Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Thursday, August 3, 2017

QT 3 Aug 17, Ps 51:15-17, God wants our heart, actions will flow out of a repentant heart

Psalm 51:15–17 (ESV) —
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

NOTE: It is easy to give a gift or do something physical in an attempt to appease. To change internally, is a lot harder, because deep down we known it has to be real to be effective. In the area of the physical response, we can give things and also not be honest, but we feel it more when we try to be sorry inside and yet we know we are not sorry. I think what bothered David the most is that he realized that his sin was specifically against God. How? When David sought out Bathsheba, he knew it was wrong. He knew God saw it. He lived hiding a sin he knew could not be hidden. And yet, he tried to ignore the internal while focusing on the externals. And by doing all that he was saying, that God's commandments are not the best for my life--I will choose my own rules--I will live like other kings. Whatever his motivations, in the end it was good to be found out and publicly denounced by Nathan. He was probably relieved to let the ugliness see the light. And now, after 9-10 months, he writes what he should have said almost a year earlier. It hurt, everything about it hurt--the very reason God has established his law--because he knows what is best for us. May we always immediately turn to God in brokenness and confession.

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