Tag: blameless

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Genesis Devotions

Righteous and blameless

Genesis

When the LORD saw that human wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every inclination of the human mind was nothing but evil all the time, the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and he was deeply grieved…

Noah, however, found favor with the LORD…Noah was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Noah walked with God. (Genesis 6:5-6, 8-9)

We live in a world much like Noah’s, with wickedness widespread, and the inclination of the mind seemingly evil all the time. And our Lord grieves.

But as I was reflecting on these verses, I put in my name in place of Noah’s.

“Bruce, however, found favor with the Lord. Bruce was a righteous man, blameless among his contemporaries; Bruce walked with God.”

Honestly, when I look at my life, and all my sins and failings, it’s hard to see God looking at me with favor and calling me a righteous man, blameless among my contemporaries.

But God reminded me this morning that I am righteous and blameless, not because I am perfect, but simply because I walk with him, trusting him, following him, honoring him as my Creator and Lord, believing that he is good.

And though I may not be perfect, because Jesus died on the cross, washing away my sins and clothing me with his righteousness, God can call me righteous and blameless in his sight. (Ephesians 1:4; Colossians 1:22)

That’s a pretty incredible thing to ponder.

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Psalms

Blameless, under God’s grace

Psalms

Psalm 26 is another psalm where I wish I knew when David wrote it.

Did he write it during the time of his flight from Saul? Or from Absalom? Or did he write it at some other time in his life?

Looking at what he says, it would seem to make sense that this happened during his flight from Saul. For in these verses, he sings,

Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life.

I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.

Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;
for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth. (Psalm 26:1–3)

Because of his failures with Bathsheba and Uriah, it would be much easier to see him singing this during his time fleeing from Saul. Certainly, he could say these things with much more confidence back then.

But what intrigues me is the idea that perhaps he wrote this song after his sin with Bathsheba. That it happened during his flight from Absalom.

And if that is so, then he truly understood the depth of God’s forgiveness. That God had indeed washed him as white as snow. That God had blotted out his iniquities as he had asked. (Psalm 51)

So when he talks about his blamelessness, he says this with confidence not based on the fact that he was, but on the basis of knowing that God had forgiven his sin and remembered his sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)

Now by God’s mercy, he was back on track, living the life that God had intended for him, and he could praise God saying,

I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, O LORD,
proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds. (6–7)

And he could say with confidence,

My feet stand on level ground (12).

So many times we look at our lives, and we see our failures. We see our sin.

And Satan would accuse us, saying, “See! You’re no good. Look at yourself. Look at what a mess you made out of your life.”

During those times, let us look Satan in the eye and tell him, “What you say is true. But God has already forgiven my sin, and no longer remembers it.

“You have no right to accuse me anymore when my Judge doesn’t. So get away from me Satan and take your accusations with you.

“I’m God’s child now, and I’m forgiven. And in his eyes, I’m blameless.”

Categories
Psalms

To be like Him

Psalms

As is often the case with David, he wrote Psalm 17 when he was in trouble, and people were pursuing his life.

One thing that strikes me about David is he refused to lower himself to the level of his pursuers. He refused to become like them. He wrote,

Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed.

Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded. My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. (Psalm 17:3–5)

So many times, we think, “There’s no other choice. I have to bend the rules a bit if I’m going to deal with those who hate me. Otherwise they’re going to walk all over me.”

But David continued to do what God had said was right, and left his vindication in God’s hands. He cried out,

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.

Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.

Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. (6–9)

Then we see the strongest desire of this man whom God called, “a man after his own heart.”

David basically said, “Go ahead, Lord. Let my enemies have the temporary treasures of this world that they seek. But as for me, this is what I want: I desire to see your face.

“And the one thing that will satisfy me is to wake up and to see that I have become just like You whom I love.”

There’s a song I love that says,

When I grow up I wanna be just like you.
I wanna learn to love the way you do.

I’d like for people to say with a smile,
“He’s surely his Father’s child.”

And when I grow up, I wanna be just like you.

That’s God’s desire for us too. Paul put it this way,

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

May our goal in life not be the things of this world. And let us not lower ourselves to the level of those who hate us, becoming like them.

Rather, let us become more like the Father who loves us, so that when others see us, they see Him in us.