Scripture

And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.

~Psalm 130:8, NASB

Quote

Your sins can darken your awareness of God’s love, but they cannot darken the reality of that love.

~Dana Ortlund

Sin carries a lot of consequences which is why God encouraged Adam and Eve not to sin. Death is one of the consequences and the one nobody can deny, but there are others. Sin also brings fear and insecurity. Even for those of us who fear God, there is also the fear that He cannot love a wretched sinner like us. I had never paid that much attention to the last line of Psalm 130 until Dana Ortlund mentioned it in his book on Psalms. One word makes a world of difference. The scripture reads, “He {God} will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” It does not read, “He {God} will redeem Israel from some of his iniquities.” All means everyone, every single sin and all sins combined. Israel is in the news today; they are under attack, and I believe that God will save them from their enemies. The greater truth is that God can redeem us from the power and penalty of sin. If my math is right, the nation of Israel has existed for some 3,500 years and they are still in bondage–to sin. I have been praying for them daily. Less than 1% of the Jews living in Israel believe in Jesus Christ. The overwhelming majority do not believe in God nor the Bible. Yet I am convinced that God has not given up on them and He will bring them to Himself, and I hope soon.

We are no more deserving of God’s love than wayward Israel. We can look down on them for their rebellion and sin, but we are no different. How could God love a stiff-necked people like the Jews? The same way He loves a wretched sinner like me. I know one thing; fact and feelings are two different things. I left the SBC meeting in Nashville a couple of years ago feeling elated. It was my understanding that a conservative had been elected President of the Southern Baptist Convention. I sang and rejoiced all the way home. It was a day later before I found out that a conspiracy was in place and that my man was not the president. I spent an entire day celebrating; feeling great about our new president than someone confronted me with the facts. This proves to me that facts and feeling are two different things.  God’s love is a fact, our awareness of His love dictates our feelings or emotions.

Extra

Just fired the old smoker up and put on pork loin and turkey. A lot going on at the POINT today. We are getting our parking lot sealed and stripped, and we have our senior adult fellowship at 11:30. I hope you have a great Friday and a good weekend. Thanks for reading the blog.