This is a good read to follow after yesterday’s offering.

Psalm 61 English Standard Version

Lead Me to the Rock

1 Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
2 from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
3 for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

4 Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6 Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
7 May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

8 So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day.

Please believe me when I say this sincerely.

If you have not placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you have no idea what it feels like to be in the midst of the fight against our common enemy. Look at verse 3 again and ask yourselves earnestly; where do you stand?

There is a good reason they call him The Antichrist. We come up against those that follow him in this world every day. They are antichrists, no capitalization required. In almost every case they have no idea who they represent. In believing his lies they have no knowledge of the truth.

John 3:19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
John 8:12 Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

John 12:35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going.”

Verse PS 61:2 states “Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” When we stand on that Rock we bask in the light of truth. We live above the fray.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

“I made a mistake. I am sorry. Forgive me!”

“Opps, I did it again. I am weak. I will do better next time. Forgive me.”

If this sounds familiar in any way then you get what I meant yesterday when I said “That is free will, we are free to fail.” So why is it that our confessions do not always lead to righteousness?

Let me tell you a little secret about repetitive sins. God is gracious and kind and will do something about those repetitive sins when they interfere with our relationship with Him.

Do we really want to push the boundaries of this relationship with God where we end up hearing “Enough is enough. You’re done with that.”

Consequences of sin are meant to urge us to make right choices. Free will means it is up to us to recognize what is best for us personally. A clear conscience is only one part of the equation.

Real world examples help us to understand simple matters. Does a type 2 diabetic hate sugar? Not really, sugar makes things taste better. With the help of our doctors we track our A1C and measure just how much good stuff we can get away with. We take calculated risks to see how much we can get away with without doing any real damage to our health.

Testing God’s tolerance of our bad choices is measured by a different standard. What God will not tolerate are things that interfere with our love for Him. Eating a bowl of coffee ice cream will not affect how much I love God but it will aggravate my diabetes. 

God taught me an important lesson about obedience when I slowed down to avoid a speeding ticket at a radar trap I knew about ahead. He said, “Is this how you eat up my grace?”

Testing God’s patience is not a sound relationship decision.

Confessions are meaningless words if they are not followed with changed behavior.

If I say I will never eat coffee ice cream again it is a good intentioned lie, but a lie nonetheless.