Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: Psalm 51:10 (NIV) Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
First, David sees Bathsheeba bathing from his palace, he lusts after her, sends for her, commits adultery with her, she gets pregnant, he has her husband killed in battle to cover up his sin, then Nathan the Prophet confronts David about the scandal. David’s heart has become evil. Nathan confronts him, because David is no longer worthy of leading the Israelites. God has seen everything.
After this confrontation is when Psalm 51 begins. In the beginning of the chapter, we see David pleading for mercy, forgiveness and cleansing. When David realizes that Nathan is talking about him, he falls to his knees and seeks forgiveness from God. David doesn’t try to hide anything, because he realizes he can’t hide anything from God. He can lie to his men, but he knows God has seen every wicked event in his life. David is trapped in a corner, but instead of fighting back or trying to rationalize his deeds away, he falls to his knees. This is the kind of humility God expects of us when we turn from him and sin.
Midway through Chapter 51, David asks that God “create in me a pure heart” and “a steadfast spirit.” David knows that he must start life anew, and the most important thing is that he have a changed heart. David knows that his desires led him astray, and he knows he needs a heart transplant of sorts. Whenever we sin and fall from God, it means our own desires have overcome his desires for us. We have fallen to our fleshly desires. David wants a heart that seeks the desires of God’s heart. This does not wipe out the natural consequences of his sin, though, and David isn’t looking for that.
Sin is fun for a season, but in the end, it is always ugly. It can dominate our lives, especially sexual sin. Today is no different than 3,000 years ago with David and Bathsheeba. Sexual sin is still rampant among us. Adultery is still prevalent, particularly around pornography. Just as David had to rid his heart of sexual sin, we, too, must rid our lives of pornography. We must clean up our hard drives, maybe even shut off our computers for 40 days in order to get away from what makes us fall into Satan’s trap. Rid our house of magazines and smut. Throw every trace of the sin away. We must start over. As long as the temptation is still around, we cannot have a “pure heart.” It takes a “steadfast spirit” to overcome sexual sin. Sex cannot be an idol that separates us from God. Seek God, as David did, and ask him to cleanse our hearts.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, purify our hearts. Help us to turn from sexual sin, as a nation, and to seek you with all our hearts. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Vol. 4, No. 72
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/july.asp?version=51
Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healing. Show all posts
Monday, July 06, 2009
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Don’t return to life of sin
Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: John 5:15-17 (The Message) The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus – because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. But Jesus defended himself. “My Father is working straight through even on the Sabbath. So am I.”
Hundreds of sick people were hanging out at the pools of Bethseda, near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. People believed that there were healing powers when the waters “stirred.” They were blind, crippled, and paralyzed, looking for hope. There, Jesus sees a man stretched out. He had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus sees him, he asks if he wants to get well. The crippled man replies that when the waters stir, he has no one to help him get in the water. Jesus tells him to pick up his bedroll and walk. He is healed instantly.
Great story of how Jesus’ miraculous healing powers work, except for one thing: The Jews got wind of the healing on the Sabbath and are ticked. They confront the man. “You can’t carry your bedroll around,” they respond. “It’s against the rules.” The man tells them that it was Jesus who healed him and who told him to grab his bedroll and go home. The Jews are incredulous at Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath – right in the open, in front of a big crowd. The nerve of that guy showing everybody up. Jesus had to sneak off to hide from the Jews.
But Jesus isn’t done. A short while later, Jesus finds the man again, this time in the Temple. “Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse will happen,” he tells the man. Even after Jesus performs miraculous healings on us, we can still return to a life of sin. Jesus warns us that the consequences will be even worse the second time. The temptation we all face is that after we are healed and are strengthened, we begin to think that we can do it on our own. Then we fall away from our faith life and stumble. The second fall is always harder.
This is an important message for single parents who find healing after their life crisis, whether it be divorce, having a child out of wedlock, or a spouse dying. After things settle down and we find peace, we sometimes slip up and stumble again. Maybe we think we’re ready to date when we really need to focus on our kids. Our fall prey to flattery and get burned in an unhealthy relationship. Jesus wants us to know that he is there for us, 24/7, even on the Sabbath, even after we stumble. We can always count on his healing powers. Do you want to be healed?
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to stay on the right path. Help me to draw near your healing powers and let you do your thing. Help me not to lean on my own strength. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Vol. 3, No. 157
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/november.asp?version=51
Scripture: John 5:15-17 (The Message) The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. That is why the Jews were out to get Jesus – because he did this kind of thing on the Sabbath. But Jesus defended himself. “My Father is working straight through even on the Sabbath. So am I.”
