Devotions 09-02-07

Ps 32: 1-5
"How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah.
I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; and You did forgive the guilt of my sin. Selah.

I guess the question I need to answer is how do I deal with my sin? Do I make excuse for it or do I take it to God and seek His forgiveness? One thing for sure is that to know my sin has been forgiven is such a wonderful truth. The scriptures say I am blessed if I have been forgiven my sins. Also I am blessed if I have not been charged with sin and there is no deceit in my being.

When I keep quiet about my sin it will be heavy upon me and my strength is taken away as in a very hot summer day. God says "Selah" which is to say "Stop and think about this seriously". There is such great power in a clean life. I must not let sin stay in my life but I must get rid of it as soon as possible. I must acknowledge it to others and confess it to God because only God can forgive me my sin.

God not only forgives my sin but takes away even the guilt of that sin. Oh, the joy and peace there is in having no guilt in my life for what I have done or not done . It does require that I admit or confess to what I have done or not done in order to be responsible for my failure. I do want to learn from my failures and not continue on in my sinful habits.

Lord, thank You for Your forgiveness of my sins. Help me to be more attentive of how I dishonor You by my actions and even my thoughts. I do want to have a clear conscience and to be pure of the selfishness and pride that is in our world. Lord, help me to serve You and others out of a joy and confidence that it is right and pleasing to You and Your Kingdom.