A broken spirit

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

I’ve been meditating on this verse for the last few days and Papa has begun to show me that this verse depicts humility, total humility.  This is the antithesis verse (at least to me) for James 4:6 which says “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

What God has shown me is that if I am not broken over my sin (whatever that sin might be – because God has no grading scale for sin, it’s either sin or it isn’t) then I am walking in pride.  If I am not broken over my sin, then my heart is calloused.

Daddy, I pray I am always broken over my sin and continually aware of just how offensive it is to you.  Help me to “sin no more” as Jesus commanded, but when I do, help me to always recognize the repulsiveness of my sin to You.

1 Samuel 5

This story follows the Ark back to Ashdod after the Philistines took it from the Israelites.  They set the Ark specifically under their god Dragon and God wasn’t having any of that.  So, He pulled Dragon down on his face before the Ark.  The people came out the next morning and put their puss of a god back up.  So, again Dad brought it down but this time He took the head and arms off this thing.  They freaked got tumors and sent it away to somewhere else that also got tumors and everyone was confused and angry and killing each other.  Anyone who fights against God will soon have enough of it. 

OK for me, what in my life am I fighting God on?  What spiritually, mentally or emotionally do I have tumors on because I wont denounce that way of thinking or that sin and turn to Gods way?  What places in my life have I decided to set above God (as they did with the Ark and placing it below their statue god) and God will eventually bring down?  What areas is God purposefully making confusing and angry for me because I wont turn from my ways?  Why do I try to bring God into my city when that’s not His resting place?

What choose you?

Romans 6:15-19 (NLT) 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. 19 Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

The predominant word that stands out to me in this passage is the word “slave.”  So often that word has such a negative connotation in our Western – particularly U.S. – culture.  I’m not sure I fully grasp the cultural significance of the word slave used in the times and culture of Christ.

Regardless, I looked up the word in its Greek origin.  The word is doulon means this: 1) a slave, bondman, man of servile condition. 1a) a slave. 1b) metaph., one who gives himself up to another’s will those whose service is used by Christ in extending and advancing His cause among men. 1c) devoted to another to the disregard of one’s own interests.

What is particularly interesting is the root of this word. The word originates from the word deo which means to “bind” as in: 1) to bind tie, fasten. 1a) to bind, fasten with chains, to throw into chains. … 1b2) to bind, put under obligation, of the law, duty etc. 1b2a) to be bound to one, a wife, a husband.

So, choosing to participate in sin is choosing to become bound to sin, like a husband and wife are bound to each other.

That’s why there is no grey area of sin with God.  It is either sin or it is not, because I am either bound to sin (which verse 19 says leads to deeper and deeper sin – deeper and deeper bondage) or I am bound to righteous living by  (verse 17) “… wholeheartedly obey[ing] this teaching we have given you…” and (verse 19) “… you must give yourselves to be slaves of righteous living…“.

Our culture is saturated in moral relativism… “if it feels good, do it”… “I’m not bothering anyone else”… yada, yada, yada (to quote the great Jerry Seinfeld).  Our society is so jacked up because of it, that we – as a nation – pass laws limiting the rights of the many in order to “protect” the few from being offended or isolated.  Our courts let the wrong go free and legislate from the bench because their own moral compass doesn’t jive with the moral compass of those who passed whatever law is on the books.

How did I get down this train of thought?  I don’t know.  The question becomes then, how do I give myself to be a slave of righteous living?  It’s fairly easy sitting here in the midst of the Bible Belt in the land of Freedom (although our freedoms are diminishing with every year).  What does it look like when the Christian becomes the target?  What was it like when the Roman’s were feeding Christians to the lions?

If this is the easiest place in the world at the easiest time to be a radical Christian, why are there really so few?  That’s a convicting question.  What aren’t I more radical than I am?

I had a girlfriend in college that called me a “Bible thumper” when we broke up.  In response to that, a friend told me, “Hey, we all thump something.”  He was right.  So is God.  According to this passage, we are all slaves of something.  It’s our choice.  It’s my choice.  Sin or Righteousness.

I choose righeousness.

