The Overwhelming Need for Confession and Forgiveness in a Believer’s Life!

02 Aug 2024 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 32:1.        Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

It’s the big day people; Friday! And it’s especially big in the Province of Ontario because it’s our long Civic weekend holiday, where the yearly Caribana celebrations will be front and centre. They had the King and Queen Competition last night, and tonight the Steelbands will be on stage, then tomorrow the grand parade. So when we shout ‘TGIF! Thank God It’s Friday!’ many will truly be thankful. (smile) 

But fortunately, or unfortunately, my time for all the Caribana hoopla is over. I only go to the Steelband competition these days, as I don’t like the sorry spectacle it’s turned into. But that’s just my opinion…and anyway, the ole body can no longer handle all the physical exertion required to participate in the Saturday parade. (smile) 

Today however, we’ll look at Psalm 32, where Bruh David talks about Confession and Forgiveness, two things that are ever so necessary in a believer’s life, especially in these ungodly and evil times. So let’s read: ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth no iniquity (doesn’t charge his account with sin), and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit).’ (Ps. 32:1-2) 

Ah friends, those are such important words for us as believers. For Jesus died that we could be set free from the bondage of sin, and thus we have forgiveness of our sins through the shed blood of Christ on the cross of Calvary. And as Bruh Paul writes to the Ephesians: ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.’ ((Eph. 2:8-9) 

But does that give us the right to sin as we please? Obviously not! And Bruh Paul addresses that question in his letter to the Roman church, when he asks: ‘What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid (certainly not). How shall we, that are dead (who died) to sin, live any longer therein?’ (Rom. 6:1-2) 

That means we cannot take advantage of the grace that abounds from God for our sins and keep on living a sinful life. We ought to do our best to live righteously, although we’re still human and will sin occasionally. (smile) However, when we sin, it is in our best interest to ask for God’s forgiveness as soon as possible. 

Why? Listen to Bruh David from psalm 32: ‘When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (vitality) is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.’ (Ps. 32:3-4) Yes mih bredrin, that’s what happens to us when we don’t confess our sins; they lay heavy on our souls, along with the Lord’s displeasure, such that our vitality, our pleasure in life seems to be lost. 

But look at what happens when we confess. Bruh David writes: ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.’ (Ps. 32:5) Now that’s what we ought to do when we know that we have sinned. And we have a very good example of that not being done by Bruh Daid after he had sinned with Bathsheba. He only confessed his sin after the prophet Nathan, on the Lord’s directive, confronted him with it. And you can find that story in 2 Samuel 12. And from that, it seems Psalm 51- A Plea for Forgiveness – was born. 

There Bruh David writes: ‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified (be found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest.’ (Ps. 51:1-4) 

And although Bruh David’s sin affected his work for God very much, and his confession and plea for forgiveness was somewhat late, the Lord forgave him because of his sincerity, but for the rest of his life he suffered for it with a dysfunctional family. And according to the scholars: ‘The psalm gives expression to why David was “a man after God’s own heart”: he was not perfect, but he had a sensitivity to sin that few knew about.’ 

So much so, that after confessing his sin and pleading for forgiveness, he continues with a plea for cleansing. ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all of mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit.’ (Ps. 51:7-12) 

Yes friends, ofttimes that’s the sort of cleansing we need for some of the sins we’ve committed. But please, let’s remember that if we don’t confess our known sins and ask for forgiveness, they will lay heavily on our conscience and will drag us down, causing us to lose our joy and be very ineffective witnesses for Christ. Now, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, asking for divine aid to live our best lives. 

Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through this past week. You know it’s been rough…   because our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving. And it’s obvious we can’t fix them on our own, so Lord, we’re desperately crying out for your help. Oh heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. We therefore ask you Lord to give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. 

And please help the rest of us to be responsible and to stay safe amidst all the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times. We fervently pray too Lord that you’ll use the discontent and dissatisfaction in our land as a means of restoring faith in you. Return backsliders to your fold. Show them the error of their ways. And please introduce a new flock of believers, who will embrace your LOVE and compassion by the example, we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’ 

And as always, the granting of divine aid depends on the examples that we, supposedly faithful believers set. Much LOVE!

