Honest Reflections

One-minute read.

Joy of salvation.

Leaving a Pittsburgh Pirates game in the now-demolished Three Rivers Stadium, I got lost going through the turnstile. Traumatized, I looked around at the massive crowd and saw no one I knew. Only minutes passed before my parents found me, but in that time, the lost feeling I experienced carved a deep reservoir in my brain, one I will never forget. 

When Christ found me at the bottom of the pit, falling into His arms brought joy like I never knew. Even more potent than when I spotted my mom that day, I knew I had finally found my north star. Jesus saved me from my sins, pulled me out of the pit, and gave me the joy of salvation, one I’ve never lost since.

Although life has struggles, I stand on the rock that doesn’t move. I worship the unchanging God of grace and mercy in an ever-changing world, who never leaves or forsakes me. And so do you.

Revel in the joy of salvation as you meditate on Christ’s love and His saving grace, which chased you down, picked you up and brought you into His family.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for saving a wretch like me. Help us remember the joy of salvation we found when we placed our faith in You, experiencing divine forgiveness and a renewed spirit. Let our lights shine brightly, drawing others to You with our obedience. May You receive all the glory. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Continued presence.

David pleads with the Lord not to leave him. The psalmist didn’t have to worry; God never parts from us. If anything, we move away from the Creator, but He doesn’t leave. As happens in life, busyness can cause us to forget who gives us our strength. Only when trouble comes do we call out to Jesus. We don’t call on the Lord for help during good times, but as soon as the tides turn, we begin to look heavenward for help.

Because of his sinful past, David had reason to doubt the Lord’s loyalty. But God didn’t move; David did. When the warrior saw Bathsheba on the roof, he didn’t want the Lord around. No, David just wanted Bathsheba, another man’s wife. And he got her by killing one of his commanders. How sad that David killed an innocent man to meet his fleshly desires.

Honestly, we all succumb to our fleshly desires, but when we turn back to the Lord, He welcomes us with open arms. God never leaves us, but we do leave Him.  Changing our behavior requires knowing it. We can’t become a new person in Christ until we admit our way doesn’t work. Only then can we begin moving forward, letting go of past wounds, and experiencing purification from the Lord.

Prayer:

Thank You, Lord, for never leaving nor forsaking us. Forgive us for leaving You.  Help us see the sin in our lives so we can confess it to You and live life fully. Lead us from temptation, deliver us from evil, and create a renewed spirit in us full of grace and mercy. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Clean heart.

David’s plea for a clean heart comes from knowledge of his sin. Tainted, his soul needed cleansing from the Lord, the only one capable of giving David a new spirit. Nothing feels better than purging our souls and receiving God’s mercy. Christ enables us to live life fully when we trust Him.  Spending time in the scriptures will help you get to know Jesus, experience His wisdom, and become more like the Savior. Each breath we take comes from above, our life’s full of purpose we discover as God cleanses us.

Spiritual transplants become necessary when we harden our hearts to the things of God. Caused by sin, the longer we live separated from the Lord, the more layers we develop around our hearts. In medicine, patients require heart transplants when the organ becomes diseased or weak. From a spiritual perspective, we need a clean heart to rescue us from our sinful natures. One prayer can give us the transplant we need, laying our sins at the foot of the cross, we receive Jesus’s mercy, purifying us.

Receive a clean heart. Ask the Lord to renew a right spirit within you. Turn your struggles over to God and let Him carry the burden. Find freedom from the trials of this world as you trust the Lord to fight your battles. In Christ, you will find victory and a clean heart.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving us a heart transplant. Help us keep our hearts clean by becoming sensitive to the Holy Spirit, adjusting our course when necessary, and seeking Your forgiveness. When we lay our burdens down, don’t let us pick them back up again. Keep us on the straight and narrow as we follow You. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Remove completely.

When we confess our sins to the Lord, He removes them completely. God blots out our sins, removing them from the record book as if they never happened. Like cleaning a spill from the kitchen floor, no one would ever know it existed once washed. Our Savior took our sins upon Himself, removing them from us and purifying us. God can no longer see our discretions; they are gone forever once removed.

