Do not keep silent, O God!
Do not hold Your peace,
And do not be still, O God! ...
So pursue them with Your tempest,
And frighten them with Your storm.
Fill their faces with shame,
That they may seek Your name, O LORD.
~ Psalms 83:1,15-16 (NKJV)
"I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
~ Genesis 3:10 (NKJV)
"You say, 'I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing'—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked ..."
~ Revelation 3:17 (NKJV)
Sin blinds both the best and the worst of us.
Those who do not know Christ cannot believe they need Him unless they first believe that their sin condemns them. They stand naked before God, who sees all. Their shame—whether understood or not—permits them no peace. And they have no clue what the problem is.
Those of us in Christ are clothed in righteousness, free of condemnation before God. But we still walk in sinful flesh through a world of sin. The Lord called some within His church "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked."
God forbid that we should be blind and know no shame for sin! The Lord asks His people to "humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways." It is tortuous to live amid our nation's sin, but repentance starts with us.
O God, please let us see ourselves as You do—beloved beyond measure, and still in need of washing. Even as You give us peace beyond understanding, please do not hold Your peace about sin which repels You. Break down strongholds! Let us be sanctified and pleasing to You.
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BuildingHisBody@gmail.com. Copyright 2009, Anne Lang Bundy, all rights reserved.
Yes Lord, I want to be pleasing to You.
ReplyDeleteAmen and amen. As Christians, we are freed from sin, but we are still human. May we always seek God to break down those strongholds in our lives.
ReplyDelete