The Stain of Sin

Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

    blot out the stain of my sins.

Wash me clean from my guilt.

    Purify me from my sin. 

Psalm 51:1-2 (NLT)

“Out, damn’d spot,” said Lady Macbeth, while she furiously rubbed her hands as if washing them. 

The stain of blood and guilt wracked the consciences of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Their desire for more power escalated into murder. Macbeth seized the throne of Scotland after killing King Duncan. And both Macbeth and his wife were left with incessant remorse. 

Shakespeare wrote bits of history into his plays. And his characters exuded the human spirit of intellect, emotion, fear, passion, creativity, love, and iniquity. Readers have had no problem relating to various characters in Shakespeare’s comedies and tragedies. After all, they resemble real people. 

The stain Lady Macbeth tried to purge came to mind as I read Psalm 51, David’s psalm of confession and repentance. Honest, gut-wrenching self-analysis had me confessing like David. While I had chosen to diagnose the shortcomings of others, God had pinpointed my personal sin of bitterness. Words of the psalm spoke loud and clear—blot out the stain of my sin. It’s hard to admit to sinning, but being reminded of its stain stung.

King David wrote this psalm after being confronted with his own sin. God had spoken through the prophet Nathan to discipline David, after he had committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11). When he completely understood the shame of his sin, David humbly asked God to have mercy on him, a sinner. He repented and asked for removal of the stain of his guilt. “Give me joy again. Create in me a clean heart,” he pleaded to God. 

Like David, I began to ask God to remove the stain of my own sin and guilt. Uncovering the offenses of bitterness and malice had stunned me. Those vices belonged to other people, not me. When I finally admitted my misdeeds, I stood ashamed before a holy God. I cried out for His mercy and forgiveness. And my Heavenly Father lavishly gave me those gifts, wrapped in His unfailing love. Encountering the discipline of a loving and gracious Father God freed my soul. I experienced joy. 

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
    nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
    and chastises every son whom he receives.”

…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 

Hebrews 12:5b-6, 10b-11 (ESV)

No one wants personal sin exposed. How humiliating. But when God reveals our wrongdoings, it’s humbling. His loving discipline declares His holiness and our sinfulness. When we repent and turn from sin, God has mercy on us and forgives us. He delivers us from evil and creates within us a desire for righteousness. What freedom! 

Ever felt guilt from sin? How about its ugly stain? Torment develops in the pit of your stomach. Shame results until an encounter with the liberating discipline of a God who loves you. A captive soul is set free. 

The joy of the Lord erases the stain of sin. 

“We can never be cleansed until we confess we are dirty.  ”

— ~Max Lucado 

A New Thing

“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up;
do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)

I'm stuck in the past and downcast. The trials of today draw my mind to former days when life seemed easier. Are you dwelling on times gone by instead of focusing on the present, the now? 

The year 2020 is about to be a memory, an impactful memory. It’s left devastation in its wake while replenishing each day with more uncertainty, fear, and hopelessness. Most of us long for the good ole days. Or we at least yearn for a change as we seek a better future. But what about today? What about now? What are we doing to make the most of our present? 

This year has sped by, but the days have dragged on. Trepidation, apprehension, and isolation have almost been established into our everyday routines. With many churches shut down, it appears hope is lost. The past materializes mentally as a divine dream while the present petrifies our day-to-day existence. The comfortable order of things has changed. Powerful people continually remind us to adjust to a new normal. We submit to fear and surrender to masks and quarantine. Anxiety blooms, worry flourishes, grumbling bears fruit, rotten fruit, and the will to thrive dies. The sight of our situation shakes our faith in an Almighty God. 

God’s chosen ones, the Israelites, also failed to recall the power of their Savior God. They had been enslaved in Egypt for over four hundred years. When the time was right, God delivered them from the injustices they had endured. He used Moses to lead His people out of slavery. God sent disease and death to cause the Egyptians to let His people go. As the Israelites fled Egypt, God parted the waters of the Red Sea, forming dry land for His people to cross over into safety. Those same waters swept away the enemies who had enslaved them. God’s people had witnessed a mighty miracle. It was then that they praised and worshipped their Savior God. 

Yet only three days later in the desert without water, they began to grumble against Moses and before God. “What are we to drink?” they whined. Oh how soon they forgot.

God performed another miracle through Moses as he threw a piece of wood into the water, turning it sweet. Imagine being a spectator of such supernatural phenomena. Wouldn’t your faith increase substantially? 

Because of God’s love for His people, He made a decree for them. He said, “If you will listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and listen to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the Lord, am your healer.” 
Exodus 15:26

God then added grace to His command. He provided springs of water surrounded by shade where His people could camp and rest for a while. What a faithful God.

But after traveling in the desert for a month, the Israelites began complaining again against Moses and before God. They said, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread until we were full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this entire assembly with hunger!”  Exodus 16:3

Were the Israelites stuck in the past, clinging to their slavery? Even though they had been removed from their brutal slave masters, they looked back to what seemed like a good thing. The comfort of routine, no matter how harsh, had become customary. But was it good? Were they allowing the wilderness in which they now walked cause them to forget the freedom they had gained by the hand of a Savior God?

“How quickly we forget God’s great deliverances in our lives.
How easily we take for granted the miracles He performed in our past.
~David Wilkerson”

We are no different than the Israelites walking in the desert. The stark reality of this pandemic called Covid has exposed, revealed, and uncovered abundant omissions about ourselves, our institutions, even the church. We believers have failed to heed the decree of our Lord, disregarding His spoken Word. Instead of standing up for God’s absolute truth, we’ve surrendered to the ever-changing morals and values of this land. Manmade religious traditions have enslaved us. Christianity in America has become casual, where only a crisis causes us to turn back to God. We’ve allowed the church to become a cruise ship instead of a battle ship. Our Heavenly Father never intended for us to have an apathetic relationship with Him. 