…God’s grace should not be abused…by continual and purposeful sin…

Hear our podcast at https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/randy-obrien

Today’s Scrip-Bit 9 January 2016 Psalm 32:5

09 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 32:5.    I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

Top o’ the morning to you my Scrip-Bit family on this bountiful Saturday! I know it’s been an exhausting week, but that’s what the weekend is there for – rest. And I do hope that we’ll all get plenty of rest and relaxation as we take down our Christmas decorations and lights from the tree and from around our homes. Now the physical Christmas season might be drawing to a close, but the spiritual season of peace and goodwill to men never closes. Let’s remember that and act accordingly. 

And I definitely could not pass up this poem from Gramps Schuler’s (Dr. Robert H. Schuler) Hours of Power Devotions, because I believe it deals with something we desperately need to acknowledge, believe and remember in this most promising year of 2016, that ‘GOD LOVES ME!’  That’s the title. 

And it says: ‘Thank you, Lord, for this holy sentence, this good news, this happy report, this exciting thought, this graceful truth, this fantastic lesson. God LOVES me! Even when I’m at my worst – God LOVES me. Even when my faith is dim – God LOVES me anyway! It is incomprehensible and fantastic! Thank you, Father. Amen.’ 

Ah friends, what incomprehensible and fantastic news indeed that Almighty God LOVES each and every one of us! Glory Hallelujah! God knows us each by name my people, and He takes great interest in all the goings ons in our lives. 

And if you don’t believe that He knows and LOVES us like… like an earthly father LOVES His children, then just think about the heartache He endured on our behalf when He sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, on the cross so that we could be reconciled to Him. If that wasn’t true LOVE, then I don’t know what true LOVE is nuh. 

So, as we go about our daily lives, please, let’s hold that fact first and foremost in our hearts and minds, and let it boost our faith, for it’s something NO ONE can ever take away from us. 

And our Bit bears out the Father’s LOVE in spades: ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’ 

Oh my fellow believers, why would a holy God forgive us our sins, if He didn’t truly care about us eh? Even when He knows that we’ll keep on being disobedient, He still continues to forgive, once we come to Him in sincere repentance. I don’t know about you all nuh people, but I will LOVE and honour and glorify anyone who treats me with such LOVING-kindness! Ah friends, from the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, sin has been the bone of contention between God and man. For as Bruh Paul says in Romans: ‘For all have sinned, and come (fallen) short of the glory of God.’ (Rom. 3:23) 

And that’s no lie mih breddren, all of us have gone astray like lost sheep, doing our own thing, not obeying God’s law. And as John tells us in his first epistle: ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.’ (1 John1:8-10) 

Ah friends, it is ever so important that we own up to our sins, otherwise we’d not only be deceiving ourselves, but also making God a liar by denying His Word that says we’re all sinners. On the other hand, confessing our sinfulness, leads to a just and faithful God cleansing us of our unrighteousness, our sin. What more can a sinful man ask eh? Not much more my fellow believers. 

And we’ll conclude this series of messages on sin, its confession, repentance and forgiveness with the words of a well-known sinner, but also a man after God’s own heart, Bruh David, from Psalm 51 – a prayer for cleansing, after his disastrous episode with Bathsheba. 

‘Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy LOVING-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee only have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest be justified (found just) when thou speakest, and be clear (blameless) when thou judgest…. 

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God: and renew a right (steadfast) spirit within me. 

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not away thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free (generous) spirit. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.’ (Ps.51:1-4, 7-13) 

Ah mih people, yuh see sin can affect any human being regardless of their power and status! God was generous to a fault to Bruh David, but yet the sinful nature we’re born with keeps trying to pull us away from God. ‘Behold, I was shapen (brought forth) in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.’ (Ps.51:5) 

But friends, the great part of it all, is that though Bruh David sinned grievously against the Lord, He forgave him when he confessed and repented of his transgressions. The price he paid was steep, with confusion reigning thereafter in his family, but the forgiveness was surely worth it, because it meant that he was still a child of God, sincerely LOVED and cared about by the heavenly Father. There can be no better situation than that my people. 

So please, let’s be wise and confess our sins to Almighty God nuh. And even though the consequences of our sin might be pretty tough, believe me, the forgiveness will always outweigh it. Much LOVE!

