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 Devotion
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We live in a society that is filled with people who are
looking for acceptance by their family, by their friends
and or by their peers. It is amazing how much energy
goes into the pursuit of this acceptance. This longing for
acceptance, for significance is what fuels things like the
fashion industry. It is what causes people to walk into
a shop and pay the most outrageous price for a garment
that has cost a few dollars to get into the country. It
is what drives us to succeed, to seek that all-important
promotion, to ascend the ladder of ambition. However,
it is interesting to note how few people are interested
in their acceptance before God. This is the motivation
behind the writing of
Psalm 32Psalm 32 by King David.
He had found himself in unfamiliar territory when
at home resting he found himself looking at a beautiful
woman and before he knew it he had committed adultery
and followed it up with murder. For a whole year he
tried to function as if everything was just fine but it
didn’t work out as he had hoped for. The breakthrough
came via the prophet Nathan which brought David to
the place of confession. Four things are worth noting
from this psalm:
1. The blessing of acceptance
verses 1-2verses 1-2. David
opens the psalm with a series of beatitudes. We are
blessed when our transgressions are forgiven. The
word transgression means to cross the line separating
obedience from disobedience. When David crossed
the line he went through a process that every one of
us go through when we sin. In
2 Samuel 11:2-42 Samuel 11:2-4 we
read that David saw a woman bathing. Then we read
that David inquired about the woman, which is a polite
way of saying that he coveted her for himself. Lastly we
read that he took her and lay with her. This is exactly
what happens to us when we step across the line and
transgress. David was declaring his relief at knowing
God’s forgiveness. His sins were covered which is
another way of saying his sin was no longer counted
against him. Sin is an archery term which means to
miss the mark. Iniquity means to be twisted which is
exactly what happens to our character when we step
across the line.
2. The cost of unforgiveness
verses 3-4verses 3-4. For a year
David worked hard to try and pretend that his life was
on track, when in reality it was a disaster, because sin
is always costly. The fact is that sin is invariably much
more costly than what was first anticipated. Charles
Spurgeon puts it so well when he said; “God does not
permit his children to sin successfully.” John Donne
wrote; “Sin is a serpent, and he who covers sin only
keeps it warm, that it may sting more fiercely, and
disperse the harm and venom more effectively.”
The problem with unconfessed sin is that it haunts
our minds and our bodies. I am sure that many of the
illnesses that afflict so many people can be tracked back
to them carrying a burden they were never meant to
carry — the burden of unconfessed sin, the burden of
guilt. This is why when someone comes into a personal
relationship with the Lord Jesus they will often describe
their first response as if a great weight was lifted off their
shoulders. That weight is the weight of unconfessed sin
and its associated guilt.
This was the problem David faced and it played
havoc with his spiritual, physical and emotional health.
He had become a physical wreck underlined by the
expression that his bones were growing old and groaning
all the day long. Then we see that his vitality was turned
into the drought of summer. When we are carrying
unconfessed sin it saps our spiritual and physical vitality
and we end up with lives that are cracked and marred.
This is why God will chasten us to get us back into
a right relationship with Him, because being out of
fellowship with God is not only costly but hard.
3. The way of deliverance
verses 5-7verses 5-7. The way of
deliverance is not complex. We first of all need to be
honest with ourselves, because unless we are we are
never going to be honest with God, even though He
already knows the truth. Then we need to confess our
sin or sins specifically to God. Then we need to accept
God’s forgiveness, which includes forgiving ourselves,
and move on. Once we do this the way is open to again
enjoy fellowship with God. David began to once again
know a communion with God through prayer and
praise. It was as if he was trumpeting the chorus: I’m
forgiven! This forgiveness is then marked by a trust in
God for His ongoing victory in our walk with God, and
for His care and protection.
There is something that we should note here in
amongst all this elation at being forgiven. Forgiveness
does not necessarily deliver us from the consequences
of our sin. David’s life after his sin with Bathsheba was
marred by family upheaval and intrigue. I am sure there
were times when David asked himself the question:
“Was my sin really worth all the trouble and heartache
that has come as a consequence of it?” I think we can all
answer that one fairly quickly.
