Abounding in Love & Grace

Psalm 103:8-12 "The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Thank goodness for this verse.  It epitomizes God's grace towards us.  We have nothing to fear because of Jesus' dying for our sins and taking our place before the Father.  Likewise, the Father was forgiving with David and Bathsheba in 2 Sam 11 & 12.  Their sin was sexual sin which easily finds its way in our lives when we are blessed or when we are struggling.  Odd, you say, that it finds its way in at both of these times but as Pastor JD explained tonight when we are blessed we tend to forget our dependence on God and when we are struggling we are searching for a substitute for God. 

In 2 Sam 11, David was truly blessed as King of Israel but he was also disengaged.  He sent forth his armies without him which was not normally the custom.  Being disengaged from God can happen to any of us if we are not heavenly minded and keeping our eyes on things above.  Avoid temptation.  David was seeking something other than God on top of the palace and found Bathsheba bathing.  Avoiding temptation is far easier than resisting sin.  JD reiterated this point time and again during the sermon.  Don't put yourself in tempting situations, situations where you may have fallen before, situations where you know your mate is weak, any situation that might cause you to sin.  Can you be forgiven?  Of course, there is never a sin that is too much for God to handle or forgive you for.  Not forgiving you would be requiring two payments for the same sin -- remember, Jesus has already paid the debt once and His mercy and grace won't permit 2 payments.  But repentance means trying to learn from your past failures and rise above the sin that plagues you and this world.

David fell to sexual sin and slept with Bathsheba and she conceived a child.  David then had her husband killed and married her and swept the whole thing under the carpet but God knew of the sin.  God was displeased but David sought the Lord and found His favor again.  God had not left David even though David had strayed and sinned.  There were consequences that had to be paid for David's sin.  That's life.  But God's forgiveness is everlasting and is available for each of us, no matter what we have done. 

So what can we draw from David's experience:
1.  Sin can destroy your life.  Repent and accept God's forgiveness.
2.  Be actively engaged in God's plans.  Healthy individuals are washed (clean), justified (safe) and sanctified (special).
3.  Flee temptation.  Just plain RUN!!!  Run Forrest Run!!!
4.  Be captivated by GOD'S beauty -- The way to overcome sexual sin is NOT by learning to love them LESS, it's learning to love God MORE!!!

I was challenged by JD's words.