Tag Archive | Sin

Psalms 18

Dec15

Good morning y’all. Happy Monday :). Today, we looking at Psalms 18.

I am reading the psalm from the Contemporary English Version.

Be blessed 🙂

There are 4 main points I want to bring out from the psalm.

1) God is our only true source of safety and protection. He is the go to person when things are good and when they are bad. Man can only do so  much for us, but God, has unlimited power and resource. He can never fail. David understood this very well hence his statement in verse 1 and 2; “I love you, Lord God, and you make me strong. You are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector, the rock where I am safe, my shield, my powerful weapon, and my place of shelter”.

2) When we pray to God, we can be sure He hears us. Verse 6 says: “I was in terrible trouble when I called out to you but from your holy temple you heard me and answered my prayer”. David was in distress and He called to God and He answered him.

Who do you turn to in your time of distress and troubles? Friends, let’s turn to God. He is the only one who can truly help us. The strength of man will fail us but the strength of God will give us victory.

Sometimes, we don’t pray, because we are not sure God will answer us. Let me encourage you with the scriptures below …
“And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for”(1 John 5:14-15 NLT).

“You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it, so that the Son can bring glory to the Father.  Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (John 14:13-14 NLT)

“In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me”. (Jeremiah 29:12-13 NLT)

Friends, Whatever it is, let’s take it to the Lord in prayer today.

3) Sin / disobedience will hinder our prayers from being heard and answered.
Psalm 66:18 says: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear” (NKJV). Sin makes us ashamed and unworthy to come before God, hence when we come before him, we are not free to ask because we know we haven’t done the things He asked of us. The guilt and condemnation from disobedience makes us want to run or hide from God like Adam did after he ate of the forbidden fruit.

David could confidently call on God for help because he knew he had been obedient to God and done the things God expected of him. Verse 20 to 24 says:
“You are good to me, Lord, because I do right, and you reward me because I am innocent.  I do what you want and never turn to do evil. I keep your laws in mind and never look away from your teachings.  I obey you completely and guard against sin.  You have been good to me because I do right; you have rewarded me for being innocent by your standards” (Psalms 18:20-24 CEVUS06).

Today lets make a decision to be obedient to God and guard against sin in our lives. I once heard a pastor say this about sin.

“When you allow sin to find room in your life, you are simply making room for destiny losses. Sin is an open invitation to reproach, and an express approval for destruction”.

4) We need to be thankful and grateful. David was very good at thanking and praising God for the things He had done for him and for the things He was going to do. In this psalm, we see him praise and thank God for answering him.
“You are the living Lord! I will praise you. You are a mighty rock. I will honor you for keeping me safe”.
“I will praise you, Lord, and I will honor you among the nations” (Psalms 18:46, 49 CEVUS06).

Some of us behave like ingrates. When we want something from God we are so desperate and will do anything for it but once God answers us we forget to go back and thank him. We are like the ten lepers that got healed and only one came back to thank God.

Friends,  let’s cultivate the habit of thanksgiving and praising God at all times. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (NKJV)

Prayer
Dear Lord thank you for today. Today, we ask for grace to always turn to you for help. Help us not to rely on our own strength or that of man. Help us be obedient and guard against sin in our lives. Help us learn to be thankful and grateful, whether in the good or bad times. Thank you Lord.  In Jesus Name. Amen.

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day.

***With God all things are possible***

Genesis 4

Oct1

Good morning y’all. It’s a new month today!!! Pray God gives us all a nice present this month 🙂

Today we are in Genesis 4. Here we see the 1st murder account in the bible. We see, how if our feelings,emotions and thoughts are not kept in check can lead us to act irrationally and sin. Cain’s anger and jealousy led him to kill his own brother. The result was separation from God’s presence.

I’m using the SOAP method today 🙂

S – Scripture that stood out for me
Genesis 4:7 NLT: You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.”

O – Observations
O1). They both made an offering. One was accepted and the other wasn’t. The difference is one gave God the best of what he had while the other gave no thought to what he offered God. We should Give God our best and not our left overs.

O2) Failure to do what’s right opens the door for sin to come in and rule in our lives.

O3)Sin is always on the look out for its next victim. 1 Peter 5:8 says
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” (NLT Version).
We have to keep close watch on our feelings, emotions and thoughts. Make sure they are in line with Gods word. Cain was angry, envious, depressed, dejected and God knew if those feelings are not kept in check, will lead him to commit sin, hence the warning he gave him about sin crouching at his door…

O4) Being angry or jealous or having those emotions Cain exhibited is not a sin in itself. It’s our response to those feelings/emotions/thoughts that’s the issue. Do we respond in a godly manner or do we give in to our flesh?

O5) The only way to overcome sin is to be led by the spirit of God. Yield ourselves to the leading of the holy spirit and starve our flesh of its desires. Something you dont feed will eventually die. Its the same in our spirtual life. If we dont give in to every whimp and desire of our flesh, it will eventually submit and realise who is in control. Romans 8:12-14 says
“My dear friends, we must not live to satisfy our desires. If you do, you will die. But you will live, if by the help of God’s Spirit you say “No” to your desires. Only those people who are led by God’s Spirit are his children.” ( CEVUS06 version)

O6) Sin leads to separation from God’s presence. We need to ask ourselves is our relationship with God worth sacrificing for the momentary pleasure the sin will bring?

A – Application

Today, lets yield to the leading of the Holy spirit and not give in to our flesh.

P – Prayer
Dear Lord we thank you for today and for your grace over our lives. Thanks for Jesus, because of him, we are no longer slaves to sin. We ask for the grace to yield to the Holyspirit as we go about today. Help us not to give in to our flesh. Let our love for you compel us to do the right things today. And thank you Lord for this new month. We are expectant!. In Jesus Name. Amen

Thanks for joining today.

Have a blessed day and remember, Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control us. But we must subdue it and be its master.

***With God all things are possible***