"If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared." (Psalm 130:2)
The question is rhetorical. The answer is, No one. Yet so many of us from time to time, "mark iniquities," of others, some of which have been retained indefinitely. When church people hold grudges, won't forgive, keep bringing up sin after sin, that sin or those sins stay in the Church. Instead of "mark[ing] iniquities,.. there is forgiveness with," our Lord Jesus Christ; so it should be with you and me. And, as with all of God's gracious, miraculous dealings with man, things which are just too awesome for man to comprehend, the only response we can have is, "....that You may be feared."
Maybe the continual "marking" of iniquities is the reason so many in the Church are not "standing." Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." This is not the religious belief of some traditions that a man can absolve a person of their sin, i.e., "absolution." Rather, I believe it is as Derek Prince once said, that this is how we keep others in their sins, and this is how others are enabled to walk in the freedom of the forgiveness which they have in the Blood of Jesus, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Could it be that much of the sin in the Church and in those around us manifests so much because of our unwillingness to forgive them, and erase the "retainer clause? !"
Today, I am a thankful person for Jesus Christ, Who the Bible says, "is my light and my salvation." Jesus, our Wonderful Savior, did not ignore the sin of people. He saw it, pointed it out, offered forgiveness, and wept over a city who would not receive His forgiveness, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings...." Rather than, "retain the sins of any," choose to, "forgive the sins of any," and, may Our Lord help us to weep over them rather than take glee in their sin as so many do. This is Jesus Christ's Heart, the One of whom our text said, "But there is forgiveness with You." As one in whom Jesus Christ lives, as one who thinks he has His Heart, this is who I am supposed to be.
Father, in Jesus' Name, Thank You for, "as far as the East is from the West." Amen.
*******************************
* Still need around $800.00 for the upcoming mission
* One lady has offered to "pray through the night" for th e mission
* Prayer for the NK visa
The question is rhetorical. The answer is, No one. Yet so many of us from time to time, "mark iniquities," of others, some of which have been retained indefinitely. When church people hold grudges, won't forgive, keep bringing up sin after sin, that sin or those sins stay in the Church. Instead of "mark[ing] iniquities,.. there is forgiveness with," our Lord Jesus Christ; so it should be with you and me. And, as with all of God's gracious, miraculous dealings with man, things which are just too awesome for man to comprehend, the only response we can have is, "....that You may be feared."
Maybe the continual "marking" of iniquities is the reason so many in the Church are not "standing." Jesus said, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." This is not the religious belief of some traditions that a man can absolve a person of their sin, i.e., "absolution." Rather, I believe it is as Derek Prince once said, that this is how we keep others in their sins, and this is how others are enabled to walk in the freedom of the forgiveness which they have in the Blood of Jesus, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." Could it be that much of the sin in the Church and in those around us manifests so much because of our unwillingness to forgive them, and erase the "retainer clause? !"
Today, I am a thankful person for Jesus Christ, Who the Bible says, "is my light and my salvation." Jesus, our Wonderful Savior, did not ignore the sin of people. He saw it, pointed it out, offered forgiveness, and wept over a city who would not receive His forgiveness, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings...." Rather than, "retain the sins of any," choose to, "forgive the sins of any," and, may Our Lord help us to weep over them rather than take glee in their sin as so many do. This is Jesus Christ's Heart, the One of whom our text said, "But there is forgiveness with You." As one in whom Jesus Christ lives, as one who thinks he has His Heart, this is who I am supposed to be.
Father, in Jesus' Name, Thank You for, "as far as the East is from the West." Amen.
*******************************
* Still need around $800.00 for the upcoming mission
* One lady has offered to "pray through the night" for th e mission
* Prayer for the NK visa
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