4. The joy of obedience
verses 8-12verses 8-12. There were
three things that happened as a result of David
rejoicing in being right with God. He could know
God’s instruction. One sure way to know if someone
is in tune with God is if they are teachable or not. The
Christian out of fellowship with God is often marked
by an arrogance that is difficult to deal with. Then
the obedient Christian can know God’s guidance and
will gladly follow. They are not like the mule who was
marked by stubbornness. Then last but certainly not
least the obedient Christian will revel in the mercy of
God. When we do we will be glad and shout for joy in
the Lord.
If you have been drifting in the wilderness of
unforgiveness then God is saying to you to come back
into a right relationship with Him, come back into the
joy of the Lord today!
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POINTS TO PONDER
Praise
-
We are rejoicing in the Lord
for a tremendous Christmas
edition of Challenge where
we printed and distributed
102,000 newspapers.
- Praise the Lord for the
opportunities we are gaining
almost by the month to go
into new countries. This
coming March we are
hopeful of moving into
Nigeria with our first edition
of Challenge.
- We continue to thank God for our third edition of
Challenge subtitled Destiny newspaper for India where
are have printed 100,000 in English We praise the
Lord for the opportunity next edition in April to print
100,000 in English and 100,000 in Hindi.
- Praise God for new staff joining the Challenge team. In
April this year John Palandri will be joining our team
as our Impact Mission Team Director amongst other
duties.
- We praise the Lord for some very encouraging and
exciting gifts we have received via farmers putting wheat
into the silo on our behalf for overseas projects. We
have had three such gifts which have amounted close to
$30,000 for which we are enormously grateful.
- We praise the Lord for the churches, individuals and
Christian business people who continue to support the
work of Challenge faithfully throughout each year.
- We praise the Lord for our partners around the world
in South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Kenya, South and
Central America, North America and New Zealand.
Prayer
-
Please be much in prayer for the expansion of Challenge
in Australia. We would love to see the Australian edition
of Challenge increase to 75,000 plus per month. We
have been praying for this goal now for some time
and found it very difficult to see the numbers of paper
increase.
- Pray for the upcoming Soccer World Cup edition of
the paper as we are getting much interest but as always
the challenge will be to fund the print run which will
be substantial. At this stage we anticipate somewhere
around 500,000 papers for the Southern African region
and then probably another print run for Malawi and
Kenya. We will also be doing a Spanish edition of
South and Central America and at this stage we have not
finalised exact numbers.
- Continue to pray for John Palandri as he raises personal
support. We are endeavouring to raise about $50,000 to
cover his allowance plus other expenses that are tied up
with that. We would really value prayer for John as he
with his wife Jenny prepare to come into a faith ministry
organisation from his secular work. This is never easy
and the enemy will always do what he can to frustrate
the task.
- Please continue to pray for the finances to cover all
our needs for Southern and Central Africa, Southern
and Central America, North America, India and also
with Australia and New Zealand and the other various
countries around the world we are working in.
- Please pray for Carl Carmody and Andrew Trezona as
they head to New South Wales for a couple of weeks for
promotion and development. The plan is to focus more
clearly on the Eastern seaboard this year so we can see
the paper increase significantly in those states.
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Challenge Literature Fellowship Bank Account direct deposit details
BSB: 066162 / Account: 00900455
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Address: PO Box 978, Cloverdale WA 6985,
Phone (08) 9453 3311 or Fax (08) 9453 3006
Email: info@challengenews.org
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MY RESPONSE
Post to: Challenge Literature Fellowship, PO Box 978, Cloverdale WA 6985; or Fax to: (08) 9453 3006
Name: __________________________________________________________________________________
Address:___________________________________________________________ Post Code: ______
Email: _________________________________________________ Phone: ________________
With God’s help I would like to be a partner in supporting the ministry at Challenge in the
following way(s):
__ Prayer: Please send me updated prayer information.
__ Financial: Please receive my: __ Monthly __ Quarterly __ Yearly __ One time contribution of:
__ $50 __ $75 __ $100 __ $200 __ Other (Please specify): $ _________
Credit Card: __ VisaCard __ MasterCard
Credit Card #: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Expiry Date: __/__
Name on card: _______________________________________
Signature: ____________________________________
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