…the forgiveness of sin…can only be accomplished…on the heels of sincere confession and repentance…

Today’s Scrip-Bit 8 January 2016 Psalm 32:5‏‏

08 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 32:5.  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

Well Friends, I can just imagine how you all must be shouting it from the rooftops this morning eh: ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday! Thank God that the weekend is here at last! Wow! It certainly has been a tiring week! Thank God it’s Friday oui, and no more work for a couple days! The body certainly crying out for some rest!’ 

Ah mih people, I know that this first Friday of work in the new year has indeed been somewhat trying and tiring after all the season’s celebrations. But unfortunately, them’s the breaks. (smile) We can’t just play alone, sometime or other we need to work too. 

And remember that it’s working which enables us to play. And I have to laugh how we crying out for rest, rather than the usual party scene. Hn, hn! Anyway, let’s all hang in there and chant our Friday Chant that will give us a better perspective on the weekend. 

As one now: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. 

Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ 

Yes friends, rest and worship are essential parts of our weekend, so that we can come back out strong on Monday and continue the cycle of building Christ’s LOVE Revolution. Remember that this is the year that the LOVE Revolution must sweep the world if we want to have any chance of turning things around. 

It’s our job, as believers in Christ, to go out there and make believers of the unbelievers through both our talk and our walk. Nothing else is going to change them! 

Now let’s turn to our Bit. ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’ 

Ah mih people, what a wonderful God we serve and worship! There’s no other supposed deity who forgives sin! Just the ONE and ONLY TRUE and LIVING God; He of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! 

Yes my brethren, our God is indeed a truly magnanimous and forgiving Deity! But that doesn’t mean it gives us the right to keep on participating in sin, because on the other side of the coin, sin bears serious penalties from a holy God. 

We saw yesterday, how God’s friend and man after His own heart, Bruh David paid an enormous price for his sin with Bathsheba, although he repented and was forgiven. But his sin had caused great occasion for God’s enemies to blaspheme His name, and that was definitely not acceptable. 

So though we may sincerely repent and be forgiven, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there will be no negative consequences. So the best remedy is to sin as little as possible. (smile) Oh we all know that that is easier said than done, but we must always give it our best effort, with God’s help of course. 

Now hear this gem on sin from Cousin Sol. ‘He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.’ (Prov.28:13) 

Oh glory to God my people for His mercy and LOVING-kindness! But please note that Cousin Sol didn’t just say to confess our sins, but also to forsake them, stop committing them; especially the same ones over and over. That is also a necessary part of the whole scenario my brethren. 

Remember, though confessions and repentance and forgiveness are ours, it doesn’t give us a licence to sin. But when we do sin, it is essential that we come to God in repentance and confession as soon as possible, because any sin that burdens our hearts, also keeps us out of God’s good graces, and we definitely don’t want to be excluded from that. 

Now let’s look at some scripture on sin and its effects on the human body and psyche. Listen to Bruh David from Psalm 38 – The prayer of a penitent heart. 

‘O Lord rebuke me not in thy wrath: neither chasten me in thy hot displeasure. For thine arrows stick fast in me (pierce me deeply), and thy hand presseth me sore (down). There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest (health, peace) in my bones because of my sin. 

For mine iniquities have gone over mine head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink and are corrupt (are foul and festering) because of my foolishness. I am troubled (bowed down) greatly; I go mourning all the day long.’ (Ps.38:1-6) 

Yes friends, that’s how sin ought to make us feel, so that we can come running to God and sincerely declare: ‘For I am ready to halt (to fall), and my sorrow is continually before me. For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin…. Forsake me not, O Lord: O my God, be not far from me. Make haste to help me, O Lord my salvation.’ (Ps.38:17-18, 21-22) 

Ah my fellow believers, sin is no joke, so please let’s not encourage it in our lives, because we’re liable to pay a hefty price of negative consequences if we do. As Uncle Charles (Charles Stanley) so wisely declares: obey God and leave all the consequences to Him. Now that is indeed the wisest way to live! Much LOVE!

…sin is the devil’s handiwork…and it can only be erased through…confession, repentance and God’s mercy…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 7 January 2016 Psalm 32:5‏

07 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 32:5.  I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

Well hello there my beautiful fellow believers in Jesus Christ! As usual, it’s a brand new day with brand new mercies and blessings flowing down from heaven on high! Oh glory to our great and ever-generous God! 

