Born into Sin, Pray to Overcome

“⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.”

— Psalm 51:5 (ESV)

This morning began a little sobering as I was reading. I am in Psalm 51 as I continue my study of the word “mother”. The passage is titled, “Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God”. And as I read the above verse, it is clear to me that asking God for a clean heart is something I have to remember.

You see, I was born a sinner and need the grace of God in my life just as David did. He understood that no matter where we are now, we came from sin and will always be sinners and need the grace of God to be cleansed. I have to remember to ask to be cleaned every day. And how do I do that, but pray for it and work to live it out every day.

My mother is a very God fearing Christian woman and therefore, I could feel that I was clean from the start of my life. Now where until I understood the difference of right and wrong, I would be accepted by God into the Kingdom of Heaven. But knowing that I would someday grow to know, I was on my way to sin and would need God’s salvation to overcome.

I did accept salvation that was given freely to me and for that all my sins have been washed away. Yet, even as they have been washed away, and will continually be washed away, I still have the responsibility to thank God for that His forgiveness and ask to be forgiven each and every day.

I am still and will always be a sinner. I was born into it. I cannot forget it. But, I was blessed with the way out of payment for my sin, death. Thanks to Jesus for accepting to pay for me. I owe Him all and yet all He wants is my love for Him and to spread the gospel that I received to all of those I interact.

I love my mother and am thankful for her love in my life. She however delivered me into sin and could not save me from the evil one. That was left to the Savior, Jesus who is my redeemer. I am still a sinner, yet through prayer and thanks for salvation and confession coupled with forgiveness of sin I have been given new life in Christ.

What is your view of sin in your life? Were you even aware that you were born into sin? What if you accepted the salvation provided by God to overcome that sin and be give the new life in Christ?

Mother of All

Reminded this morning that Eve was the mother of all.

“²⁰The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” – Genesis 3:20 (ESV)

This got me to thinking about how moms are revered in this world. It is something that we have witnessed throughout. Think about sports, the athletes praise and call out their moms before dads. We think about calling mom when we are away and not dad. Mother’s day is a celebrated event and father’s day is really just on the calendar. This is how it is and as we see from the verse above, it has always been this way.

Mothers comfort us. Mothers care for us. Mothers are those who provide in the home. I am sure that most remember that one house everyone went to where the mom was always doting on the kids of the neighborhood. She was there not just for you, but for all the others as well. We call them soccer moms. My wife, being a teacher and dance team leader, calls all the kids her kids and she is their mom away from home. The male teachers are not in the same category.

Mothers are for all. As is noted in the verse above, Eve was the mother of all living. That translates to today in that mothers are for all. I know that even today, I revere my mother. She cared for me and my siblings on her own and through it all, she sacrificed more than any of us really know. Mothers are for all.

What are your thoughts on mothers? Are you seeing them as just beings that gave you life? What if you were to revere them for all that they gave to you and those around you and realized that they indeed are for all?

God Knows

This morning as I was studying I was lead to more evidence that God knows all, before we or anyone else is informed. I am reading in Genesis a passage that I have read over at least a couple of times before (Genesis 2). And where I have been focused on the learning that God has for me, I somehow missed the foretelling of God’s plans.

“²⁴Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24 (ESV)

And there you have it. God called the future just after the creation of Eve. He made woman and she was good for man as was the intent. They had no children at this time. God told them that there would be and that those children would be to leave their parents to be together as one. Just as Adam and Eve where to be one together in the working of the Garden of Eden.

God knows even when we do not. As creation had just happened, I have to believe that the prospects of children between Adam and Eve were minimal as they had no understanding of things at the time, yet God was sure that they would have children. He knows all and will let us know of His plans in the time that it is needed. Adam and Eve were placed in this world to be the caretakers of it. They relied of God to give them direction of how and with what resources. They were called to obey and part of that obedience was procreation. But, what to come of the children. They would be called to leave and care for one another.

God knows what is to happen well before it does. God knew that Adam and Eve would fall. He knew that they would need to be taken out of the Garden of Eden. He knew they would have children. He knew the children’s actions to come. God knows and I have to remember that as I move through my life.

In working through my life, I have to remember to listen to the LORD and allow Him to guide me. In the words of my pastor Jared Patrick, “The question I not, Is God on my side, but rather, are we on His?” He has the plan and knows the outcome, doesn’t it make sense for me to follow the plan He lays out. God is the only one who already knows the outcome of everything. I have to live a life of worship and be on His side and in a continuation of the message Jared gave, “A life of worship is a life of surrender”. I have to surrender to the LORD and allow His great knowledge to be revealed to me as I progress forward with His plan.

God knows and therefor I should be making my way with Him. I have to surrender to Him and worship Him and be on His side all the way.

Who are you relying on for guidance? Are you looking to someone in this world that may have just struck a bit of luck? What if you relied on the only one who knows, God?