is a short compilation of what the basic premise of the Psalms is; which is praise. For the Christian praise it is not an option.

Psalm 150:1-6
Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!

Unless you are dead you should be praising the Lord and if you are Christ’s you will praise Him for all eternity. It doesn’t matter where you are or what is going on, you should praise God. Why? How can you praise God in the midst of tragedy? The answer lies in Romans 8:28
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” All things it says. If you believe that then you must praise God.

Thank you for reading these words I have shared over the past 5 ½ months. I hope you have been as blessed by the Psalms as I have. Praise God. Amen.

A special Praise to God for having blessed me with the writings of Jon Courson, John Phillips, and Warren Wiersbe, all of whose commentaries I used in this work.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 12, 2015 - Day 149 - Psalm 149

There seems to a natural repulsion in most of us to change. We like things to be constant. We get settled in our ways. Maybe this is why so many avoid becoming a Christian and why so many of us Christians become stale in our walk. Christianity is about change; radical change. Jesus is pretty clear about what it means to be His disciple. He said this in John 3:7 “Do not marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.'” How much more change could there be than there is being “Born Again”? Psalm 149 begins with change.

Psalm 149:1
Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

There is a new song to be sung. If we decide to follow Jesus then cannot sing the same old stuff we sang before.

Psalm 149:2-3
Let Israel be glad in his Maker; let the children of Zion rejoice in their King! Let them praise his name with dancing, making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!

Like Israel was chosen by God to be the special nation in a special land, the church has been chosen to a special people with a special journey. Sometimes it is hard as we walk this life to act special. It can be hard to remember to praise God.

Psalm 149:4-5
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people; he adorns the humble with salvation. Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing for joy on their beds.

Where do we turn so often when depression and despair hits? It is our beds. They can become that place we think we can escape and where we can sleep away our troubles. But the medicine for our despair is to sing for joy on our beds. It is praise that must be flowing out of us as we go to bed, if we awaken in the night with insomnia, and when we first wake up.

Psalm 149:6-9
Let the high praises of God be in their throats and two-edged swords in their hands, to execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples, to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written! This is honor for all his godly ones. Praise the LORD!

The world looks hopeless. All the stuff every night we see on the news is just heavy and sad. It is easy to see Satan and his evil minions are busy as they lead people away from God. But for us who are willing to trust God there is a fact. Jesus is coming back and when He comes there will be radical change. Hear the prophecy of this coming day.

Revelation 19:11-16
Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.

Jesus is coming back and when He does there will be change the like no man has ever seen. So we can praise God for we know one day soon injustice will become justice and this world of lies will become a world of truth.

Until Jesus comes with this Sword there is still work for us to do. The same Sword by which He will judge the world is in our hands right now. We can use it to make radical change in our own lives. It is the Word of God.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

As Christians we need to sing a new song, but to do that we need change. God’s Word is all we need to do that. Why not open His Word this very moment and let Jesus divide your soul and your spirit. Then we can praise the LORD! We can sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 11, 2015 - Day 148 - Psalm 148

Sunday mornings find many across this land attending the various churches in the many neighborhoods of our nation. Some will go to church for their children, some for their parents. Others will go because their spouse asked them to. There are many who will go because they are lonely or they are hurting. There are even some who will go because it good for their business to be seen in the community as one who attends church. But if there was one true reason to attend church that reason is to be found in Psalm 148. We are to praise and worship God. Every single aspect of God’s work in creation is called to worship God. Take a few minutes this morning and hear the words of the psalmist.

Psalm 148:1-14
Praise the LORD!Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights! Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD! For he commanded and they were created. And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! Young men and maidens together, old men and children! Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven. He has raised up a horn for his people, praise for all his saints, for the people of Israel who are near to him. Praise the LORD!

Praise the Lord this morning for it is He who has given you life. It is He who gave His one and only Son to come down in humble submission and suffer and die for us so that our rebellious and sinful lives could have a sure hope that when this life passes we can spend the rest of eternity in His presence basking in the light of His glory. Praise the Lord! Let all creation sing, Praise the Lord.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 10, 2015 - Day 147 - Psalm 147

Sometimes it is hard to just keep going. Mornings come and it is hard to get out of bed. Life can wear you out. It can seem as if the world has just broken us down. Sometimes it is hard to find a way to praise God and be thankful. Psalm 147 reminds us of why we should praise God.

Psalm 147:1
Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.

It pleases God to hear our praise.

Psalm 147:2-3
The LORD builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the outcasts of Israel. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Praising God is the best way to react to our feelings of despair.

Psalm 147:4-5
He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.

Sometimes things seem hopeless. But when we sit back and ponder who God is then we can begin to believe in the hope He offers. In the modern world we live in our cities and towns light up the night. This keeps a veil over the stars. When I was a boy you could lay down and the grass and stare up at the night sky and see an unbelievable vast array of stars. Now you need to get away from the city to see this. Man estimates how many stars there are. God knows the name of each and every one. If He can do that then He certainly knows what ails you.

Psalm 147:6
The LORD lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground.

Unlike modern psychology which preaches self, God wants us to know we have no right to self esteem for everything good comes from Him. Humble yourself before Him and you will find joy.

Psalm 147:7-9
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry.

