Blessed Forgiveness

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

How would you like to be sitting in a jail cell today facing life in prison without parole? You are condemned for a crime that you most certainly DID commit. You will spend the rest of your life in this small cage, vilified by civilized society. When you die and are buried in the prison cemetery, far from any loved ones, you will be gone and forgotten to no one’s regret. That is a horrible picture. But it is not just a picture of some horrible murderer; it is the picture that God paints of all mankind. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” That is truth one. “For the wages of sin is death.” That is truth two. If you break just one of God’s laws then you are guilty of breaking them all; “You have become a transgressor of the law.” That is truth three.

But what if we could be forgiven? What if we could not only be forgiven but declared “Not Guilty”? What if the stone walls and iron bars were gone? What if we could walk with our heads high and breathe the glorious clean air again? That is what it means to be forgiven. Christ has died that we might live. He exchanged His righteousness for our sins that we might have His righteousness instead of our sins. That is forgiveness. We can live with freedom from guilt and live in the hope of a new and better day every day. That is forgiveness. Have you claimed it through faith in Christ? That is the only place to ever receive it. Through Him alone is offered forgiveness.

Dear Father, Thank You for loving us so much that You gave Your own Son to die for our sins that we might have forgiveness in Him. Amen.

Raised with Christ to Everlasting Life

“O Lord, You have brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.” Psalm 30:3

Of all the lessons from Scripture this is surely the most precious. David prophesied of the resurrection of the dead to be raised to eternal life in glory. The New Testament clearly teaches us that mankind is born already dead. Paul said of mankind, “You who were dead in your trespasses and sins.” (Eph. 2:1) There is the simple three second commentary on knowing Christ that also covers this truth, “Born once, die twice; born twice, die once.” Those outside of Christ are already dead and will spend eternity in the pit of death. Those who are born again into Christ will die to the old man when they are saved and then live forever.

David rejoiced in this truth, this hope, this divine promise. Psalm 30 reminds us of the greatest fact in Scripture. Christ died for the sinner so that sinner wouldn’t have to die. Christ entered hell for the sinner so that the sinner would not have to enter there. All who believe in Him as the saving Son of God receive the gift of His forgiveness and eternal life. We shall be raised incorruptible, alive with Him forevermore. Oh, what a treasured hope this is!

Dear Father, You have given us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life in Your Son. Help us each day to remember that gift and rejoice in it. Amen.

The praise of His glory is our purpose

“Give unto the Lord the glory due His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” Psalm 29:2

Three times in Ephesians chapter one we are told that we have been saved for the praise of His glory. Our very existence is to be consumed with the praise of His glory. The aim and objective of our lives, our stated purpose in being is to be to the praise of His glory. How great is His glory? It extends to the farthest reaches of earth and heaven according the writer of Psalm 148. His glory is to be declared by every created thing, animate and inanimate. That is a lot of glory.

To declare that glory we are to worship in the beauty of holiness. That isn’t the design of our churches or the Sunday clothes we wear. It isn’t the exultant strains of our finest choirs or loftiest music. The beauty of His holiness is Jesus Christ. We are to glorify the Father through the Son. He has given us robes of righteousness for the filthy and contaminated clothes of our sins. He has given us a new song that sings of His salvation. He has given us hope and peace in this life and eternal resurrection in heaven after death. Our lives, Sunday and every day, should be a single song of praise due to our rebirth in Jesus Christ which is the beauty of holiness and for the glory of God.

Dear Father, Thank You for giving us new life and clean robes of righteousness through Your Son. Help us each day to remember that in Him we are to live to the praise of Your glory. Amen. 

The Friday Benediction

Until Monday, my friends, may the good God envelop you with His grace; may you prove the common confession of faith, “I believe in the holy Christian church and in the fellowship of the saints”, and may you be enriched with joy and hope as you exercise that confession this weekend.  Amen

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so and receive it each day M-F by choosing the Abundant Grace section on my website and signing up for free delivery every day. 

One Leader; One Hope; One Strength

“The Lord is the light of my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1

The election of 2014 is old news. It happened weeks ago meaning that in our modern culture it is actually ancient news. Some people are exultant about the results and others are saddened. This is the problem with placing the hope of our life in earthly things. When Barak Obama was elected president in 2008 many people hoped that he was the “savior” of our nation, the great unifier of the American people. Since that time his popularity has waned to very low ebb and he is viewed by many as the greatest divider of our nation in modern history.

