Psalm 51 (Day 18): Spirit-filled

On this eighteenth morning of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (the day that commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to individual believers), a thought made its way into my mind and has lodged itself within my heart:

The Spirit-filled life is not a special, 

deluxe edition of Christianity.

It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.

A. W. Tozer (1897-1963)

It is God's will that you and I be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Period.

Paul says it this way, 

"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. 

Instead, be filled with the Spirit."

Ephesians 5:18, NIV

Am I filled by the Holy Spirit?
Are you filled by the Holy Spirit?

The Word of God tells us that the day you and I receive Jesus as Christ and Lord and King and Savior, we also receive the Holy Spirit as the indwelling presence of God in our hearts.

Before Christ, the Father spoke to His people through designated prophets. The words spoken, in time, stirred the hearts of the people, rendering them sensitive and responsive to the Spirit of God. 

Such is that which occurred in David's heart when the Lord sent a special word to him.

For the director of music.

A psalm of David.

When the prophet Nathan came to him

after David committed adultery with Bathsheba.

"Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your unfailing love;

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin."

Psalm 51:1-2, NIV

For the previous seventeen (17) days, I pondered the psalm heading and the first two verses of Psalm 51. Throughout these 50 days of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (June 8), I will prayerfully remain in this penitential psalm to glean nuggets of wisdom from the Holy Spirit.

Today, let me begin reflecting upon a new verse.

Verse 3 reads, 

"For I know my transgressions

and my sin is always before me."

In the first two verses, the reader learns about the nature of David's plea (requesting mercy, washing, cleansing, a clean slate, etc.) to the Father. Verse 3 presents a new layer to the case the psalmist is building -- the weight of his motivation.

We see here that David is driven by a Spirit-led conviction to recant his wrongful actions. In contrast to a holy, merciful, loving, and compassionate God, David became convicted that he (a naturally poor wretched creature yet divinely enriched and empowered for greatness) was sadly on familiar terms with wrongdoing, misdemeanor, contravention, disobedience, offense, and crime. On top of that, the conviction of his indulgence constantly repeats and repeats itself like a broken record in front of him. Understandably, David was sick and tired of sinning so blatantly.

The beauty of God's grace in this verse points to the work of the Holy Spirit. He comes to inhabit the heart of each person who wants to follow Christ, to convict the believer of human sin, to convict the believer of the righteousness of Christ, to convict the believer of the judgment awaiting Satan and all who turn away from God or refuse to repent and believe.

Are you and I thus convicted?
Are you and I filled with the Spirit of the living God?
Are you and I poised to confess and recant our wrongful actions?
Are you and I heartened to revel in Christ's righteousness and see the beauty of confession?

I am the vase of God, He fills me to the brim;

He is the ocean deep, contained I am in Him.

Angelus Silesius (1624-1677)

Psalm 51 (Day 17): Gratitude for His Grace

So far, you and I have meditated upon the psalm heading and verses 1 & 2, reading:

For the director of music.

A psalm of David.

When the prophet Nathan came to him

after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

"Have mercy on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions.

Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin."

Psalm 51:1-2, NIV

Today, as I review all the nuggets of wisdom which God has already led us to take in from the psalm heading, verse 1, and verse 2, I can only think of one thing:

Gratitude for His grace.

I am grateful.

I am grateful to the Father.
I am grateful to the Son of God.
I am grateful to the Holy Spirit of the living God.

I am grateful that our Lord chose to create music and literature.

Music lifts our spirits.
Literature feeds our minds.
Together, they nourish our bodies.

I am grateful that God decided to bless Nathan with the gift of prophecy.

Nathan was a good prophet.
His prophetic presence spanned the whole of David's career.
Nathan's prophetic office points to Christ Himself whose presence spans all eternity.

I am grateful that He deemed it fit to bless the world with people who are not afraid to confront friends when they forfeit God's grace, that He chose to create David and Bathsheba, that He loved them back into His holiness, that He inspired David to write this psalm, that He invited us to read it and apply its truths into our lives.

