Category: PASSION Reflections

Recognize God’s Forgiveness

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

In Psalm 32:1-2a, David recognizes his forgiveness:

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity.

These same words are quoted by Paul in Romans 4 in the context of our great salvation through Jesus Christ.  Because Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead, we can be forgiven of our sins through faith in Jesus Christ.  Do you recognize God’s forgiveness as you approach God in prayer?

Psalm 24:3-4 tells us who can approach God:

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.

And yet none of us on our own can claim clean hands or a pure heart.  Only in Christ are we clean and pure, and so only in Christ can we approach God.  So again, do you recognize God’s forgiveness when you approach God in prayer?  It is only in Christ that you can come.  It is only in the context of salvation can we truly pray. 

As you come before his throne, consider Christ who makes it possible for you to approach God.  Recognize God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ.

Confession

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Psalm 51 is a great psalm of confession:

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
(Portions from verses 1-12)

This psalm teaches us to confess our sins to God.  We are to cry out to God about our sins, to seek mercy and forgiveness.  Is confession a regular part of your prayer life? 

Our church encourages people to examine their lives and confess their sins before we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.  But this is clearly not enough.  Who remembers most of the sins they committed several days ago?  And so we ought to daily examine our lives and confess our sins to God.  The more attuned we become to our daily sins, the more grateful we will be for God’s forgiveness and salvation through Jesus Christ.  Along with a daily examination, we should strive to recognize sin in the moment of its occurrence, and immediately confess it to God and repent of it, as well as apologizing to whomever we committed the sin.  Deal with it immediately.  This will help to deter future occurences. 

We need to confess our sins to the Lord, crying out for his mercy.  Is confession a regular part of your prayer life?  This is an area where I need to grow.  How about you?

Recognizing God’s Presence

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer

Psalm 139 is a great prayer that reminds us that God is intimately involved in our lives.  Part of that involvement is his constant presence.  As David prays, he recognizes God’s presence with him:

Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me. (v7-10)

Do we recognize God’s presence with us when we pray?  Do we consider that he is right there with us?

The address to our prayers should remind us of who we are talking to and that he is right there listening to us.  When we start our prayers with “Dear Lord” or “Our Father” or something similar, these addresses ought to draw all of our attention to our very present God.  And yet I fear we too often zip right through it; we forget who we are talking to.  We just start talking without thinking about what we are doing.  At least I know I do. 

How different our prayers might be if at the beginning of each prayer we simply stopped to consider who we are talking to, if we recognized that we are talking to a great God who is right there listening to us.  We are not talking to the air.  We are not talking to ourselves.  We are not talking to a distant god who may or may not hear us.  We are talking to a very present God who hears every word.  As we recognize his presence, we can really talk to God as we should.

Fill Your Head With Scripture

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture1 Comment

Many of the last sayings of Jesus on the cross come straight from Scripture, which leads James Montgomery Boice to write:

This means that Jesus was filling his mind and strengthening his spirit not by trying to keep a stiff upper lip or look for a silver lining, as we might say, but by an act of deliberately remembering and consciously clinging to the great prophecies and promises of God.  If Jesus did that, don’t you think you should do it too?  And not only when you come to die.

You need to fill your head with Scripture and think of your life in terms of the promises of Scripture now.  If you do not do it now, how will you ever find strength to do it when you come to die?  You must live by Scripture, committing your spirit into the hands of God day by day if you are to yield your spirit into God’s loving hands trustingly at the last.

For further thoughts on filling your head with Scripture, I encourage you to look at this article about memorizing Scripture.  John Wilson interacts with Joshua Choonmin Kang’s book, Scripture By Heart.  It is a book on my reading list, and Wilson shares one challenge from the book – spend 15 minutes a day memorizing Scripture.  How might our thoughts and indeed our entire lives change if we did this?  Perhaps we could live and die like Jesus….

Without A Murmur

On By BrianIn Virtue Miscellaneous

J. C. Ryle writes regarding the cross:

Let us meditate frequently on these things: let us often read over the story of Christ’s cross and passion.  Let us remember, not least, that all these horrible sufferings were borne without a murmur; no word of impatience crossed our Lord’s lips.  In his death, no less than in his life, he was perfect.  To the very last, Satan had no hold on him…

These words challenge me.  As he stood in turn before the chief priests, Herod, and Pilate, he endured a mockery of justice without a murmur.  He endured the lashings without a murmur.  He endured the mockery with a murmur.  He endured the beatings without a murmur.  He endured the spitting without a murmur.  He endured the crown of thorns without a murmur.  He endured the nails piercing his body without a murmur.  He endured hanging on that cross without a murmur.  He endured the wrath of God for my sin without a murmur.  Without a murmur.