When I share some of my past mistakes with people, they can’t believe I did them. That’s because God has cleansed me, blotting out my iniquities. Sharing how the Lord has purified me gives hope to others that He will do the same for them. Miracles happen when we submit our lives to the Lord and let Him cleanse us. Transformation begins on the inside, and our actions show the changes.

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23

Each day, we get a fresh start. Laying our sins at the foot of the cross, God forgives us. Seventy times seventy, the Lord’s mercy never ceases. Allow God to blot out your iniquities and give you new life in Him.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for hiding Your face from our sins. Praise Jesus for doing what we couldn’t. Let us live joyfully in Your grace and mercy. Help our actions reflect the transformation we find in You.  IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Joy and gladness.

Broken bones symbolize sin. When we reach our breaking point and break, we become usable. To make bread, you must break the egg. The baker cannot use the gooey insides to form the dough until the egg cracks. If you put a whole egg into the mixture unbroken, it does nothing to help the process. But a broken egg becomes usable. And so do we.

When we admit our brokenness to the Lord and allow Him to transform us, we will rejoice with joy and gladness. Only in my brokenness do I become usable.   

“We know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Trust God. Admit your brokenness and experience His grace. If we don’t break, God can’t use us. As we become part of the Lord’s family, our brokenness becomes part of His recipe. The unfolding story of creation requires us to allow God to use us as He will. Only the Creator knows how the parts blend to draw people into His eternal kingdom. In our breaking, we become usable. The minute we confess our brokenness and turn to Him, God’s divine recipe comes to fruition.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for using us in our brokenness. To break, we must trust. Strengthen our trust in You as we humble ourselves. Let us share our vulnerabilities with You and allow You to use us as You will. Help us fulfill our part of Your story as we give our hearts and minds to You. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Purge me.

Begging the Lord to cleanse him, David prays for forgiveness. The psalmist desires cleanliness from his transgressions, a purification like the priests did for the Israelites in the Old Testament. Once a person had met the requirements for purification, the priests took hyssop, a wild shrub from the mint family, and sprinkled it on them, symbolizing cleansing. Metaphorically, the ritual made them pure, whiter than snow, signifying the person’s forgiveness and renewal.

God’s pleasure brings joy to the heart; allowing the Lord to search and purify us makes room for His delight. Not wanting any to perish, the Lord gladly receives our offering when we turn to God in repentance. Becoming one with the Creator requires us to humble and submit our spirit to His. Receiving God’s Spirit in us purifies us. Only the Lord’s grace and mercy can make us whiter than snow. We can’t experience God’s presence without our repentance. Sin separates us; confession unites us.

Communing with God begins when we receive His forgiveness and cleansing. Seeking the Lord’s wisdom helps us maintain the connection, keep us humble, and move forward. Without an internal renewal, we become misguided. But when the Lord searches our hearts, and we respond in repentance, He keeps us on the right path.

Prayer:       

Lord, thank You for Your Spirit within us that cleanses and purifies our hearts. Heighten our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. Let us quickly confess our sins, maintaining a right relationship with You.  As we become more like Christ, let us glorify You in all we do. With You, we can overcome the mountains of this world and find victory. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Secret heart.

Wisdom from on high gives us guidance in our Earthly affairs. We can’t recognize our sins without the Lord’s help. The Ten Commandments give us a moral compass, illuminating our misdeeds. We wouldn’t know we have anything to confess without God’s laws. Accepting the Lord’s influence helps us acknowledge and confess the transgressions we keep hidden in our secret hearts. In truth, we keep nothing secret from God, even though we think we do.

When I read my Bible in the morning, I get prickles when I have unconfessed sin. Striving to obey God requires me to let Him search my heart. Only then can I peek into the secret places and find the hidden transgressions I haven’t acknowledged. Once I do, I can confess them and heal, finding freedom from the bondage.

Admitting our faults and seeking help strengthens us. What seems like weakness helps us grow stronger. Maintaining a growth mindset, we see failures as opportunities to learn and improve. Following Jesus helps us grow. The more transparent we become with the Lord, the more we blossom as a new creation.

