My Daily Pause

My child, if sinners try to lead you into sin,
do not follow them.

They will say, “Come with us.” …

It is useless to spread out a net
right where the birds can see it.

But sinners will fall into their own traps;
they will only catch themselves!

All greedy people end up this way;
greed kills selfish people. – Proverbs 1:10-11a, 17-19 NCV

Contrast the birds’ ability to avoid an obvious trap with someone that enters willingly into sinful adventures – The easy score … The fast buck … “One upping” someone…

History is littered with the failure of those who thought they could avoid falling into their own trap. We see it all the time with our politicians and those who try to influence them.

So many think they are finding freedom by turning away from God’s word. No more obeying commands designed by the Creator in our best interest! No more subjections to God’s will! Just the “freedom” to do what I want!

The Proverb writer shows us the opposite is true. Freedom is found outside the trappings of sin. Those who are in Christ find the kind of freedom that lasts. (Galatians 5) For the ultimate example of avoiding temptation, read about Jesus in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1-11.

Daily Bible reading for November 14

Psalm 105
2 Kings 14:1-22
Isaiah 1
John 8

In Psalm 51, David has come to realize that the sins he has committed cannot be covered or forgotten. The darkness of his acts (2 Samuel 11) will remain with him but for the grace of God.

In a previous post, we took a look at the model prayer for some guidelines in how to construct a prayer. We can extend that lesson with Psalm 51. David pleads for forgiveness with urgency and is upfront about the discredit his sins do to him. He asks God to:

• Have mercy (Psalm 51:1)
• Cleanse him (Psalm 51:2)
• Wash him (Psalm 51:7)
• Blot out his sin (Psalm 51:9)
• Hide his face from David’s sin (Psalm 51:9)
• Deliver him from guilt (Psalm 51:14)

We can see that David professes no merit or credit for his position. He relies totally on God’s love and mercy. From the beginning of this prayer God is the basis of David’s hope.

This remains true for New Testament Christians as well. Even after obeying the Gospel, we have to recognize our need for God. Hiding sins, or not repenting from sins, separates him from us and will prevent his grace from reaching us.

As for our own sins, let’s not allow a stubborn heart or pride get in the way of the simple truth that David recognized.

He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy – Proverbs 28:13

Daily Bible reading for September 21

Psalm 51
2 Samuel 11
Ezekiel 11:14-25
Luke 14

Have you ever tried to hide from a sin? Maybe it was against God or another person, but the feeling would be the same either way.

Hiding from a sin doesn’t do us much good.

David really nailed it in Psalm 32:3 about how it feels to have something like that on our conscience. A good dose of guilt is a little like a gift from God. It helps us to remember that we need God and we need to be in good standing with him. In Hebrews 12:5-13, we see that it is a sign of a Father’s love to be disciplined and our course corrected.

Those whose conscience are seared shut and hearts hardened will find themselves separated from God. This begins through ignorance of the word – the word that reveals God’s love and desire to forgive us. (1 Timothy 4:1-2, Ephesians 4:17-19)

Of course, those of us that know God’s willingness to forgive, and know his love for us often hide anyway. David said to quit acting like a donkey! (Psalm 32:9) Many of us will allow ourselves to be dragged along, too stubborn to be teachable or able to be lead.

We are fortunate enough to have Christ has our redeemer and shepherd. Through him God has extended his grace to us and we need not try to hide our sins. It is through him that we have freedom. (John 8:31-32)

Daily Bible reading for September 3

Psalm 32
1 Samuel 21-22
Daniel 4
Luke 2:22-52

A Celebration of Sin

The Babylonians are coming and God is tired of the sin.

At least that was the warning that Jeremiah spent 40 or 50 years trying to tell the Jews. Josiah had started restoring the temple and the law but it just wasn’t enough. The people had gotten so sinful they couldn’t even blush anymore. (Jeremiah 6:15) People were proud of the debauchery they could practice.

Jeremiah as painted on the Sistine Chapel

In Jeremiah 13:1-11, God compares a loincloth as it clings to the waist of a man to the way he wanted the children of Israel to cling to him. God laid out an excellent plan for his people. One that would insure they would never want for anything. For whatever reason, the lure of false gods and strange people was enough to abandon that security.

Just as the cloth rotted from being hidden in the damp rocks of the river, (Jeremiah 13:7) God decided he would allow the pride of his people rot. A people that would do such a thing are good for nothing. (Jeremiah 13:10)

God gave his people warning after warning, but it was always accompanied with an offer of forgiveness. That didn’t happen in this event or anywhere in chapter 13 for that matter. Bible scholars can argue over the exact meaning of the parts of this difficult prophesy, but one thing is clear:

The ruined loincloth is the illustration of how God feels when his children fail him.

Daily Bible reading for July 19

Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:8
Joshua 21
Jeremiah 13
Matthew 26:30-75

A glass of wine here. A cuss word there. A lottery ticket. Skip worship one Sunday. It starts to pile up fast.

Paul saw it first hand in Corinth. The church he planted was proud to be tolerant of some evil stuff. Didn’t they know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? (1 Corinthians 5:6) Little sins grow into bigger sins in a hurry. Sin can become so natural that we forget to be ashamed of it. (Jeremiah 6:15)

In your self, family or church, making a habit of avoiding the “little” sins will make the “big” sins non-existent.