UPDATE
Not only did God use the bird incident this morning to give me a visual reminder of my sin, but He also used it to rearrange my schedule. A DIVINE INTERRUPTION!
My plans were to go run errands as soon as I left Cindy’s house at 8:30 a.m. I’ve been working a lot this week & this morning was my only window of opportunity for errands. But, I was delayed after having to come home & wash my van (and blog.)
I’ve been searching for some things at Wal-Mart for over a week now. Unfortunately, the Tega Cay & Rock Hill locations didn’t have the correct size. Today, I felt a strong nudge to go to the Wal-Mart on Exit 1 off I-485. So, I sacrificed some other errands and went there after my morning delay.
At Wal-Mart, I met a very sweet lady who was working at the dressing rooms & answering the phone. She was a great help to me. When I came out of the dressing room, she had put her head down on the counter. When I checked on her, she told me she was not feeling well at all. She looked like she didn’t feel good either. We talked for a while, and she shared some very stressful things that were happening in her life now. Then she got a phone call.
I left so she could tend to the call. A few minutes later, she came looking for me to say thank you for talking with her. She gave me a hug,. Then, I asked her if I could pray for her. She agreed, and I started praying right there in the middle of the aisle in Ladies Apparel. Afterwards, she said, “God sent you to me today!”
Yes ma’am He sure did! He even used bird pooh to do it too!
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Two weeks ago, we had a youth & family worship service at our church. These services are some of my favorite. They are informal but very focused on the Lord. I feel a sense of freedom to worship God the way my soul longs to worship Him in these services.
God used the words from our youth minister Matt to REALLY convict me. Matt talked about the prayer "Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours." He said when we pray that prayer, so many times we see the brokeness in people and circumstances surrounding us like poverty, orphans, addiction, etc. But, Matt asked us to think about OUR OWN SIN and its impact on God!
MY sin breaks God's heart!!!
Ouch!
Does it break MY heart too??!!!
Ouch again!
Ouch again!
Our sin is serious. Very serious to God.
So many times, we rationalize our sin. We justify it. We compare it to the sins of others to minimize it. We ignore it. We deny it. We live with it. We let it weigh us down. We let it identify us. We let it condemn us. We let it control us.
But what we need to do is CONFESS IT and SEEK GOD'S FORGIVENESS.
We read 2 Samuel 11 about David's sin with Bathsheba and then Psalm 51 regarding David's cry of forgiveness and repentence to God.
Psalm 51
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
according to Your unfailing love;
according to Your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak
and justified when You judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are proved right when You speak
and justified when You judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Surely You desire truth in the inner parts;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide Your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from Your presence
or take Your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will turn back to You.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise.
and sinners will turn back to You.
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God who saves me,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise.
God wants us to be broken over our own sins. Broken to the point of repentence and freedom from them. Matt reminded us that Jesus did not die to forgive us of our sins only at salvation, but He shed His blood for every sin we will commit in our entire lives.
We are to walk through life FORGIVEN!
Romans 8:1-2 says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
During the past 2 weeks, I have heard A LOT of teaching on Christian radio about unconfessed sin and forgiveness as well. It is so important that we confess our specific sins to God every single day. We do not want our sin to damage our relationship with Him so it's best to deal with it IMMEDIATELY and CONSTANTLY.
God, with His great sense of humor, gave me a reminder of this vital lesson this morning.....
A few days ago, my son Tanner washed my van. It was squeaky clean. Then this morning after walking with my friend Cindy, a flock of geese flew over and did this...
Look closely at the windshield - it is COVERED in bird pooh!
Well, I had a couple of choices. I could ignore it and look through the clear spots to see to drive.
I could turn on my wind shield wipers and create a blurry mess. Or, I could stop everything I was doing, put away my "To Do" list and deal with the pooh.
Now, my van is clean again - for the moment - until another bird flies by!
God wants us to do the same thing. HE WANTS US TO STOP WHATEVER WE ARE DOING AND DEAL WITH THE POOH IN OUR LIVES! RIGHT NOW!
Confessing our sins to God right before we take communion a couple of times a year is NOT enough. Not for the kind of personal relationship He wants to have with us.
Our sin breaks God's heart, and it should break ours too. And our brokeness should lead us to action - to confession and repentence and forgiveness and restoration and freedom - DAILY.
Now, go deal with your pooh! Seriously.
Loving HIM with all my heart & soul,
Nancy
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