Let God’s wisdom into your life, and find freedom as you recognize and confess sin. Grow each day into the Lord’s perfect design.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for blessing us with Your wisdom. Help us to humble ourselves before You, accept Your guidance, and apply it to our earthly affairs. Let us discover the sin hidden in our hearts, acknowledge it, and let it go. As we grow and blossom into a new creation, let Your light shine brightly through us to the world. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Righteous verdict.

David is not excusing his behavior but illustrating the distance between him and God. Sin separates us from our relationship with the Lord and others. Human nature cries out to God for help.

“For I do not understand my actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” Romans 7:15

Paul summed up our humanity well in his letter to the Romans. Even the writer of most of the New Testament struggled against his natural desires. We easily succumb to the things we don’t want to do or don’t do what we want. David knew the difference between right and wrong; only with God’s wisdom could he find a remedy for his sinful heart. 

God knows everything; we can’t hide our sins from Him.  Knowing that should help you confess to the Lord the areas you need help with. God loves you; nothing can stop Him from caring for you. Honestly, telling the Creator your struggles helps you defeat them. Instead of doing what you don’t want, partnering with God enables you to do what you want: love Him and others well.

Christ draws us into a relationship; sin separates us from it. Following Jesus will help you have strong relationships, not only with God but also with others. Trust Jesus and His promises and live abundantly in Him.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Jesus. As we recognize our sin, help us confess it to You and receive Your grace. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear the truth in all things. Strengthen our relationships with You and others as we apply Christ’s teachings to our lives, overcoming our poor behavior and responding like Jesus. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Against the Lord.

David, the author of Psalm 51, knows who he sinned against, God. Instead of arguing against divine justice, the psalmist admits his guilt. Only when we confess our sins can we begin to heal from them. But introspection takes work. We must objectively examine ourselves and find faults no one likes to discover.

When I first started writing devotionals, I had a friend who would periodically send me notes about mistakes I made in my writing. At first, I felt offended. But then I realized I had to learn to take feedback to become a better writer. When people give me their opinion, I evaluate it, keeping the meat and removing the bones. Only then can I become a better writer.

To become more like Jesus, we must acknowledge the areas of our lives that need work. Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, anger, and laziness all lead us down harmful paths. If we learn to identify these in our lives, we can confess them to the Lord and ask for His help overcoming them. When we sin, we do so against the Lord, hurting Him more than anyone else. God helps us defeat the sins that separate us from Him, cause us harm, and break our relationships. Then, we become more like Christ, shining His light to the world around us.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for loving us despite our sins. Thank You for helping us overcome our human tendencies and become more like Jesus. Make us sensitive to the Holy Spirit, identifying the sin in our lives, confessing it to You, and finding victory over it. As each day passes, help us become more like Jesus, loving the world one person at a time. IJNIP. Amen

One-minute read.

Sinful heart.

Besides the Lord, no one knows our sins better than we do. From stealing penny candy at my uncle’s country store to forging my mom’s name on absence notes so I could skip school and lying to my professor in college to get him to let me retake a test, from birth to now, I know my transgressions. I only talk about some of them with God and my therapist. The Lord loves us despite our sinful ways. He loved us before we ever thought about loving Him.

“We love because he first loved us.” 1 John 4:19

Jesus came to Earth as an act of love, knowing our past, present, and future sins. Because of Christ’s actions on the cross, we can confess our sins, confident the Lord will still love us. The Lord doesn’t expect perfection, but He does want honesty. Sharing our sins with God cleanses us and helps us overcome them. Admitting we have a problem leads us to solve it. We can’t solve what we don’t acknowledge.

Understanding that the Lord already knows my secrets helps me live an honest life. Truth always reveals itself; I’ve learned in five and ½ decades of living that honesty up front saves heartache in the end. No use trying to hide from God, He already knows. Accept your limitations, admit them to the Savior, and experience the Lord’s grace and mercy. Nothing will heal your heart faster than the Lord’s unconditional love.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for loving us despite our sins. Help us live honest lives as we become comfortable identifying and acknowledging sin. Let the Holy Spirit nudge us from within our souls if we start down a forbidden path. Give us the strength to overcome our past discretions and live fully for You.  IJNIP. Amen