Prayer ~ Lord, just like David, I beg of You to…Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. (Psalm 51:10-11) Please continue to fill me with Your Holy Spirit. I just want to be pure and holy in my relationship with You—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—so that I may stand…or kneel…before You in person one day. My heart is filled—overflowing with joy in just knowing You.
For the choir
director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him
after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me,
O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot
out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin.
For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night. Against you, and you
alone, have I sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. You will be
proved right in what you say, and your judgment against me is just. For I was
born a sinner--yes, from the moment my mother conceived me. But you desire
honesty from the womb, teaching me wisdom even there. Purify me from my sins,
and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh, give me back
my joy again; you have broken me--now let me rejoice. Don’t keep looking at my
sins. Remove the stain of my guilt. Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a
loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take
your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me
willing to obey you. Psalms 51:1-12 (NLT)
Meditate. Focus on
the joy of the Lord.
Joy. I think of that
as a Christmas sentiment. “Joy to the World.” But really every day with total submission
to the Lord is one filled with joy! Restoration here is the key word. In any
relationship there are bound to be rocky times—and opportunities to “restore”
that relationship to its ideal value. How do you do that? With God …all things
are possible.
David had to humble
himself before the Lord and admit that he had done a wrong thing—actually more
than one. He had willfully broken two, actually three, of God’s Ten
Commandments. Thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt
not kill. His lust and actions with Bathsheba got him in terrible, serious
trouble. When he humbled himself before the Lord, confessed his sin, his
relationship with God was restored. David was a man after God’s own heart.
Communication, being honest and obedient with the Lord God as expressed in this Psalm, was the action David
took when confronted with his rebellious ways. We can assume that his respect
with Nathan and with Bathsheba, were also renewed. Can we say the same about
our relationship with God and with others?
The Ten Commandments
Given by God to guide how we live.
Love God...Love Your Neighbor
Verse of Salvation
~ Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey
you. Psalm 51:12
©
2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All rights
reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
Parenting Day By Day - Daily Devotional for Building Character
Coins in the Bible: New Testament Stories
No comments:
Post a Comment