Category: Psalms

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.

All that I am…

Psalm 103:1-5 (NLT) – you should really read this.  It’s good.

I am renewed thinking and meditating on all the Lord has done for me.  “Let all that I am praise the Lord…” is a repeated phrase all throughout the 103rd Psalm.  I’ve been thinking of this passage since I read it this morning.  It’s been gnawing at me… penetrating beneath the exterior and seeping into the depths of my heart.

v2 “… may I never forget the good things he does for me.”  I am a very forgetful person.  How difficult it is to remember all that He has done.  Why does it seem so easy to remember the bad stuff or the stuff He doesn’t do?  He has been good to me… very good.  Why he has, I’ll never fully understand.

What does it mean to praise him with “all that I am”?  I fear if I try to answer this now, it will only be a surface, “Christian” answer.  There is so much more meat on this bone.  This is going to take some time to digest….

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.