Monday Morning Devotion #254

This Week's Focal Passage:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10 (NKJV)

Strong's:
Create #1254 - bara - to cut down; choose, select; create
Renew #2318 - chadash - to be new, rebuild, repair

Last week, we discussed pride and the devastating effects it has in our lives, our relationships and our walk with the Lord God. Turning from pride is a true challenge for all of us because we were born with a sin nature and that nature wars against the Truth of God continually. Our flesh demands to be satisfied and our will is easily persuaded when we are not rooted and established in God's Word.

This past week, the Lord has been revealing areas of deep-seeded pride and rebellion in my life. I have to admit, I do not respond to the Lord the way I wish I did when HE corrects me. My first response seems to be a defensive approach and "justifying" of my sins. My heart does not openly confess my sin nor repent. In fact, until this past week, I truly did not understand what Biblical repentance looks like. I have always thought that repentance meant realizing my sin and confessing that sin to God. And my entire life has been spent "confessing" "for what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do." (Romans 7:15)

Our Sunday school class is going through Seeking Him, by Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom. This past week, we studied Biblical repentance…My Friend, it was EYE OPENING!! Biblical repentance is essential to a right relationship with the Lord. Because God is holy, HE cannot excuse sin. Because God is faithful HE initiates revival in our hearts by revealing sin in our lives and giving us the desire to repent and seek Him for complete forgiveness and restoration. "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

So then, what does Biblical repentance look like? True repentance begins in the mind as conviction of sin ("I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." Romans 12:1-2). Conviction of sin then leads to "repentance which is a change of mind that results in a change of behavior…Repentance cannot be considered genuine unless there is outward change of behavior…The outward manifestation of repentance may be instantaneous or it may be seen over time. The length of time for real change may depend on the nature of the sin and how long one has been involved in that sin..." (Seeking Him, p. 68-69)

Allow me to share a personal experience with you. For 23 years, I was bound in the sin of anorexia. I knew what I was doing was wrong and I truly wanted to stop. When I began practicing anorexia, I felt a sence of control and empowerment. Finally, I could "control" something in my life. Very quickly, however, that "control" became a prison and I lost more of myself than before I began this sin. More times than I can count, I committed that I would stop starving myself. When I committed to that goal, I meant it. But before long, I found myself right back where I started. Why? I mean, I was aware of my sin, I agreed with God that I was sinning, and I wanted to stop. 23 years past and I was still running through that same cycle. It was not until I finally REPENTED that the Lord freed me completely from anorexia!!

You see, the difference was that I finally allowed the Lord to take control of my life and create in me a new heart. A heart that desired to live according to His will and to turn completely from anorexia in all its forms (starving myself, bingeing and purging, and/or overeating). It was not an easy task and I tried to "go back" several times; however, because the power of God lives within me and HE conquered sin and death, I was no longer bound to that sin. I was free and that freedom in Christ, no matter the cost, was now my heart's desire. "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39) "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Romans 6:14)

My husband describes sin in this way…He says that we all "want our cake and to eat it too" but the problem with that pursuit is that we allow the world to define what that "cake" is and how we should go about getting that "cake". When and only when, we finally realize that the "cake" that truly satisfies is Christ alone, then we are able to dive into a pursuit that leads to victory and complete contentment. "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" (Psalm 34:8) Worldly gain is a self-defeating goal and nothing everlasting comes from it.

Read our focal passage once more. "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me."(Psalm 51:10) Create in this passage means to "cut down" and renew means "to rebuild". My Friend, nothing can be rebuilt unless it is first torn/cut down. That is the work that God desires to do in each of our hearts…To tear down the old sinful ways of our lives and rebuild in us a heart that desires Him above all else. A heart that is pliable and teachable. A heart that seeks the Lord and lives by His Word. A heart that is surrendered to Him and allows His correction/discipline to bring forth new life and a more intimate relationship with Him. A heart that sees the need for Christ in those around them and diligently loves those people with a Christ-like love. A heart that prays for revival and renewal in the life of every Christian and salvation for those who are lost.

Our lives cannot be rebuilt if we are refusing to repent/turn from the old ways of life with its sinful desires and lusts. Rebuild is NOT remodeling…God will not "rebuild" around the remains of sinful strongholds. HE will, however, destroy those strongholds with the power of His blood and rebuild in us a priceless foundation that will stand the test of time and all throughout eternity. "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." (Ephesians 2:19-22) Praise be to the Lord God forever and ever. Amen.

Where are you today, My Friend? If the Lord God is revealing sin in your life, do not hesitate to confess that sin and repent. Turn completely from that sin and rely on the Lord God as your strength. HE is faithful and HE will not forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). Victory is in His hand and no other person/thing can satisfy you to the very depth of your soul. There is nothing that compares to the gift we have in Christ Jesus. Do not continue to believe a lie that leads you further and further from the Truth. Call upon the name of the Lord and HE is mighty to save!! HE loves you and HE is reaching out His hand to you. Will you allow Him to do a wonderful work within you? May that be the desire of our hearts!! To God be the glory.

