Psalm 51 and Making Choices

I've gained a new appreciation for Psalm 51 this week. It's a fairly familiar Psalm, but I never took note that it was written after Nathan confronted David about his choice to sin - first with Bathsheba, and then with the murder of her husband. David knew he had sinned. It must have felt like a punch in the stomach when Nathan came to him and pointed out that both he and God knew his sin. We so often deceive ourselves by thinking that these secret sins really are secret. We make wrong choices every day don't we? It may not be adultery - but every day we choose some sort of sin--to be unkind, to gossip, to lie, to covet. We may not think anyone notices, but what a reminder that God does. He knows it all. We're so naked in front of Him we don't even know we're naked! But still--Psalm 51 reminds us that we He is a gracious God, full of lovingkindness, full of compassion to forgive us. He cleanses us from our sin when we ask it of Him, we don't need to hang on to it. Every wrong thing we do, we do it against God, we are evil in His sight, because there can be no good thing in us without the Holy Spirit. He is right to call us sinful/evil people. But still . . . He desires us to know truth in the deepest part of us, He died so that we can be scrubbed clean--cleaner even than the whitest snow with the sun sparkling off from it. We ask Him to hide His face from our sins, but what a mistake that would be. Only He can create in us clean hearts, and instill us with a steadfast spirit. We can implore Him not to withdraw from us and know that He will not - His Holy Spirit is His gift to us. He will restore us to the joy of His salvation, all because He loves us and we seek after Him. He will open our lips to sing His praise. Hearts that are broken from our sinfulness, hearts that are full of regret for our sin, are the sacrifice that He desires. He longs to restore us to a right relationship with Him. We have only to ask Him and He will do it.

Will You Also Go Away?

This is the question Christ asks in John 6:66-69. I wonder - do we have the courage to stay?

Further in Day 4 Beth takes us to Luke 7:18-23 where John the Baptist sits in jail, surely wondering what went wrong, and why Jesus is ignoring Him. The King James she quotes succintly says "Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me." (v.23).

I like the amplified, which brings this verse more alive to me:

And blessed (happy - with life-joy and satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, apart from outward conditions--and to be envied) is he who takes no offense in Me and who is not hurt or resentful or annoyed or repelled or made to stumble [whatever may occur].

Ouch! I definately need work in this area!

Our Secret Weapon

The whole story in 2 Samuel 6: 1-11 is a little confusing isn't it. It seems as though Uzzah is doing the right thing. Just trying to take care of God. But instead,God strikes him dead. David Guzik explains this in a way that makes it easy for us to understand. There we learn that in David's eagerness to bring the ark to Jerusalem, He choose to disobey God's instructions. The ark was not guided by the Levites, the ark was pulled, not carried, then Uzzah touched it. The commentary says:

i. Uzzah made a decision in a moment to disregard God's command and do what seemed right to him. Even our decisions made in a moment matter before God.

We do this often in our lives, don't we? At least I do. I listen to people nowadays, and everything seems to be okay to them--living without sexual purity, having abortions, drinking, drugs. Everything is everyone's choice (this part is true), and they don't seem to make the connection to following God's choice. We've become blind and deaf to being the holy people God has called us to be. It's hard, isn't it? It's hard to live a holy life. It's hard to speak the truth in love.

This is what is so wonderful about praying scripture. It's our own secret weapon against the apathy in our families and society. It's our secret weapon against the apathy in ourselves. I love how putting my name in a verse makes it come alive for me in my situation. I love how I can take a verse and say "thank you" to God for the attributes that are listed there. I love how we can do as Beth suggests and pray verses for our family and trust that God will hear those prayers. I love how He strengthens us when it feels to us as though our prayers are not being heard. I love how He gives us friends (and sometimes strangers) to help us through. One of the verses that helps me through is John 6:57 (amplified):

Just as the Living Father sent me and I live by (through, because of) the Father, even so whoever continues to feed on me (whoever takes me for his food and is nourished by me) shall (in his turn) live through and because of me.

I hope the Father is nourishing you this week . . .

