The Everyday Prayer

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 16:1-11 (day three)

¹¹ You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (ESV)

This verse reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 10:10 where He says,

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

Jesus wasn’t talking about a good life here on earth. He wasn’t talking about living “your best life now.” It was quite the opposite. Jesus came to give life for us in the future. He gave His life so we could live our best life in the days ahead when we cross from life on this earth to our eternal home with the Lord, surrounded by the fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in His presence. Because of Jesus, we have the path to abundant and joyful life!

Now, because we have the path to life, we must follow it. David reminds us of the choice we have to make in verse 4 of Psalm 16. It is a free gift, but it must be received to be enjoyed. We must choose the Lord and to follow Him only in order to receive the abundant life given through Jesus. This Sunday, we will celebrate the gift of salvation that our God has given to us while looking forward to eternal joy in His presence. May we live for Him well in the days ahead, choosing life in Him and to not lift our eyes to any other.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 16:1-11 (day two) 

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day seven)

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You. Psalm 51:13

Pastor Danny said yesterday, “Forgiveness is not transactional; it is relational. It flows from the heart of God.” Let’s expound on this relational aspect of forgiveness. Many of our brothers and sisters have a very individualized view of forgiveness and repentance. Under the guise of grace, they fall into a trap of repetition where they continue in sin because they “confessed” it. They return to the same sin and expect God to continue to forgive them. Very transactional. There may be guilt and conviction but not enough to turn away from the temptation the next time it appears.

Repentance is to literally “turn the other way.” When we repent, we are not supposed to return to that sin. Rather, we are to overcome it by putting it away and turning to God. Here is where it gets even more relational. As we overcome sin, God equips us to take that testimony to others. God will use your brokenness to heal the brokenness of others. How cool is that? True repentance leads us to restoration with God. Then God will lead us to others who need restoration too. Repentance is relational: Deepening Relationships with God and others.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day six)

Psalm 51 opens with a deeply personal moment; David’s sin is no longer hidden. The superscript reminds us that this is real. This is his story. And in response, David makes all the right moves: he shows awareness of his sin, takes responsibility without shifting blame, expresses a deep longing for cleansing, and desires integrity in his inner being.

This is what real repentance looks like. It is honest. It is personal. It goes all the way down.

But even this is not the foundation of his hope.

David does not appeal to his effort, sincerity, or resolve. He appeals to God’s love: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love” (Psalm 51:1).

This is the difference. Forgiveness is not transactional; it is relational. It flows from the heart of God.

And in Christ, that love meets us fully; not when we get it right, but when we come to Him honestly.

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day five)

This Lenten Season I am reading through Journey to the Cross, by Paul David Tripp. There are several reflections on sin, confession, and repentance. In light of the theme and profound significance of confession and repentance in our Re:Verse text this week, I wanted to share a couple of quotes that have caused me to think, pray, weep, and rejoice.

“You can’t repent of what you haven’t confessed, you can’t confess what you haven’t grieved, and you can’t grieve what you haven’t seen.”

“If you are aware of your sin, you are aware of it only because you have been visited by amazing Grace. Don’t resist that awareness.”

“Humble confession is always stimulated and ignited by the character and commitment of the person you need to confess to. It is his or her love for you that propels the honest transparency that fear crushes. It is not only pride that keeps us from admitting what we need to admit and confessing it without excuse or shifting blame – fear does too.”

“(Confession) forces you to admit that you’re way more spiritually needy than you would like to think you are. Asks you to admit that you’re a person in constant need of forgiveness. Causes you to admit that your biggest problem is not your history, your family, your friends, your culture, your economic situation, your church, your neighbors, your age, or your physical condition. Confession requires you to admit that your biggest problems live inside you in your heart.”

May God give us awareness of our sin, and show us our need for confession and repentance!!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day four)

Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. v. 8

This verse startled me this week. David had committed egregious sins, and the Lord confronted David about his sin through the prophet Nathan. It is after this confrontation and confession that David writes this psalm. He runs to the Lord to repent, but also to receive comfort. He recognizes that while it was God alone who knew his sin, it is also God alone who can comfort him. The Lord “broke his bones” by convicting David of his sins, showing him his waywardness and revealing the ways in which his heart had wandered. The Lord “broke” David in this way not to hurt him, but to lovingly call him back to a life of faithfulness and holiness. As David ran into the Lord’s arms, repenting and seeking forgiveness, he found wholeness and joy. The Lord met him in his brokenness and used it to form David to become the man God intended him to be. Though it is painful, experiencing the Lord’s sanctifying work in our lives is beautiful. We can rejoice because while God breaks us, he doesn’t leave us broken. He reconstructs those broken pieces to make us more like him, which will inevitably bring us into the fullness of joy.

 

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day three)

¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you. (NLT)

David knew that at the heart of his sin, he ignored who God was. His confession after adultery, lying, deceit, murder, and more does not include any mention of those sins. His confession talks heavily, however, about sinning against the Lord and forgetting the joy of knowing and following Him.

I would say it is the same with us for any of our sin. No matter what sin we find ourselves in, it all comes back to us thinking we know better than what God has said and choosing our way instead of His way. That is, essentially, what sin is…choosing our way instead of God’s way. No matter what it is, when we sin, we are essentially telling God to take a back seat so we can do what we want. David recognized that and wrote this honest, heartfelt confession to the Lord, asking God to help him be more willing to obey in the future.

The weight of sin is heavy, but confession and repentance lift us up. Where in your life right now are you telling God that you want to do things your own way? Search your heart today and ask the Lord to reveal to you sins you need to confess so that you may be filled with His joy again. May we all be a people that are more willing to obey Him in all that we do today!

Re:Verse passage – Psalm 51:1–19 (day two)

Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. V. 7

Psalm 51 is incredible. You have likely heard it quoted on multiple occasions, and perhaps recited a few lines yourself. It not only reminds us that we are all broken sinners, but it also tells us that God can and will forgive us from that sin; AND he will continue to use us for his grand purpose. What struck me on my re-reading of this text today was the use of hyssop. Hyssop is a medicinal plant by itself, but has played a much more important role throughout scripture beyond physical healing. David’s reference in Psalm 51 is the use of the plant in a cleansing ritual to remove sin. Because it has a natural ability to absorb liquid, it serves some other purposes as well. Moses used it as a paint brush to paint the doorposts with lamb’s blood in order for the homes of the Israelites to be passed over. This creates a direct connection with Jesus as he is offered vinegar that has been dipped in hyssop. The sacrificed lamb whose blood painted the doorposts is now the sacrifice for all. We no longer need a plant to cleanse us from sin. Jesus’ sacrifice has made that ritual unnecessary. As we approach Holy Week, let us be thankful for God’s continual desire to cleanse us from sin. Let us be grateful for our ability to access that forgiveness, and may we live in a desire to share that forgiveness with others.