So let’s be wise and accept them in the spirit in which they are being offered nuh, say a grateful thank you Lord, and acknowledge with sincere reverence His holy presence. 

At the same time, let’s all declare this biblical truth: ‘This is the day the Lord has made, we WILL rejoice and be glad in it!’ Yes my people, that’s the only option that makes any sense as true and faithful believers. 

Now today I want to shake us up a little, raise our faith level some, get us coming up over our problems, by reciting the Mountain Mover’s Prayer, penned by Gramps Schuler (Dr. Robert H. Schuler). 

Please declare in faith with me: ‘Lord when I face a mountain, do not let me quit!  Give me the strength to keep on striving until I climb over; Find a pass through, or tunnel underneath. And if my best efforts fail, give me the patience to stay, And the perception to see the possibilities Of turning my mountain into a gold mine with your help. Amen.’ 

Ah Friends, that is exactly the patience, the perseverance, the stick-to-it kind of faith we need to succeed in this dark and dangerous world! And there’s no better time to incorporate that into our souls and minds than at the beginning of this new year. 

So with that strong foundation laid down in our spirits, let’s now turn to our Bit: ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’ 

Yes my brethren, confessing our sins to Almighty God is one of the best moves we can ever make in this earthly life! It just lightens our load and brings us closer to our heavenly Father. And there’s nothing He desires more than that, because He is a holy God and cannot tolerate or associate with sin, or sinful people. 

So when we clear our consciences in the name of Jesus, on the basis of the work that our Lord and Saviour has done, then it clears the way for the Father to work with us and on our behalf. 

Enough of my moralizing though, (smile) let’s turn to the scriptures for enlightenment and encouragement on the subject. And we’ll start with one of the best and well known examples of confession of sin; that after Bruh David had taken up with Bathsheba and had her husband Uriah killed in battle. 

When the prophet Nathan confronted him with the secret sin, Bruh David confessed his transgression and threw himself upon the mercy of the Lord. 

‘And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.’ (2.Sam.12:13-14) 

And we all know how the child of Bathsheba became sick and Bruh David fasted and prayed for the child’s life to be saved, but it wasn’t. (2 Sam.12:15-23) 

But please note too friends, that because Bruh David’s sin had been so disgusting, and though the Lord forgave him, He put a curse on him that he would have problems within his own house. ‘Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. 

Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil (adversity) against thee out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.’ (2 Sam.12:10-12) 

Ah mih people, sin is indeed a grievous thing, with serious consequences, even though we repent of it. 

And the scholars tell us: ’12:10-11. These judgements came to pass literally in the sins of his (David’s) own household (ch.13), the rebellion by his own son Absalom (ch.15), and the civil war that followed (chs.16-20) David was never fully to know rest again.’ 

Oh Friends, our God does not make idle promises, please remember that. Anything He says He will do, He will do it! 

And we have some more scholarly explanations. ’12:13. David genuinely grieved and repented (cf. Ps.32:5 – our Bit; 51:3-4). However the seed of sin was immediately to bear bitter fruit, for the child born of the adultery became grievously ill and died (vv.15-18).’ 

And I think we should all pay particular attention to this next scholar’s note. ’12:14. David’s sin had brought the name of God into disrepute. Such knowledge ought to serve as a deterrent to willful sin on the part of believers (cf. 1 Tim.5:14; 6:1).’ 

Yes my fellow believers, as they say, one of the best ways to learn is from the mistakes of others, therefore please, please, let us learn from Bruh David’s serious mistake, for the Lord will not put up with continual sin in our lives. 

Please remember too: ‘For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through (in) Jesus Christ our Lord.’ (Rom.6:23) 

Now let’s ponder on that today, for it is indeed wisdom of everlasting proportions! Much LOVE!

…we can sugar-coat sin…but in the long run…sin always has negative consequences…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 January 2016 Psalm 32:5

06 Jan 2016 Leave a comment

by randyobrien50 in Christian Thoughts and Inspiration., Daily Devotion, Daily Inspiration, Inspirational Living, Spiritual Living Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Psalm 32:5.   I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.