And yet these words also convict me.  They point to my own sinfulness.  He endured horrible suffering without a murmur, yet I can easily murmur at the smallest things.  A slow driver in front of me, an interruption while I’m trying to focus on a task, and many other small things in life can cause me to murmur.  In his perfect example I am confronted afresh with my own sin.  I simply don’t measure up.  And yet that is why he endured the suffering without a murmur.  So my sins could be laid on him.  So his perfection might be attributed to me.

As I ponder his sufferings for me, it moves me to change.  I want to be more like Jesus.  I want to face the trials of life without a murmur.  On my own, I simply can’t.  But with his help in the power of the Spirit, I can press forward, I can grow more like him, I can begin to face life without a murmur. 

Father, help me to face today’s trials without a murmur, as I remember Jesus who endured for me so much more – without a murmur.  Amen.

More Reason To Praise

On By BrianIn Church Life

On Sunday we reviewed the story in Mark 11:7-10 of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.  The people had lined the way into Jerusalem with palm branches and their own cloaks.  They were shouting and singing and celebrating.  There was excitement in the air.  They saw in Jesus the long awaited king who would save them from Roman oppression. 

But we know something they didn’t.  In less than a week, Jesus would die on a cross, because he came not to save them from the tyranny of Rome, but from the tyranny of sin.  He came to save us by becoming our sacrifice for sins so we could be forgiven and reconciled to God.  He came to rise again so we too could be raised from the dead someday.  He rose to reign not merely as the king of Israel, but as the king of the whole world, for he is not only in the line of David but also God in the flesh. 

If Israel had reason to gather to shout and sing and celebrate Jesus, how much more reason do we have to gather to shout and sing and celebrate Jesus? 

But is that why we gather on Sundays?  Do we gather to praise the Lord?  Do we come ready to shout and sing and celebrate?  Really?  Is it in our minds?  Is it on our hearts?  The Israelites had been anticipating that day for years.  Do we anticipate during the week that time when we can gather with God’s people to praise him together?  Can we hardly wait?  Are we excited to come together to praise our great King and Savior? 

We have more reason to praise Jesus than the Israelites did.  Let’s act like it as we gather this Sunday to praise our risen Savior and King. 

And yet we need not wait until Sunday.  Let’s get warmed up during the week.  As we reflect on the cross this week, let’s shout and sing and celebrate in our personal times with the Lord.  Let’s praise the Lord in our own homes as families.  We have more reason to praise Jesus this week.  Let’s live like it!

The Pursuit of Joy

On By BrianIn Virtue of Joy

Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).  But that is often easier said than done.  In the midst of the storms of life, how can we pursue joy in Christ?  Mark Altrogge gives us 25 helpful suggestions which include praise, prayer, the Word, serving, giving, and more.  Read the whole thing here, and find help to rejoice in the Lord always.

Better Than Life

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
– Psalm 63:3

Because your steadfast love…
Your help
Your strength
Your comfort
Your blessing
Your sustaining
Your sacrifice
Your forgiveness
Your salvation
Your promises

…is better than life…
Money
Things
Job
Vacations
Recreation
Entertainment
Internet
Sleep
Food
Popularity
Status
Friends
Family
Health

…my lips will praise you.
Celebrate you
Sing of you
Honor you
Glorify you
Tell of you

Amen.

Family Worship

On By BrianIn Family/Single Life

A few years ago I came across this idea of Family Worship.  The idea is simply to gather daily as a family to worship God together through the Word, prayer, and praise.  So we started doing it.  Now my children will often come and tell me it is time for family time (as we call it).  When we are going to miss a day, my children are often disappointed.  Family time has become a special time for us to be together and focus on the One who should be the center of our family.   

If you don’t have a daily time of family worship, I highly recommend it.  To get started, check out Jason Helopoulos’ 11 reasons to worship with your family.  Then continue with his what, when, and how of family worship.  Then just do it.  You and your family will be glad you did.