15/10/2020
METHODIST CHURCH NIGERIA
DAILY REFLECTION
THURSDAY OCTOBER 15, 2020
TEXT: PSALM 51:1–19
¹ Have mercy upon me, O God, According to Your lovingkindness; According to the multitude of Your tender mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
³ For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-- That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
⁵ Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.
⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me hear joy and gladness, That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
⁹ Hide Your face from my sins, And blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.
¹⁴ Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, The God of my salvation, And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
¹⁶ For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart-- These, O God, You will not despise.
¹⁸ Do good in Your good pleasure to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You shall be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness, With burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then they shall offer bulls on Your altar.
THEME: HOLISTIC TRUTH
MESSAGE
David began as a righteous ruler, but, like many rulers of our time, power and wealth took their toll on his moral compass. He sinned against God by getting Bathsheba, wife of Uriah, one of his loyal warriors, pregnant and got the husband killed.
Being confronted by Prophet Nathan, who cleverly handled the matter and found David guilty for the heinous crime and coming to grip with his sin, David cried out to God. Now outwardly righteous but inwardly corrupt, David was very far from God. Acknowledging his great sin, King David came to term with these facts;
✓That God is everywhere; He sees and knows even the very thought of our hearts;
✓No matter how you try to cover up and run from your evil ways, God, the all-knowing, will surely find you out some day (139:7–10).;
✓Whatever position or condition you find yourself does not confer you with the power to do evil. God is not a respecter of persons (Act 10:34-35.)
✓You may outwardly appear righteous but inwardly rotten, God judges both motives and actions. (Matthew 23:27 )
✓God has the sovereign power to do and undo. He has the power to bless and to cast into hell (1 Samuel 2:6.), and
✓You can not cover your sin and prosper (verses 6-7, (Proverbs 28:3)
Many conversions these days seem to lack the deep repentance that rends the heart (Joel 2:13.) It is not religion, but a relationship that has been injured and must be restored. "Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, “ cried David (51:4.) Let us learn how to truly repent our sins and avoid going back to it for ever.
HYMN: EMHB 35O
1. WITH broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
Thy pardoning grace is rich and free :
O God, be merciful to me!
2. I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt oppressed;
Christ and His Cross my only plea:
O God, be merciful to me!
3. Far off I stand with tearful eyes,
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see :
O God, be merciful to me!
4. Nor aIms, nor deeds that I have done,
Can for a single sin atone:
To Calvary alone I flee;
O God, be merciful to me
5. And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be :
God has been merciful to me!
MEMORY VERSE:
Psalm 51:17 "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise."
PRAYER:
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Read
Day: John 2;
Night: Amos 1-4
