Remember Not My Sins

Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.

Yea, let none that wait on thee be ashamed: let them be ashamed which transgress without cause.

Shew me thy ways, O Lord; teach me thy paths.

Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy loving kindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O Lord.

Psalm 25:1-7 KJV

I have heard many a person say that they would like to be young again. Not me! I made way too many mistakes; committed way too many sins as a young person that I would prefer to forget. Some of them, I probably have forgotten. Others, I have not. I know that if I were to be back in the days of my youth, the lack of my knowledge and faith in what Jesus has done for me would most probably have me making the same mistakes and committing the same sins. I am sorry for them and would not like to repeat them.

As I remember them from time to time, I am thankful that God, according to His mercy, those sins are washed out. I may remember them; but, I also remember that that God is a God of tender mercies and loving kindnesses. He sent His only begotten son that through the shedding of his blood on the Cross all who would believe in him would not perish. We would be forgiven our sins and reconciled to God for all of eternity.

By faith alone, in Christ alone, we are forgiven. The sins of the past are in the past. They are done with and dead. In Christ we have new life and a new way of living.

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation." (2 Cor 5:17-19)

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Old Tents, Young Spirits

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinth 4:16

As time passes in this world, life around us changes; life within us changes. As we grow older these old tents that we dwell within waste away. But, the spirit within continues to be renewed day be day.

I have reached the big 6 - 0. On most days it seems that the days are not long enough. I no longer can accomplish as much as I could a decade or so ago in the same amount of time. I am a bit slower than I once was. On some days my eyes are so weak that I cannot see who is at the back of the sanctuary. I wake each morning, with various parts of my body aching, just another reminder that the body is wearing out. Yet, as an elder once told me, "As long as I don't look in the mirror, I still feel young."

Indeed, we, who believe that Jesus died so that we might live in our Father's house, are very young no matter how many years we live in this world. The body may wear out and die; but, the children of God have eternal life. So what is a mere 60 years in all of eternity? Nothing! We are but babes wandering through the wilderness, day by day, with our faces directed toward the promised land.

Thanks be to God; for His mercy is great! He will lead us home. 

God's Peace - Pr. J