Attitudes Can be Good or Bad, Just Choose

I had a thought the other night and that’s what led me to this passage. Here’s the thought: Think back to situations in your life where you really needed a break and didn’t get it, or decisions that you really needed to go your way that didn’t. Now, was the reason you didn’t catch a break or get the decision because of the other person just being a jerk or not wanting to help you out, or does it have more to do with my attitude or my walk at that time? Genesis 4:5-7 says, “but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? IF you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.’” So Cain was in sin at this time in his life, he didn’t listen to Papa on what offering to bring and it wasn’t accepted, it didn’t go his way.  Now I’m not trying to say that if I’m a good little boy, God is my genie. But listen to Matthew 6:33, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” That verse references food, drinks  and clothes, but I would venture to say that the list is not the full list. I’ll bet it includes things like promotions, cars and other stuff that doesn’t matter. Does this make sense? Am I all over the place here? Can someone maybe help me out here? Anyways, this is where God had me tonight.

Nothing else

Well I read through Lev 26 again tonight, and I am not sure If its just because I am exhausted or overwhelmed with work but I dont feel like something just jumped of the page at me.  Lev 26:14 and on says after God has set the blessing before them which would make them a happy people if they would be obedient, he here sets the curse before them, the evils which would make them miserable, if they were disobedient. Two things would bring ruin. 1. A contempt of God’s commandments. They that reject the precept, will come at last to renounce the covenant. 2. A contempt of his corrections. If they will not learn obedience by the things they suffer, God himself would be against them; and this is the root and cause of all their misery. And also, The whole creation would be at war with them. All God’s judgments would be sent against them.  SPIRITUAL judgments are root causes to sin, which should seize the mind. They should find no acceptance with God. A guilty conscience would be their continual terror.  Which might be why in Is 6 He says first your guilt, spiritual judgements, and then your sin.

Sin Unaware…

Passage:

Psalm 19:12-14 (NLT)12 How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. 13 Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

There was a time in my life when I was completely blind to my own sin. Scary? Not then. But looking back on it, I’m thankful God didn’t strike me dead. I am grateful for the work he has done so far in exposing my sinful nature, my “deceitful heart” as Jeremiah 17:9 (Click to see) puts it.

God has faithfully exposed and removed the planks from my eye, so to speak; those giant pink elephants in the room; the blatant sins and attitudes that were easy for everyone else to see but me.

Now the work continues… to be diligent about finding the hidden stuff, the stuff I’m still blind to. The “hidden faults” that David references in this passage. This is where the real work begins and it only comes by daily being in His presence and in His word to let it wash over me.

I need a Savior. I need a heart gardener. I need my Father in heaven to continually mold this heart into the vessel He needs it to be. That process includes His Word, His revelation and faithful men who will daily sharpen me.

Papa, keep digging. Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer! Amen.

What am I hiding?

I read 2 Chronicles 8 this morning.  As I was reading, verse 11 jumped out at me.  Now Solomon brought the daughter of Pharaoh up from the City of David to the house he had built for her, for he said, ‘”My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places to which the ark of the LORD has come are holy.“

Pharaoh’s daughter worshipped pagan gods.  Solomon new that he couldn’t have his pagan wife living where the ark was, so he built her a nice home and moved her.  Instead of leading his wife into worship of the one true God, he hid her from God’s presence.  Do we do this?  Do I do this?  Do I have things in my life to which I am committed that I have not surrendered to the will of the Father?  Instead, I set these things up with their own home and just kind of keep them out of the presence of God.  If I keep my pride and my jeslousy in another house, maybe God won’t know about them.

Proverbs 26:11 says “As a dog returns to his own vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.“  We know from I Kings 11 that Solomon, the wisest man in all the world, does just that.  Solomon turned his back on God because he continued to set up houses (and eventually temples) for his pagan wives.  He repeated his foolish act over and over again.  He continued to think that he could hide his lovers from God.  It didn’t work for him and won’t work for us.

We must live our lives wide open. Nothing hidden; all open to the light.  We cannot hide anything from God anyway, and trying only leads us to separation from Him.

Father, I surrender everything that I am to you.  Search my heart and if there be any wicked way, remove it far from me.  I do not want to keep anything hidden from you today.  Holy Spirit, reveal to me those things or areas in my life that keep me separated from Father.