Sin

23/2/11                   Numbers 12-13; Psalm 90; Mark 2            

S: Psalm 90:7,8,11,12 We are consumed by your anger and terrified by your indignation. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. ... If only we knew the power of your anger! Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due. Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Mark 2:10, 17 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man,... On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

O: The psalm points out that sin is a big deal with God and has serious consequences. We cannot be too flippant with it.

But on the other hand, Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. So when we have sinned, we must not flee from Him. We must go to Him in repentance.

A: This is the balance we must hold – to regard sin as a horror, yet to realize that God’s grace is also sufficient to overcome that horror, so we must run to God and not away from Him when we have sinned.

P: Father, help me to realize the horror of sin when I am tempted, yet to also remember your tender mercies when I have sinned and to quickly repent.