You and I are called to remain steadfast and not look the other way when individuals placed in our lives are choosing to cling to worthless idols instead of the grace of God. We are called to speak truth in love and grace, but to speak truth all the same -- the truth of the gospel of Christ that calls us to repent and turn to God.

I am grateful that, like David, you and I can recognize our need for God's mercy, His unfailing love, His great compassion, His ability to blot our transgressions, His power to wash us with His water (God's Word), His soap (Christ's blood), and the friction He allows (life's trials).

I am grateful that you and I can learn to surrender the totality of our iniquity or sin or trespass into His more than capable hands. I am grateful that Jesus is the gift of life and that everything I need for life and godliness is found in Him.

Thank You, Abba!
Your grace is more than enough!

Psalm 51 (Day 16): All

On this Monday morning, I am blown away by the speed of time -- it has already been sixteen (16) days since I began my 50 days of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (June 8). On that day, I will commemorate the day the Holy Spirit of the living God came to and rested upon individual followers of Christ. 

What an exciting season!

To aid my mind while waiting, I have been meditating upon David's penitential psalm. And, for several days now, I have been reflecting on verse 2 of Psalm 51, which reads,

"Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin."

God has graciously led you and me, dear fellow traveler, through the concept of washing -- involving water (God's Word), soap (Christ's blood), and friction (life's trials).

Today, we broach a new topic -- "all".

The above tiny three-letter word is no small thing. It refers to the wholeness, the fullness, the totality, the entirety, the completeness, the unreservedness of someone or something.

"All" is a predeterminer in language. It is employed to emphasize the commitment of the first thought to the second thought, or to underscore the pledge of the giver to the receiver.

In King David's case, we have already learned enough to grasp how eagerly he desired to be washed by God. This word -- "all" -- further depicts his commitment to surrender the totality of his request to God. 

Here, David is not asking for a short little rinse. He is asking for deep cleaning, intense scrubbing, total disinfecting; he is asking for a complete wash. He is pledging to God his unreserved acquiescence to whatever the Lord may choose to do in order to get the job done.

I wonder . . .

How often do I do just the opposite?

How often do I attempt to rinse off the first layers of my dirty self before approaching the throne of grace, as if God could not handle the job on His own? How often do I slap the Father's face with my insolent stinginess in this area when what He is after is my total surrender of control? How often do I say "all" when what I really mean "Lord, I will do most of it and when I am ready I'll let You take care of the leftovers"?

Gratefully, I have a God who does not wait for me to initiate. He Himself initiated the process of "all" by creating me, by seeking me out, by revealing Himself to me, by wooing me, by sacrificially giving Himself to me, by pledging His eternal commitment to me, by promising His unreserved love to me, and by completing the fullness of the washing I need in Christ's utterance "It is finished!"

"My sin -- O the bliss of this glorious thought:

My sin, not in part, but the whole

Is nailed to the Cross and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!"

Extracted from It Is Well with My Soul by Horatio Spafford

Psalm 51 (Day 15): Friction

"Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin."

Pslam 51:2, NIV

On this fifteenth day of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (June 8), I am overjoyed to see and sense the work of the Holy Spirit in and around me as I continue meditating on Psalm 51. Being a penitential psalm, a poem of confession intended for corporate worship, Psalm 51 invites me to pay attention to David's request and to examine my own heart in my worship of the Father. 

In verse 2, David implores God to wash him, a request that brings three words to my awareness -- water, soap, and friction. 

Two days ago, I was led to meditate on water.
Yesterday, I focused on the concept of soap.
Today, I invite you to join me in reflecting upon the word "friction."

Friction can be rightly understood as the resistance that ensues when two objects or substances rub against each other. It can also be seen as high pressure applied to a surface with the intent of removing undesired blemishes such as mold, grime, dust, mud, chaff, dirt, etc. As far as I am concerned in my walk with the Lord, nothing feels more like friction than such pressures as sicknesses, deaths, job losses, heartbreaks, betrayals, insults, persecutions, and hardships of all shapes and sizes.