And then it was Wednesday! How yuh going mih Scrip-Bit family? Hope the new year is progressing smoothly and that you are managing everything nicely through the good graces of our wonderful God. 

It’s going to be an awesome year, this 2016! So with that in mind, let’s all perk up and seriously come together in Christ and do His works nuh, works that are necessary to show ourselves as true believers. 

Remember Jesus said, by their fruit ye shall know them, (Matt.7:20) and the past few days we’ve been reading James, who declares that faith without good works is meaningless. That means we have got to come up over our problems and inject more of our faith into the things we do and say. 

And we can begin today by declaring our Wednesday Wail. Altogether now: ‘Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: I’m so glad to be alive on this Wednesday! Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday: Thank God the breath of life is still flowing through me on this Wednesday! 

I am halfway home. My hands are fixed securely on the plough, and I’m not turning back. I’m not looking back at the past, not focusing on what has gone before. But my eyes are fixed straight ahead; straight ahead to a glorious future with Jesus. Glory Hallelujah!’ 

Ah Friends, doesn’t that just lift your spirits? It surely does mine! I am glad to be alive, and looking forward, not backward….and oh…the promise of that glorious future with Jesus just makes me want to jump for joy and shout His wonderful name! (smile) 

Oh my people, we all know that life is not fair or easy, but God is good, and our attitude towards life is what separates the goats from the sheep. Some of us bring a positive attitude to it and therefore have more enjoyment, despite the many problems we all face. 

Meanwhile, others portray a negative outlook, and thus live shallow, meaningless, miserable and unhappy lives. That is not the kind of life Jesus died for us to have. He sacrificed His holy and sinless life so that we could have life and even have it more abundantly. (John 10:10) 

The problem though is that we have to step up to the plate with good attitudes to embrace that abundant life. It doesn’t just come up on its own. And good attitudes don’t just spring up on their own either. We need to come to God for help in achieving them. 

That brings us to our Bit, taken from Psalm 32 – The blessedness of forgiveness. ‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’  

This is Bruh David at his best. As the scholars declare: ‘Psalm 32. The psalm describes the blessedness of forgiveness as no other does. This is the theme of especially the first five verses, which include the happiness of the forgiven man (vv.1-2), the physical and psychological effects of unconfessed sin (vv.3-4), and the simple remedy of confession to obtain God’s forgiveness (v.5). 

On this basis David can experience prayer (vv.6-7), divine instruction (vv.8-9), and personal witness (vv.10-11).’ 

Now that’s all true my people, but I want to point out one thing here, though the remedy of confession might be simple, it certainly needs to be sincere, if we expect our sins to be forgiven. We just can’t go to God and ask for forgiveness, if we don’t feel it in our hearts, because that’s the first place He’s going to look, not just listen to the platitudes that we mouth. 

Anyway, let’s get into the Psalm. ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not (does not charge his account with) iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile (deceit). 

When I kept silence, my bones waxed (grew) old through my roaring (groaning) all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture (my vitality) is turned into the drought of summer.  Selah.’ (Ps.32:1-4) 

Yeh friends, yuh see what happens to us when we live with unconfessed sin? We moan and groan all day long, the Lord’s hand is heavy upon us, and our vitality is sapped like the summer’s drought. So living with unconfessed sin is not a very wise thing to do. 

And today would be a very good day for those of us who feel old and dried up and miserable and can’t get ourselves together, to consider what sin(s) we might be withholding and go to God and confess them. 

Oh my brethren, I can tell you from personal experience that when you get any sin at all off your chest, you feel like a million dollars compared to how you felt before. Bruh David learned that the hard way, as no doubt some of us are doing. 

But there’s absolute truth in our Bit my people, so much so that it’s worth repeating again.‘I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.  Selah.’ 

And there’s no better time than right now, the start of this pivotal year, for us to go to God and spill out our hearts to Him in all sincerity and truth. Friends, our Creator and Provider is waiting for us to come to Him in sincere repentance. 

As Bruh David says after our Bit. ‘For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. (Ps.32:6) 

Gospel truth that, my brethren! So please, today, let’s take a few minutes to ponder our sins, our troubles, whatever is wrong in our lives and then sincerely take them to God in prayer nuh. For that is wisdom at its absolute best. Much LOVE!

…a life filled with unconfessed sin…is no life at all…