“For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”
– Psalm 32:4-5

In this psalm, David illustrates how the Lord disciplines His precious children. For those who’ve trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is no more condemnation from God. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t fall (or cannonball) into sin. We absolutely can (and do)!

When we do, God doesn’t toss us in the trash or tell us to start over. However, He won’t pat us on the head and leave us in our sins, either. He will discipline us as His beloved sons and daughters. It will be uncomfortable and possibly even painful, depending on how hard it is to get our attention. We will feel the weighty conviction of the Holy Spirit on our souls. We will also experience whatever setbacks, failures, dissatisfactions, disappointments, and defeats are needed to eventually cause us to search our souls and recognize the error of our ways.

And when we do? There’s always forgiveness waiting! God is quick to forgive His precious children when we confess our sins to Him, repenting of our wrongdoing. His forgiveness is instantaneous and complete. In that moment, the Spirit’s heavy conviction lifts off our souls and quite often, the circumstances, situations, and experiences God used to get us back on track begin to resolve themselves as well. The Lord disciplines those He loves. #FollowJesus

“Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, ‘As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die’” – 2 Samuel 12:5

It’s remarkable how much moral clarity King David had when he thought he was talking about someone else. And his utter blindness to the fact he was talking about himself. Despite his zeal for God, David had sinned horrifically with Bathsheba. His desire to keep his atrocious sexual sin a secret led him to commit murder. And yet, blinded by his own power and past history of service to the Lord, he couldn’t see a bit of wrongdoing in any of it. It seems unbelievable, but that’s the incredible power sin has to blind any of us when we’re deep in it.

God sent the prophet Nathan to tell David a fictional story illustrative of David’s sins. Because he didn’t realize the story was about him, David could rightly see the man’s sin and render a death sentence upon him. He was right to do so, for he surely deserved to die for what he’d done. Nathan then broke the news to David that, “you’re the man”, and David finally got it. The light of truth broke through the thick fog of self-deception about his sin. He confessed and repented. God graciously forgave his sins, but declared there would be consequences for his family for the rest of his life. That’s to be expected. His sons learned terrible lessons from watching David.

We live in an age of perpetual outrage at the sins of others. It’s also an age of profound blindness about our own sins. Many of us are like David – quick to judge others while utterly blind to the ways we’ve sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. Today, rather than being outraged by others, stop and seriously ask God to reveal any areas of blindness you may have toward sin in your life. Listen carefully for God’s answer and if He shows you something, don’t argue with Him. Repent of it quickly, confessing to God and seeking to live a changed life. #FollowJesus

“The one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,”
– Psalm 65:6-7

The psalmist proclaims that not only is God’s power sufficient to create mountains and still seas, He can even calm the tumult of the peoples of the world. That’s huge to contemplate! The dictionary defines tumult as “a disorderly agitation or milling about of a crowd usually with uproar and confusion of voice; a turbulent uprising; a violent agitation of mind or feelings.” That pretty well describes the situation of the various peoples of the world right now. It’s true close to home and it’s true far away. These are tumultuous days.

But not without hope! For God can even calm the tumult of the peoples. He can make peace where there is war. He can make calm where there is chaos. He can make unity where there is division. He can make love where there is hate. Pray for Him to do that! Don’t just say a quick prayer for world peace with a “yeah, right” attitude. Pray earnestly for God’s shalom peace to come over our tumultuous region, nation, and world. Plead regularly for God to calm the chaos and anger that seems to be overwhelming everything.

But don’t stop there! Not if Jesus is your Lord. If Jesus is your Lord, you’re called and blessed to be a peacemaker. To actively be part of dialing down the rhetoric, the emotion, and the anger. In your neighborhood. In your workplace. In your nation. And online. To be part of bringing opponents together in reconciliation. To be part of replacing contempt and division with respect and unity. Be a peacemaker because you ARE a child of God. #FollowJesus

“And he said to them, ‘You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!’” – Mark 7:9

The hypocrisy of the Pharisees was such that they created rules and traditions to justify (in their minds) outright disobedience to God’s clear commandments. They actually came up with a way to selfishly ignore one of the Ten Commandments and wrap their behavior in the appearance of holiness. Of course, Jesus condemned them for this! What could be more absurd than a religious person blatantly ignoring the commands of their religion?

Unfortunately, we often do the same thing! Christians have a remarkable ability to explain away the clear commands of Jesus. To justify (in our minds) why we don’t need to love THOSE neighbors. Why we don’t need to show mercy or make peace or pursue holiness. Why we don’t need to fight our lustful/angry/prideful thoughts. Christians (including leaders and scholars) come up with the most ridiculous reasons why we don’t REALLY have to try to live by the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Even though it’s Jesus’ foremost teaching on what it looks like to live as a citizen of His kingdom!

Don’t make excuses! Don’t explain away what Jesus commanded. Make time today to re-read Matthew 5-7. Rather than quickly saying, “that’s nice” or “that’s impossible” and moving on with your life unchanged, ask God to help you see what you need to think, say, and do differently with the help of the Holy Spirit. #FollowJesus

“Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!”
– Psalm 39:6

Life on earth is fleeting. It may feel long in the moment, but compared to the endless sweep of eternity, it’s incredibly brief. How are you spending your life? What are you pouring your limited time, energy, strength, and attention into? Will it last? Will it matter in a century? In a decade? In a year? In a month?

Here’s what will last forever: human souls and Christ’s kingdom. Here’s what won’t last: everything else. Are you devoting yourself to loving, saving, blessing, nurturing, and discipling human souls? Are you devoting yourself to building Christ’s kingdom here on earth?

If not, for what temporary thing are you pouring out your life? Who will benefit from your efforts? The Bible repeatedly makes the point that even if you think you’re hustling to make a better, more comfortable future for yourself, you may never get to enjoy any of it. Once again, life on earth is fleeting. To pour your life out amassing money and stuff is to waste precious time in pursuit of something that may simply pass to your estate when the unknown days of your earthly life come to an end on a schedule you don’t know and can’t control.

What should matter most to you? Are you pursuing that? #FollowJesus