When David was tactfully confronted by the prophet Nathan, his eyes were thankfully opened by God to see fully the grossness of his sin against the Lord, against his position as anointed King, against his own family, against Uriah, against Bathsheba, against his accomplices, and against everyone within his circle of influence. Hence, he admittedly wanted to be cleansed of the charades connived by his heart.

Out of utmost grace, God allowed friction and high pressure into David's life. When Nathan's words came, they lovingly yet effectively smote David's poisonous indulgence, immorality, and indifference. His conscience tormented him over the broad scope of his misdeeds -- the baby born from his adulterous affair contracted a fatal disease; shame and blame threatened to overwhelm him. More importantly, however, all of that friction led him to none other than the Rock of ages, the solid Rock.

The Lord is gracious.

No matter what form it takes, God allows friction into our lives for a specific purpose. He wants us to know that life's headaches are designed to add their own power to create friction and velocity, quickening our hearts to desire God's cleaning process:

     -  Each trial we face is like a pump designed to draw water (God's Word, as we learned two days ago) from our hearts. Understandably, the psalmist encourages us to hide God's Word in our hearts that we might not sin against Him.

     -  Each temptation we encounter is an invitation to lift our eyes up to the mountain, up to the Cross where divine soap (the blood of Christ, as we learned yesterday) is made available for anyone who acknowledges a need for cleansing, anyone who chooses to believe in the One sent from the Father.

As with all high pressure machines, we function best under pressure only when our water supply (God's Word in us) is adequate and when our soap/detergent (Christ's blood) is highly efficient. As water starvation leads the pump of a machine to malfunction, lack of biblical wisdom also causes wear and tear damage to our spiritual walk. As the wrong detergent causes machines to deteriorate, placing our faith in anything but the powerful blood of Christ causes our spiritual boat to sink.

Gratefully, with Christ as our Bridge, the blood shed on the Cross covers us for all eternity.

In Him, we have everything we need:

We are washed.
We are cleansed.
We are renewed.

Thanks be to our gracious God!

Psalm 51 (Day 14): Soap

Help me worship You, O Lord, in spirit and in truth. There is truly no one else who could occupy Your throne. May I surrender my whole self to You today and for all eternity! Amen.

On this fourteenth morning of waiting for Pentecost Sunday (June 8), my heart is greatly encouraged by verse 2 in which David implores,

"Wash away all my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin."

Psalm 51:2, NIV

I shared earlier that the idea of washing brings three words to mind -- water, soap, and friction. Yesterday, I pondered the word "water"; today, allow me to reflect on soap.

Last summer, my dishwasher stopped working properly for a time. It was a bit inconvenient but my family sought to make the best out of a less than ideal situation. Toward that end, we decided to clean our dishes by hand for a while. It turned out to be a tremendous blessing as God's gracious hand led me to a wonderful learning moment.

One fine summer evening, thanks to a friend's wonderful garden, I made this yummy pasta sauce with fresh tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and olive oil. When it was time to clean the tomato-stained skillet, I began pouring water into the oily container when something quite ordinary occurred -- the water and the oil naturally separated.

I didn't even give it a second thought.

Then, lo and behold, soap entered the scene and everything changed. Gradually, the water and the oil moved away from center stage as the washing persisted. I continued with what I was doing, almost absent-mindedly and after a little while, the skillet was completely clean, dried, and shiny.

Usually, that would be the end of it.
I mean, who writes a post about washing dishes by hand?
However, God kept stirring the pot of my heart and mind, insisting there was a lesson for me to learn there.

You see, soap represents power. Containing properties that are hydrophilic (water and anything that will mix with water) and hydrophobic (oil and anything that will mix with oil), soap has the ability to form tiny clusters that trap and suspend oil (and fat and dirt and grime, etc). This combination of clusters is called a micelle. And since the micelle itself is soluble in water, it then can easily be washed away.

When soap and water come into contact, the hydrophilic part of the soap forms the outer surface of the micelle whereas the hydrophobic constituents of the soap group together on the inside of the micelle.

Light bulb!
The aha moment came.
My mind and heart began to see some connections.

What is called water?
God's precious and holy Word is the water of grace.

