Friday, October
13, 2017
Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. Who can list the glorious miracles of
the Lord? Who can ever praise him
enough? There is joy for those who deal
justly with others and always do what is right.
Remember me, Lord, when you show favor to your people; come near
and rescue me. Let me share in the
prosperity of your chosen ones. Let me
rejoice in the joy of your people; let me praise you with those who are your
heritage. Like our ancestors, we have
sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly!
Psalm 106:1-6(NLT)
Scripture
records how, in the Garden of Eden God held Adam and Eve accountable for their
actions of disobedience. In the entirety
of the rest of Scripture there is an unmistakable pattern of:
· God’s ways being clearly laid-out,
· followed by humankind’s disobedience and
rebellion,
· and that followed by God’s invitation to
return to fellowship.
The
Psalmist’s pattern is no different.
When
we read Psalm 106 we can stop short with praise
the Lord and thanking Him for his good and faithful love.
We can be mesmerized by his glorious
miracles. We can (and do)
spend much time in asking to be remembered
in his favor and rescue (including tons of prayers for Aunt Susie’s
toenail infection, heart procedures and gastric problem relief). We pray heartily for participating in the prosperity of the chosen ones. We want to take part in the joy of [God’s] people. We want all of that!
But
too often we forget the final verse of that praiseworthy litany:
Like our ancestors,
we have sinned. We have done wrong! We have acted wickedly! Psalm 106:1-6(NLT)
I
was having a discussion with other pastors on a Facebook page this week about
the Matthew 22 passage where Jesus is teaching about the kingdom gathering for
the celebration of the Bride (church) being married to the Bridegroom (Jesus,
the Son). One man shows up without a
robe, and is kicked out of the party.
The discussion centered around why
the man wasn’t accepted; obvious (and orthodox) theology tells us it was
because the robe is required. That robe
represents righteousness, and it is only available through faith in Christ’s
sacrificial death and resurrection. The
man without the robe sauntered into the banquet hall in his own costume
(self-righteousness), and God, the Father of Christ the Bridegroom, had the
arrogant one ejected.
This
is a picturesque and common teaching method to get across the point – we aren’t
connected to God or His salvation in any other way than the way God has
proscribed. We come to Him on HIS terms,
not ours.
And
that way is still the cross, by way of humble confession of our sins
For You
Today
The title
of this devotion is somewhat misleading, or under-stated; there are more than four confession
booths…there’s one for each human who has ever lived. Yours is in the same place mine can be found…in
our hearts and minds. When you confess
Christ as Lord and Savior, he dresses you in a robe fit for the wedding feast
of the ages!
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