When God rescued the Israelites, He wanted them to rely solely on Him, to trust Him for daily protection and provision. He wants the same for us. Family and friends will disappoint us. The things of this earth will disappear. Religious and governmental leaders will let us down. But God never disappoints, disappears, or lets us down. He won’t fail us. He never changes. He, Jesus Christ, is the same yesterday and today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). We can surely trust Him. 

Could it be possible that God has allowed disease and violence to restore in us a powerful prayer life? Deep faith in a trustworthy God will cause us to rely on His daily provision instead of looking back to what seemed comfortable. Why grumble about the presence of Covid, masks, lockdowns, and change. Instead choose to allow God to move us forward as He does a new thing.

Each day is a new day, another chance to begin again. God says to forget the former things, remember Him, and focus on the new thing He is doing right now. His mercies are new every morning. 
Isaiah 43:18-19, Lamentations 3:22-23

Do we have confidence in the power of Almighty God? Will we hear and follow His Word? Turn away from the deficiency of earthly things. Hope in the One who loved us enough to offer salvation in His Name, the Name of Jesus. Watch and wait expectantly for His new thing!

“God is not running an antique shop!
He is making all things new!
~Vance Havner”

“Trust the past to God’s mercy,
the present to God’s love,
and the future to God’s providence.
~St. Augustine”

Do We Have to Die to Find Rest?

’Rest in peace’ placards dot roadsides where fatal accidents have occurred. Tombstones inscribed with those same words mark final resting places. Is rest only found in death? Can we rest in peace in the land of the living? 

Two months ago, I flew to California to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and their newborn, my grandson. Plans to stay a little while extended to five weeks. During that length of time, I observed my grandson’s growth. As his little body developed, he began to suffer from intestinal problems. 

Through no fault of his own, the poor baby squirmed, pushed, kicked, and cried. His discomfort displayed itself through restlessness. Eventually gas build-up in his body expelled itself in several ways. When released, he settled down to rest. And when he rested, his mother, father, and I enjoyed a quiet interval.

Watching my grandson’s restless kicking and crying conjured up images of an agitated society. I didn’t need to use much imagination as violent visions of chaos were splattered all over social media. The social distancing way of life due to the Covid virus had already instilled fear in folks. Worry had begun to plague the minds of persons separated from their nearest and dearest.

Like a virus, discontent has now spread through all walks of life. For months, alarm and anxiety has hovered over earth’s population. Between the unease of encountering a disease to the unrest of rebellion in city streets, humanity wreaks of weariness.

“I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, only turmoil.” 
Job 3:26

In some form or fashion, these words have most likely been proclaimed all over the world during the past several months. They were actually spoken by a Hebrew patriarch named Job to his three friends who tried to comfort him after disaster struck his household.

Scripture describes Job as the greatest man to live in a land located east of the Jordan River called Uz. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred donkeys, and a large number of servants. He had seven sons and three daughters. In one day, he lost it all, including his health. How did he survive such devastation? 

He suffered in stages, one day at a time. He reported his hardship as a continual churning inside his body, causing him daily to wake in agony. Most of us experiencing loss of any kind could understand his torment. And like anyone attempting to find answers, he eventually blamed both God and man. He wrestled with his past life, a life full of God’s blessings in which he had shared with others. He asserted his goodness. He detailed his thoughts through discourse after discourse of his former happiness, his loss of everything, and his innocence. Until God spoke.

“Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.”   Job 38:3

The wise and all-powerful Creator God asked Job where he was when the earth’s foundation was laid. He questioned Job about the workings of the entire universe. He interrogated him over the behaviors of animals and birds. God’s cross-examination broadened Job’s mind to everything in existence upon the earth. He lead Job to be conscious of more than his own life. Then the Lord said, “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty? You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”   Job 40:1-2

Imagine the humility Job must have felt. He immediately expressed his unworthiness before God saying, “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers? I will cover my mouth with my hand. I have said too much already. I have nothing more to say.”   Job 40:4-5

Have we spewed too many complaints lately in the midst of a pandemic and massive violence? Are we continually asking God why? Do we talk more than listen? Maybe we need to sit still in quietness before an Almighty God. Possibly we need to ingest some humble pie. 

God is God and we are not. Who are we to assume His role in our lives or to even extract Him from our lives? Why do we blame Him for life’s adversities? Could it be He is ready to say to us, “Brace yourself like a woman, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.”

Maybe God has given us over to the worldly things we desire. Possibly He wants us to be distressed enough to turn back to Him. He has plans to prosper us, not harm us, if we seek Him with our whole heart.* He desires for us to learn from Him and experience His rest when burdens plague us.* Will we listen to Him and obey His words? Or will we continue our self-absorption? 

Job met the One True God and humbly repented of his unworthiness. He gained spiritual understanding and a deeper faith as he walked a road of suffering. In due course his restless angst found peaceful rest in a God who loved him. 

Over the last several months, restlessness has settled in around us. We’re fatigued from the world’s troubles. Have we turned away from God or run to God? Are we listening for His answers or doing all the talking?

Be still and get to know God.* Listen to Him and learn of His wisdom. When you trust Him with your burdens and concerns, He will give you peace. No matter your circumstances, you will find rest for your souls. 

*For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)

*“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”  Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)

*He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 

Philippians 4:8-9 (NIV)

“I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint. 
Jeremiah 31:25 ”