Knit to Him

I really do enjoy the amplified version of the Bible. I've just finished lesson 4. On page 51 we look at two verses that "guarantee believers the benefit of divine guidance". I am most struck by 1 John 2:27. The Amplified says:
But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you: [so] then you have no need that anyone should instruct you. But just as His anointing teaches you concerning everything and is true and is no falsehood, so you must abide in (live in, never depart from) Him [being rooted in Him, knit to Him], just as [His anointing] has taught you [to do].
Consider the thought--knitted--to Him. I love that! If I choose to surrender to His anointing, as He calls us to do, we really do abide in Him. And once we are Christians, then the Spirit permanently abides in us. When I begin to feel like I'm unraveling, I'm going to remember the picture of being knitted to God, I'm going to remember the Spirit is permanently in me, and I'm going to remember that HE is my teacher, and that only He can be the one who guides me and is in charge of the anointing He chooses in my life. Now, if I could only get these ears of mine to listen to Him a little sooner, I would be so ahead of the game!!

2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I like the amplified version of these verses:

But it is God who confirms and makes us steadfast and establishes us [in joint fellowship] with you in Christ, and has consecrated and anointed us [enduing us with the gifts of the Holy Spirit]. He has also appropriated and acknowledged us as His by putting His seal upon us and giving us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the security deposit and guarantee of the fulfillment of His promise.

I love the reminder that we have been anointed with the indwelling Spirit's presence from the day of our salvation . . . Your task is to rely on the power of God who indwells you so you can be empowered to do what you cannot do on your own. (page 38)

I don't know about the rest of you, but I am always trying to do things on my own. I like to blame it on my family genes, but I truly have to take responsibility for my independence. This lesson was such a good reminder that we are anointed with the Holy Spirit. That means we are NOT to do on our own, but to trust God to do the work in us. 2 Corinthians 5:5 tells us:

Now He Who has fashioned us [preparing and making us fit] for this very thing is God Who also has given us the [Holy] Spirit as a guarantee [of the fulfillment of His promise].

I looked up this verse on www.blueletterbible.com and checked out the David Guzik commentary. He says: "guarantee is arrhaben--in modern greek it means engagement ring". How neat is that! God says that the church is His bride, and here we are given our promise, or engagement ring. When I think of a couple that is newly engaged, I see 2 people who are enamoured of each other, who light up when they hear their beloved's name, and who cannot bear to be away from each other for long periods of time. Is that the picture God has of me and my relationship with Him? Do I have that joy that a newly engaged couple has permeating my Christian life? Do I really feel anointed with the Holy Spirit. Actually, I don't have to feel it. God tells us it's a fact. The Holy Spirit is in me. Am I ready to step aside and let the Spirit do the work that needs to be done in me? This is the challenge, or call, that I am hearing in these lessons. Am I going to surrender and let God shine through me?

Convicted!

God is already using this Bible study to shine a light on the areas in my life that He wants to meld to His will. It's amazing, uncomfortable, and sometimes enough to make me downright crabby! In lesson 5, Priscilla asks us to practically apply what we've been studying to the tasks we have in our life right now, and the people that God has put in our path. Am I alone in just really not wanting to do what God is pointing out to me in this study? Obedience has always been one of the main areas of struggle in my life, and I have to admit, I've been feeling like I've been doing pretty okay in this area. Growing even. But now . . . there's that light shining on what I really just don't want to accept and do right now. I'm so glad that I am free to really sit down and talk to God about these things. It's comforting to me to know that He knows it all anyway, and loves me in spite of me! It's also so, I don't know, unbelievable I guess, that He does have a purpose for me, and even though I'm not really liking it right now, I know that He means it for my good, and it will be alright in the end. I'm glad He's put other women like you who can share your own stories as we take this journey together.

Central Wesleyan Women are Anointed!

Welcome to our summer Bible study blog, "Anointed". God will be teaching us "just in time" lessons for our lives. Our guides will be Priscilla Shirer, Kay Arthur and Beth Moore. I'm am always amazed that every time I start a new study God is sure to have things in there that are pertinent to the struggles I am having in my life right now. He is an amazing God, and I love that He always has the word I need to hear, and that He makes sure I hear what He wants to say with the insights He gives to all the ladies in the study. I'm excited to hear what we'll be learning from each other! Please feel free to share your thoughts on this blog, or in person when we do our group study :-)