Your Sister in Christ,
Michelle Jones
September 29, 2008
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Monday Morning Devotion #253

This Week's Focal Passage:

"…God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." James 4:6 (KNJV)

Strong's:
Resists #498 antitassomai = to range oneself against
Proud #5244 huperephanos = appearing above others; haughty
Humble #5011 tapeinos = base, cast down, of low degree, lowly

"Humility is a virtue more often praised than sought." (Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Tim Grissom, Seeking Him, p. 21) As I read these words, I had to pause and reread them again. Why did these words ring true? Why do we praise a virtue/character trait yet think it is all right not to seek that character trait for ourselves? After searching God's Word for the answer to this question, I came to the conclusion that it is because we simply do not understand what pride is and how much God hates it. As children of the Risen Lord, the Most High, the Great I AM, we could not entertain pride for a moment, much less a lifetime, if we could truly comprehend the depth of its grip, the devastation that it delivers, and the separation it causes between us and our Lord.

What is pride? C.S. Lewis states in his book, Mere Christianity, "The essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchasity, greed, drunkenneses, and all that, are mere flea-bites in comparison. It was through pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind." Lewis goes on to explain that "everyone's pride is in competition with everyone else's pride…Pride has no pleasure of having something, but pride's pleasure is in having more than all the rest…Pride's very nature is competitive…God is absolute supremacy; however, prideful people cannot see anything above them for they are continually looking down…Prideful people have an "imaginary god"…They say, "I am nothing" but believe that their god thinks high of them…Pride comes straight from hell, other vices come from animal instincts…Pride is a spiritual cancer that eats up the possibility of love, contentment and common sense."

God's Word tells us that God hates pride (Proverbs 8:13), that pride brings shame (Proverbs 11:2), that pride comes before a devastating fall (Proverbs 16:18), that God will bring down the prideful (Proverbs 29:23), that pride is deceptive (Obadiah 1:3), that God will destroy the proud (Matthew 23:12), and that God resists the proud (James 4:6). Because of God's unconditional love, his unspeakable grace, his unfathomable mercy, God promises us "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." (Isaiah 57:15) Contrite means to be completely broken before the Lord. Understanding that HE alone is God and that we are created to bring glory and honor to Him in every area of our lives and in everything thing we do. Our absolute motivation is to point others to the Savior and to claim nothing for ourselves. A contrite heart understands the destruction of its sin and confesses that sin whole-heartedly to the Lord praising Him for His forgiveness and restoration.

Before I began studying pride in light of Scripture, I truly did not understand what pride was. I guess I thought that pride was thinking too much of oneself and I did not see why that was so terrible. Certainly, I understood that it was sin, but I did not understand why that particular sin was so destructive. The revelation came as I was studying our focal passage. Reread that once more. "…God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." (James 4:6) Resists in this verse means "to set/range oneself against." When we set ourselves against something/someone, we are on completely different sides. We are no longer walking together, but warring against one another. There is no fellowship.

I am a visual person, so the picture that formed in my mind was of God on one side and me on the other, facing Him and opposing Him. How can that be? A child of God living a life that is in direct opposition to her King? Why would a child of God want to be warring against her Maker? Why would I think for one moment that I know more than God? What makes me think I can run my life better than the Maker of the universe, the Eternal God, the all-knowing, all-powerful Redeemer? What makes me think that I could love myself more or more perfectly than the One who came to die for me and to pay the ransom for my sin? I have been bought with a precious price and restored through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I am nothing, yet the Lord God loved me enough to sacrifice Himself so that I could have the privilege and the blessing and the honor of having intimate fellowship with Him! Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned against You!!!

"I Am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images." (Isaiah 42:8) God will not share His glory with another, not even His own children. God is the only One worthy of praise, honor and glory. We were created to serve Him in such a way that our lives point others to Jesus Christ, for HE is the only One who can save them from their sins and renew, rebuild, heal, and restore them. So then, how do prideful people turn from their sin? "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings; with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said; "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said; "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" (Isaiah 6:1-5)

An awareness of God's holiness brought Isaiah to his knees. Isaiah had an encounter with the Lord God and HE immediately understood who God is and who he/Isaiah was. "An awareness of God's holiness drives us to acknowledge our sin and receive God's forgiveness." (Seeking Him, p.31) My Friend, if the Lord God is revealing to you the sin of pride in your life, do not hesitate to confess that sin and turn from it immediately. Pride is destructive above all else and it intertwines itself throughout all areas of our lives. God is gracious and HE alone opens our eyes to our need for Him. It is for our good that God convicts us of sin and that HE allows us the desire to confess that sin and turn to Him. A life lived for the satisfaction of selfish desires is a wasted life, but a life lived in pursuit of holiness is a life that reaps eternal rewards! "Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and HE will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and HE will lift you up." (James 4:7-10)

Your Sister in Christ,

Michelle Jones
September 15, 2008
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