Again the psalmist reminds us it is God to whom we owe our praise.

Psalm 147:10-11
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

The days we live in are violent and evil seems to be thriving. So people buy guns. Nations build armies. God is not impressed. God is not impressed with how much we can bench press or how fast we can run. He laughs at the men who think their mighty tanks and their fast jets are what rule the world. In reality God is sovereign and it is He who allows governments and nations to rule.

Psalm 147:12-15
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion! For he strengthens the bars of your gates; he blesses your children within you. He makes peace in your borders; he fills you with the finest of the wheat. He sends out his command to the earth; his word runs swiftly.

The only peace we shall ever know is His peace. This world was made by His Word and it is sustained by His Word.

Psalm 147:16-18
He gives snow like wool; he scatters hoarfrost like ashes. He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs; who can stand before his cold? He sends out his word, and melts them; he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

He even controls the weather. He does it by His Word.

Psalm 147:19-20
He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel. He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know his rules. Praise the LORD!

Only one literal nation will God preserve and that will be Israel. In Romans Paul explains how God gave them the very oracles of God. But Jesus has a bride. It is the church. It is our job as His bride to live for Him. We are to submit to Christ and to those who have humbled themselves before Him come the greatest blessings of all. Praise the Lord for He is worthy. Praise the Lord for it pleases Him.

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 9, 2015 - Day 146 - Psalm 146

How often we hear people say they are thankful. But for those who deny the existence of God to what or who do they thank for their very existence? In whom do they place their faith that the sun will even come up tomorrow? Christians, in whom or in what are you placing your trust in? Let us praise God today, for He is the giver of all good things. It is He who created us and He who sustains us. Psalm 146 begins the final series of Hallelujah Psalms which will bring the Book of Psalms to its conclusion. It is a lesson on who to trust and thus who to worship.

Psalm 146:1-2
Praise the LORD!Praise the LORD, O my soul! I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

I join the psalmist and commit the rest of my life to praising God; to thanking Jesus for my life and my salvation.

Psalm 146:3-4
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. When his breath departs he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.

Who do you trust? Do you trust your government? Do you trust your stocks? Do you trust your doctor? Can any of these people or things assure you complete success in what they offer? Men are just mortals and they have no control over life. Your money can burn up in a heartbeat. The so-called financial wizards have not one bit of control over what happens in life. Your doctor cannot heal you. Your psychologist just helps you cope. Jesus heals.

Psalm 146:5-8
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free; the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.

Jesus created this world by speaking His Word. He heals the same way. He upholds the universe. There is no man nor worldly system or religion that can save you in this life or the next.

Psalm 146:9
The LORD watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

We are not residents of this country or this world. We are sojourners and God watches over us.

Psalm 146:10
The LORD will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!

The only answer to every single problem of man is Jesus Christ. He made us and He can heal us. To those who humble themselves and fall before Him confessing their own weakness comes eternal life. Let us praise Him today and forevermore. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

THE PSALMS – A JOURNEY IN WORSHIP AND FAITH - January 8, 2015 - Day 145 - Psalm 145

We talk a lot about what we will do in heaven. Everybody seems to have their own little concept and usually we all want the things important to us here to be there. But the truth is the main point of heaven and of our very presence there will be to praise God. The psalms of the Bible are filled with praise but Psalm 145 may just be the ultimate praise psalm.

Psalm 145:1
A SONG OF PRAISE. OF DAVID. I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever.

Not only has David decided to praise God for ever, he has humbled himself before God and made Him King of his life.

Psalm 145:2
Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

David committed himself to daily praise. So must we. Make everyday Thanksgiving Day.

Psalm 145:3
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable.

If we really believed verse 3 then we would never have to question Him. Why does God do this or why did God let that happen? God’s ways are greater than ours and sometimes the answer is just above our understanding, but God is good and all His ways are good as well.

Psalm 145:4
One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.

We must share the legacy of God with our young.

Psalm 145:5-7
On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

Take time each day to just mediate on God. Think about the creation and its beauty. Muse over the power of a simple atom and remember God spoke that into existence. Sing out the greatness of God.

Psalm 145:8-9
The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

It is a testament to God’s mercy and grace that he has not just wiped us all off the face of the earth. Yet God even provides food and warmth and life to those who mock and ridicule His very existence.

Psalm 145:10-12
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your saints shall bless you! They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power, to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

One day every knee shall bow to Jesus. Why wait until it’s too late to do so on the wrong side of eternity?

Psalm 145:13-16
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. [The LORD is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.] The LORD upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

God is so patient with us. If you are down and lying in the mud and slime of the pig pen He will raise you up.

Psalm 145:18-19
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

But God will not force Himself upon us. We must call out to Him in our need. To fear Him is to revere Him. If you call on Him and are willing to relinquish control of your life to Him He will hear your cry and save you.

Psalm 145:20
The LORD preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.

Jesus is coming back and when He does there will come serious judgment. It will be eternal judgment.

Psalm 145:21
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

David was as messed up as any man can be. His sins were many and they included murder, adultery, and lying. Yet God loved Him and called Him a man after His own heart. David knew God and understood the wonderful mercy and grace God is willing to give. So he repented and he devoted his life to praise. Let us carry on that work. Let us begin today and bless His Holy name forever and ever.