Hundreds of sick people were hanging out at the pools of Bethseda, near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem. People believed that there were healing powers when the waters “stirred.” They were blind, crippled, and paralyzed, looking for hope. There, Jesus sees a man stretched out. He had been an invalid for 38 years. When Jesus sees him, he asks if he wants to get well. The crippled man replies that when the waters stir, he has no one to help him get in the water. Jesus tells him to pick up his bedroll and walk. He is healed instantly.
Great story of how Jesus’ miraculous healing powers work, except for one thing: The Jews got wind of the healing on the Sabbath and are ticked. They confront the man. “You can’t carry your bedroll around,” they respond. “It’s against the rules.” The man tells them that it was Jesus who healed him and who told him to grab his bedroll and go home. The Jews are incredulous at Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath – right in the open, in front of a big crowd. The nerve of that guy showing everybody up. Jesus had to sneak off to hide from the Jews.
But Jesus isn’t done. A short while later, Jesus finds the man again, this time in the Temple. “Don’t return to a sinning life or something worse will happen,” he tells the man. Even after Jesus performs miraculous healings on us, we can still return to a life of sin. Jesus warns us that the consequences will be even worse the second time. The temptation we all face is that after we are healed and are strengthened, we begin to think that we can do it on our own. Then we fall away from our faith life and stumble. The second fall is always harder.
This is an important message for single parents who find healing after their life crisis, whether it be divorce, having a child out of wedlock, or a spouse dying. After things settle down and we find peace, we sometimes slip up and stumble again. Maybe we think we’re ready to date when we really need to focus on our kids. Our fall prey to flattery and get burned in an unhealthy relationship. Jesus wants us to know that he is there for us, 24/7, even on the Sabbath, even after we stumble. We can always count on his healing powers. Do you want to be healed?
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to stay on the right path. Help me to draw near your healing powers and let you do your thing. Help me not to lean on my own strength. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Vol. 3, No. 157
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/november.asp?version=51
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Jesus doesn’t take days off
Good morning. This is a devotional for single adults from Parenting Solo, but the message also applies to single adults without children who may one day marry a single parent and be a step-parent. Feel Free to forward it to a friend.
Scripture: Matthew 14:34-36 (The Message) On return, the (disciples) beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.
Life goes on. One day Jesus is healing the sick and teaching 5,000 out in the countryside. When they were hungry, he fed everyone with two fish and five loaves of bread. Then he sent the disciples away on a boat ride so he could be alone and pray. When the disciples saw him body surfing in the middle of a storm, Peter jumped out of the boat to chase after him but sank after he took his eyes off Jesus. The next day, the people saw Jesus in their neighborhood. Back to work. He healed whoever touched him.
The Bible talks about rest periods for the weary, but Jesus rarely took a day off during his 3-year ministry. When Jesus needed restoration, he would go away by himself and pray half the night and be ready to go the next day. We may be tired and in need of rest, but that doesn’t mean Jesus is tired and in need of a day off. We may get through a really busy time serving the Lord and think we need time off, but God may have a plan for us the very next day. We must be ready.
I’ve heard it both ways about rest when we are busy serving the Lord. Some of the most invigorating times I’ve had in my adult life were after serving God in a big way. On the flip side, some of the most draining times were spent serving God. If we are uncertain as to whether to rest or serve again, we must ask God for wisdom and guidance. Our prayer life is the key in such times. If we’re tired from serving too much, we are doing it for ourselves. If we are in constant prayer, God has a way of giving us the strength we need in trying times.
God doesn’t look at our lives the way we do. We may look at life as working M-F with weekends off, but kingdom servants don’t have regular days off. But God does tell us to take a Sabbath day every week, which is meant for rest and worshipping him. We may be busy serving the sick on Sundays that takes half our days. Then it’s back to the grind in the office on Monday. Or we may plan a Saturday at the beach, but we find ourselves ministering to someone God put before us in the parking lot. There is no rhyme or reason when it comes to working for God. Be prepared to serve whenever he calls you, no matter what day it is.
How does this apply to my life?
Today’s prayer: Lord, help me to be ready to serve when you call me. Help me to get my daily rest so that I will have the energy I need whenever you call on me. Amen
Doug Mead
Parenting Solo
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Vol. 3, No. 99
This week’s reading plan can be found at http:/www.oneyearbibleonline.com/july.asp?version=51
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