What is oil or grime or fat or all-around nastiness?
The collective sin of this world is the oil of which we speak. The holiness of God and the wretchedness of mankind will always be at odds with each other until soap comes into play.

What is soap?
The righteous and pure blood of Christ is the powerful soap of faith.

When we acknowledge the power of the blood, the hydrophilic part of us longs to hear and read and meditate and memorize and heed the Word of God. Then, we surrender the hydrophobic part of us -- our sinfulness -- to be enveloped by the giant micelle of God (Christ's righteousness). 

Therefore, when we accept the gift of Christ's blood and live on God's Word, sin is revealed and exposed. And when we repent and confess our sins to Christ and trusted friends or confidants or mentors, our sin is trapped and taken away from us -- we are rendered clean.

What a wonderful, gracious Savior we serve!
Thank You, Jesus!

Holy Spirit of the living God, I thank You for teaching me so faithfully and so generously. Help me not to hoard Your instruction; rather, guide me to share it and bless the Father's other children as You see fit. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen!

Psalm 51 (Day 13): Water

Good morning, my friend, on this thirteenth day of waiting!

As I inch ever closer to Pentecost Sunday (June 8), the day that commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit on individual Christ-followers, I am reminded of the words of Christ to the Samaritan woman:

"Believe me, woman, a time is coming

when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain 

nor in Jerusalem.

You Samaritans worship what you do not know;

we (Jews) worship what we do know,

for salvation is from the Jews.

Yet a time is coming and has now come

when the true worshipers will worship the Father

in spirit and in truth,

for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

God is spirit, and His worshipers must worship

in spirit and in truth."

John 4:21-24, NIV

What powerful words!
What paradigm shifting words!
What faith strengthening words!

You and I are invited to worship the Father.
You and I are expected to worship the Father.
You and I are commanded to worship the Father.

How?

In spirit.
In truth.

If you and I are to worship the Father in accordance with what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman -- "in spirit and in truth" -- the invitation/expectation/command definitely includes worshiping Him as He has revealed Himself to humanity.

Through nature
Through the whole of inspired Scripture
Through Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit

Today, as I wait, may I take time to look at nature and see how "the heavens declare the glory of God, the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge" (Psalm 19:1-2).

Today, as I wait, may I take time to find God in the whole of inspired Scripture -- from Genesis to Revelation -- and see how the same God who appears as a wrath-filled God is the very One who is gracious, compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in love, sacrificial on the Cross that saves despicable sinners. 

Today, as I wait, may I take time to worship the Father as I believe in Jesus Christ (the One sent from the Father) and as I heed the promptings of the Holy Spirit (the One sent from the Son).

On this thirteenth morning, I turn once again to David's penitential psalm.

So far, we have read, 

"For the director of music. A psalm of David.
When the prophet Nathan came to him 
after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your unfailing love,

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions."
Psalm 51:1, NIV

Holy Spirit, please open our minds as we meditate further upon this psalm.

As David continues his plea, he says in verse 2, 

"Wash away all my iniquity 

and cleanse me from my sin." 

The idea of washing brings three words to mind -- water, soap, and friction. 


Today, we will focus on the first word. 

Water points our hearts to Jesus who is the Living Water providing springs upon springs of water to our thirsty and dirty hearts when we acknowledge our need of Him --His Way, His Truth, His Life. It is this water that quenches the thirst of our arid hearts, parched lips, and dry mouths. 

It is this water that gives life to us when we gradually allow ourselves to become spiritually dead:

     -  playing with fire
     -  refusing to pray
     -  swimming in sin
     -  concealing trespasses
     -  clinging to worthless idols
     -  being disinterested in spiritual growth
     -  refraining from participating in regular confession

It is this water that rinses out dirt build-up when we position our glasses, pitchers, buckets, and reservoirs under the generous faucet of Christ's bountiful, benevolent, and boundless grace. It is the water of His Word that cleanses our hearts and renews our minds daily as we come to hear, and read, and memorize, and meditate, and heed, and share its blessings.

It is this water that satisfies us so much and compels us to worship the Father in spirit and in truth.