The psalmist had his sights set a great deal higher than the American electorate. He saw that God was the only hope of salvation and the only strength that would last. When we set our sight on man we will always be disappointed. We all have feet of clay. God alone is the hope of His people. Leaders will come and go. Some will be good and some very bad. God will never change and He is always in ultimate control. He is to be the sole focus for the believer for our hope and security in this age and the next. Whatever may happen because of earthly leaders, let us steadfastly keep our eyes on God, the strength of our lives and the assurance of our salvation.

Dear Father, Forgive us for trusting too much in man and too little in You. You have given us Jesus Christ for our salvation and the true strength of our lives each day. Amen. 

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so and receive it each day M-F by choosing the Abundant Grace section on my website and signing up for free delivery every day. 

This day is God's. What would He have you to do in it?

“Show me Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.” Psalm 25:4

Isaiah prophesied that God’s people would hear the voice that said, “This is the way; walk ye in it.” (Is. 30:21) David asked God to show just such a way to Him. We realize that God has given to us the “Big Picture”. We know how to be saved. We know the Ten Commandments. We know simple truths that apply to our lives every day. But do we know the way for our life today. God told Joshua to have the people stand back away from the Ark of the Covenant when they were ready to pass into the Promised Land. He told them to stand back because, “you have not passed this way before”. (Josh. 3:4)

It is true that we have lived many days before this day, but we have never lived this day before. This day we need to know what God would have us do. Today we need to have God teach us His paths. How does He want us to glorify Him today? What makes today unique in our life with God? What way would He have us live today that we didn’t live yesterday and may not need to live tomorrow. Each day is new and each day we need to have Him show us His path for today.

Dear Father, Let me be sensitive to know Your path for my life this day. Amen. 

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so and receive it each day M-F by choosing the Abundant Grace section on my website and signing up for free delivery every day. 

Let Me Not Be Ashamed

Lessons from Psalms: 21

“Unto You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, I trust in Thee; let me not be ashamed.” Psalm 25:1

We pray for many things every day. We pray for our daily bread and for our families. We pray for our nation and for our missionaries. We pray for the sick and for lost souls to be saved. This psalm introduces a topic that most people don’t pray for. David says, “Let me not be ashamed.” Whether we realize it or not the world is watching us every day. If they see us pull out of our driveways every Sunday headed for church, they might be very curious as to how that really plays out in our lives. David was concerned about that.

David had every right to be. His behavior with Bathsheba had brought blasphemy to God’s name. Nathan told David that his sin had given the enemies of God “great occasion to blaspheme.” (II Sam. 12:14) David’s conduct had brought shame to God’s name and to David as well. In Psalm 25 David asks God to help in his daily life to not be ashamed of his testimony before either God or man. That is quite a prayer lesson that we can appropriate for ourselves.

Dear Father, Let us so walk that we bring shame to neither to Your name nor ours. Amen. 

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so and receive it each day M-F by choosing the Abundant Grace section on my website and signing up for free delivery every day. 

The Victorious Chief Shepherd

Lessons from Psalms: 20

“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.” Psalm 24:7

Psalm24 is the last in the trio of psalms picturing Christ as the Shepherd. In this psalm we see Him as the victorious Shepherd. He was the suffering Shepherd in Psalm 22, the caring and tender Shepherd in Psalm 23 and now in this psalm He is seen ascending into His glorious throne and being welcomed as heaven’s gates open to the Victor. One day the gates of the city of Jerusalem will open to this victorious Shepherd as He returns to take His rightful reign on earth. Peter speaks of this as the coming of the Chief Shepherd who will also offer crowns to His loyal under-shepherds. In Psalms 22-24 we see the past, present and future work of our Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

John W. Peterson wrote a beautiful hymn expressing the triumph of Psalm 24. “Open wide, ye everlasting doors, let the King of glory in; now returning from His earthly wars, He the victory did win. See the rich red wounds He bears, scars of battle now He wears; He has wrested Satan’s throne, He must reign and He alone!” Praise God for the mighty victory of Christ the Suffering Good Shepherd, the Tender Great Shepherd and the Victorious Chief Shepherd of our souls.

Dear Father, Thank You for the complete work of Christ our Shepherd for us, the often wandering sheep of Your pasture. Amen.   

You can contact me and find inspiring Christian books at my website: www.davidccraig.net

If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so and receive it each day M-F by choosing the Abundant Grace section on my website and signing up for free delivery every day.