O, Holy Spirit of the living God, thank You for coming to us. Thank You for opening our minds to understand that our souls long after the Father just like a deer pants for flowing streams. Thank You for opening our eyes to see that Jesus Christ is the fountain of living water. Thank You for enlightening our hearts to perceive that You, O generous Spirit, are the effective guide helping us wade in the water of the Word -- one that is too wonderful, too lofty for us to attain on our own. Thank You for showing us how to worship the Father in spirit and in truth. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen!

Psalm 51 (Day 12): God's Delete Button

Pentecost Sunday (June 8) is only thirty-eight days away. It is a day that commemorates the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples after the resurrection and ascension of Christ (see Acts 2:1-4). Since the disciples waited fifty days for the Comforter and Counselor, and since waiting is about gaining wisdom, I am in the midst of my own 50 days of waiting as the Holy Spirit imparts His wisdom to my heart from Psalm 51.

On this twelfth morning, I turn once again to David's penitential psalm.

So far, we have read, 

"For the director of music. A psalm of David.
When the prophet Nathan came to him 
after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your unfailing love,

according to Your great compassion

blot out my transgressions."
Psalm 51:1, NIV

Holy Spirit, please teach us as we meditate further upon this truth.

In the last line of the first verse, David appeals to God's unfailing love and great compassion in his request, " . . . blot out my transgressions . . ."



What does God's unfailing love promise to us? 


It promises unlimited patience and kindness; it grants us access to the Father's gentleness, forgiveness, meekness, faithfulness, goodness, humility, and joy; it reminds us that God always protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres, and never ever fails.



What does God's great compassion tell us?


It communicates that God forgives all our sins, heals all our diseases, redeems our lives from the pit, crowns us with love and mercy, satisfies our desires with good things, renews our youth like the eagle's, works righteousness and justice on our behalf, treats us much better than our sins deserve, removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.



How does God blot out our transgressions?

" . . . I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more."

Jeremiah 31:34, NIV


He wipes us clean like a parent changes a baby -- removing the soiled diaper, wiping the flesh clean, and replacing the nasty diaper with a fresh and clean one. At the end of a diapering session, most parents kiss their little ones; God kisses us when He changes us. 

Moreover, our transgressions are like ink. In Old Testament times, ink was typically a mixture of water with soot or powdered charcoal; though it was black, it could be easily removed with a damp cloth. Such is what the Lord does for us.



Through the Lord Jesus Christ, the Father fulfills the covenant He made with His people. He made blotting out transgressions possible through Christ's broken body and His shed blood. By the life-changing power of His death and resurrection, transgressors are covered with the righteousness of the Son. 

Sins are forgiven.
Deaf ears are unlocked. 
Hearts are changed within.
Intimacy with the father is restored.

Oh, the beauty of His grace is a marvel to behold! 
God has a delete button and He uses it freely when we repent. 
Praise His name!

I cannot think of a more blessed thought than the presence of the Rock of ages being with me, walking with me, securing my foot in dire straits, and blotting out my transgressions when I disobey His ever true Word. Indeed, I find comfort in knowing that it is a solid, a firm foundation I have in Him.

"How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled? 

When through fiery trials, thy pathway shall lie

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply

The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."

Extracted from How Firm a Foundation, John Rippon

Dear Comforter, Counselor, and faithful Friend of mine, I thank You for loving me. You know my name -- O, the blessed thought! That my name passes through Your glorious lips is GRACE, lavish grace too expansive for me to fathom. You are not ashamed to be associated with me. You are my Rock, my anchor, my true North. You have Your washcloth, Your delete button, your eraser ever ready to blot out my numerous transgressions. You never, EVER, forsake me. Thank You for Your firm grip clinging to me when the floods of temptations rise and when the wildfires of disobedience rage within me and around. I do not trust my own slippery fingertips; I trust Your hold on me. Help, guide, and instruct me, Holy Spirit, to lean on Christ. Though all hell break loose and endeavor to pry my soul apart from You, I thank You for holding onto me so that I may never forsake You. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen!