Day One, Hong Kong

We’re Here!

We here, although I am not sure where here is! Where are we? Who knows! What time is it? I have no clue. Better yet, who am I?

Twenty nine hours is a loooooooong time to travel! We are soooooooo tired!

We finally made it to Hong Kong, at 11:00 PM on Saturday, December 28. We landed here purely by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially since it involved three different flights. It is my understanding that Chicago shut down for two or three hours soon after we departed. We breezed through there in a matter of minutes. We were the last to board our flight. Apparently United knew we had just landed, so they held the plane for us.

After arriving in Hong Kong safely we made it to our apartment around 12:30 AM, and we were in bed one hour later. Every one in my family slept well, except me. My motor was running in overdrive. I have had about four hours sleep since Friday morning. I am intentionally staying awake until 9:00 PM tonight (Sunday) so I can sleep through the night.

Busy Day, Today

Today was exciting, and very busy.

Taylor preached at a Filipino Chapel. Vonda says he did a great job. He’s already asking when he can return to Hong Kong. He left us about three hours ago to hang out with some students. I can tell he loves this place. He just called to tell me he was going to see a Chinese movie. My kids are treated like rock stars with their fair skin and blonde hair.

I preached for Dr. Lucenay this morning at Hong Kong International Baptist Church. They have two worship celebrations—a contemporary worship at 9:30, followed by a traditional worship at 11:00 AM. Both worship celebrations were meaningful. Of course, I preached 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. What better message is there to communicate than Jesus Christ and him crucified?

The people here are very magnanimous. They have a very friendly congregation. Their worship will inspire you. Everyone sang so loud. A friend of mine says you can tell much about a church by their singing. He says a singing church is a sign that it is a healthy church. If that is true, and I think it is, then this is a very healthy congregation.

I Know Where Your Church Is

Here is a wild story.

When I arrived for the first worship a woman from India approached me and said, “I know where your church is. I have driven by it before.” I laughingly said, “Are you sure you know where my church is?” She retorted, “I sure do. It is on 1-59 South coming into Birmingham, just outside of Trussville, in an area called Argo.” Only God! Only God would have her to be the first person I met in worship.

Thank You for Praying for Us

Tomorrow we spend the day in Hong Kong, and then we head to Beijing on Tuesday. I plan to post more each day. Thank you for praying for us. This is already a memorable experience just from the first few hours. We cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for us next.

I promise to pray for you. When I lay my head down on a pillow for the first time in about three days, you will be starting worship. Please know that I am praying for you.

Speaking of praying for you; I left my CrossPoint prayer journal at home. So, this morning when I could not sleep, I jumped up to read my Bible and pray. When I came to praying for you—as I do every morning—I started praying for you by name. Although my journal was not handy, I started with the families whose names began with an A and prayed for them. I was surprised how many of your family names came to mind. That was really neat.

Pray for us while we travel to Beijing. Dr. Lucenay’s Student Minister, Mike, has arranged for us to meet with a brand new convert they baptized less than a month ago. He wants us to minister and witness to his family. Of course we said yes.

We are on Our Way to Asia

By the time you read this, my family will be on our way to Hong Kong. It is my desire to post several blogs, and try to post a few videos while we are away. So, check back each day to see what we are doing.

I am posting our itinerary for those of you who would like to pray for us.

December 27 Atlanta

December 28 Atlanta to Chicago
Chicago to Tokyo Narita, Japan
Tokyo Narita, Japan to Hong Kong

December 29-31 Hong Kong

January 1-5 Beijing, China

January 6 –10 Hong Kong

January 11 Hong Kong to Los Angeles
Los Angeles to Washington, DC (Dulles)
Washington, DC (Dulles) to Atlanta

January 12 Return to Birmingham

If you are wondering how you can pray for us, I will list a few specific needs:

• Pray for our safety
• Pray for good health
• Pray for specifically for Vonda on our 16 hour flight to and from Tokyo. (She does not do well on airplanes)
• Please pray for my son, Taylor. He has been invited to preach in a small chapel service of Filipina maids on one side of the island our first Sunday there. His mother and sister plan to worship with him. (I guess they have heard me preach enough through the years.)
• Pray for me as I preach at Hong Kong International Baptist Church on December 30 and January 6
• Pray for doors of opportunity to open for us as we are given opportunities to share the gospel
• Pray for our physical stamina since our schedule will be full of non-stop activity
• Pray for anything else the Holy Spirit leads you to pray
• Pray for Steve Holloman, Harry Lucenay and Tim Tidwell, who will be preaching in my absence at CrossPoint

To the CrossPoint family of faith, I want to thank you for allowing me the opportunity to experience this kind of venture with my family. You know me; I will have plenty of stories to share upon my return.

Birmingham Past

Although I was born in Jefferson City, Tennessee, I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. My family moved to the Iron City in June of 1970. My extended family has lived here ever since. So when my dad sent me the following website link, I reflected on parts of Birmingham I remember.

For those of you interested in the Birmingham of yesterday, click here.

For those who have lived here for more than a few years, I would be curious to know what part of the webpage you remembered most.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

This is great!!



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Jesus: Living His Life Backwards

Today I am thinking about Christmas. While doing so, I am reminded of an A. W. Tozer quote about Jesus:

“Jesus is the only man who lived his life backwards. Your life runs from birth to death. But Jesus’ lifeline runs from his death to his birth. The only reason there was a Bethlehem is that there might be a Calvary. At Bethlehem, he was surrounded by beasts so at Calvary he might be surrounded by beastly men. At Bethlehem, he was wrapped in swaddling clothes, at Calvary, he was wrapped in his own blood. He was laid in a wooden manger so that one day he would be laid on a wooden cross. He is the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the world.”

Some Alarming Data about Abortion

A month or two ago I sat down to write something about abortion for an upcoming blog, yet each attempt was incomplete. Abortion is a broad and painful subject. It is so broad that I was too exacerbated to complete the blog.

I am confident more than a few people who attend CrossPoint each weekend have had or have been associated with someone who has had an abortion. Thus, it should be noted that before you read this blog, I want you to know that ABORTION IS NOT THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. Anyone who has had an abortion or who has been associated with an abortion can be forgiven of that sin. And that is why I am so glad CrossPoint is a WHOSOEVER church. CrossPoint preaches and teaches the gospel truth that Jesus paid the price and absorbed God’s wrath for every sin of the sinner who acknowledges Jesus is Lord when they repent and place their full faith in Him.

Now back to my subject.

Like so many of you, I am appalled by abortion. Abortion is terrible. It is a horrible practice. We should be convulsed by the mere thought of it, and even more shaken by the practice of it.

My approach to abortion goes beyond protesting it, however. I have never been one to carry a sign during a public protest. I believe if we are going to be pro-life, then we should think of all of human life—not only birth, but also life after birth and even through death. By the way, I think the abortion movement has done much to help the euthanasia movement—something else that I am against. Now, that’s another topic for another day.

While thinking about abortion again today, someone did me a huge favor and sent me this enewsletter by Thomas Euteneuer from Human Life International. After reading his remarks I knew this was right for my blog.

If you are like me, you will be shocked and saddened by what you read. I think it is fitting to post this blog as we center on the birth of a baby in the next few days.

How Many Heisman Winners Has Abortion Killed?
The sports world recently greeted the news that this year's Heisman Trophy Winner, Tim Tebow from the University of Florida, was almost a casualty of abortion. Twenty-some years ago he was not the strapping 6'3", 235 lb. beloved sports hero that he is today. At that time he was a one-inch-long unborn child whose existence, because of an amoebic infection, was defined as threat to his mother's health. Pam Tebow, his mother, was told by a doctor that it would be in her best interests to abort this baby, and she refused. Her husband backed her up on that generous decision, and seven months later they gave birth to a perfectly healthy boy. Little did they know that twenty years later they would be standing on a national stage with a Heisman Trophy winner giving that magnificent witness to life. The world thanks you, Mr. and Mrs. Tebow! There cannot be a more touching Advent story than this. I wonder if anyone has ever asked how many potential Heisman Trophy winners abortion has actually killed. The answer is, twelve. Reflect on that a bit as you read further because there is a larger lesson in the Tebows' witness. Dr. Brian Clowes, HLI researcher, has examined the data from the 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States (most recent census data) and extrapolated the numbers of the various professions and categories of Americans who have been eliminated in the wake of nearly 49 million legalized abortions, one third of all Americans conceived since 1973. The following numbers are based on the actual government estimates of the professions represented in America. So then, who have we lost to abortion?

• 2 US Presidents
• 7 Supreme Court Justices
• 102 US Senators and 589 Congressmen
• 8,123 Federal, district and local court judges
• 31 Nobel Prize laureates
• 328 Olympic medalists including 123 Gold medalists
• 6,092 professional athletes
• 134,841 physicians and surgeons
• 392,500 registered nurses
• 70,669 priests, ministers, rabbis and imams including 6,852 priests and 11,010 nuns (vocations "shortage"?)
• 1,102,443 teachers (K-12)
• 553,821 truck drivers
• 224,518 maids and housekeepers
• 336,939 janitors
• 134,028 farmers and ranchers
• 109,984 police officers and sheriff's deputies
• 39,477 firefighters
• 17,221 barbers
• 24,450,000... women (the gender of roughly half of all children aborted).

These numbers of course are only the tip of the iceberg. Keep in mind that we get our statistics about abortion from the abortion industry itself which has a vested interest in under-reporting the numbers. Likewise, these categories are only a few of the professions that Americans actually work in and are by no means a full portrayal of the total American workforce. What they represent, however, is the immense human toll that abortion takes on a society. Abortion-promoters present abortion as an exclusively private choice, but thirty-five years of abortion exposes the perniciousness of that lie. There is a social toll that comes from abortion which cannot easily be corrected. For three and a half decades the feminists have reveled in a misleading "freedom to choose," and on the basis of that false "right" have eliminated their children and done immense damage to the family as the basic unit of society. Those who respect these sacred realities, on the other hand, have their wives and husbands to grow old with, their children to enjoy and their grandkids to play with and spoil. The love of life, marriage and family never leaves its adherents penniless, lonely or abandoned, and every now and then God throws in a Heisman Trophy just to show the rest of us that it's all worth it.

More about God’s Glory

I concluded yesterday’s by wrestling with why I am preaching God’s glory for all of 2008.

The short answer is I firmly believe this is where God wants to take CrossPoint in the coming year.

Can the people of God ever know enough about God? Can the people of God ever know enough about the glory of God? I don’t think so.

I like what A. W. Tozer says about knowing God, in The Knowledge of the Holy:

"It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous and inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is. ...What comes to mind when we think of God is the most important thing about us."

One of my pastor friends interprets the Tozer quote this way: The most important thing about you is your concept of God. Your concept of God determines everything about you.

I agree with Tozer as well as with my pastor friend.

It is my desire in 2008 to talk about God and His glory and nothing else. During the year we will refer to several basic Scripture passages. We will quote Romans 11:35 each week, which reads,

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Get that passage memorized. We will refer to it often.

Another passage we will refer to in the year will be 1 Corinthians 10:31. Paul teaches,

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Our goal is simple: we want to know God better by knowing more about God’s glory. I want us to see God’s glory, to enjoy God’s glory, to know God’s glory, to live for God’s glory, and to share God’s glory. In doing this, I am convinced we will definitely learn to live for God’s glory.

Centuries ago the Puritan preachers would say to their people, “If you pray me full, I will preach you full.” This is my request as well as we seek to learn more about God’s glory.

God alone be the glory!

Glory to God Alone

I am in trouble. I have bitten off more than I can chew. I am in water over my head. I have out-kicked my punt coverage. My mouth is writing checks my brain cannot cash.

What’s all the fuss, you ask.

For those of you who do not know, if the Lord is willing, my plan is to preach the glory of God throughout 2008. I made this decision a few months ago, thinking I had more than enough inspiration at my disposal to preach all year. At the time I thought preaching on this subject was a good move. A few months later, however, I am not so sure it is something I should do. Or should I say, I am not so sure it is something I am capable of doing.

And what is my dilemma? My dilemma is the more I study the glory of God the less I understand the glory of God. Or, to put it another way, my brain is incapable of processing everything the Bible says about God’s glory.

The glory of God is a voluminous subject. In a very practical sense, God’s glory is humanly incomprehensible. And, whatever is humanly incomprehensible is usually, ten times out of ten, humanly incommunicable.

Preaching is already an arduous task. What makes preaching for me more laborious is speaking on a subject beyond my level of comprehension. Now some of you know why I stick to the simple subjects. Anything beyond salvation through Jesus Christ is out of my league, way out of my league.

Yes, I know the Lord will help me. It is His job to equip me to preach His word. The problem I am encountering has nothing to do with God, however, but with me. The hard drive of my brain is so small I am not sure there is anymore room for ram space.

My understanding of God is weak, very weak. And what makes that statement so ironic is that I earnestly believe I know and understand more about God than I have ever known or understood before. Perhaps the more we think we know about God, the less we realize we really do know about God.

Does the preceding statement even make sense?

To put it bluntly, I am overwhelmed by the task of preaching the glory of God in 2008. What was an enthusiastic interest two months ago is now a heavy burden. I am all over the Bible. The glory of God is noted on every page. Let me give you an example. It is a small, yet profound, example.

Complete this sentence, “The glory of God is…”

If you were to study the word glory, this is a small tidbit of what you would discover. The actual word glory means to describe anything that is heavy, such as a man (1 Samuel 4:18) or a rock (Isaiah 32:2), but it can also be used figuratively to describe blindness (eyes that are “heavy”; Genesis 48:10), or unbelief (a heavy or hardened heart; Exodus 9:7), or wealth (“heavy” with silver and gold; Genesis 13:2). I also know there is a related meaning, “important” (i.e., throwing ones weight around). A derived meaning is “to treat as important, to honor” Get this, the word for “liver” in the Hebrew language is a related noun to the word glory, for the liver is the heaviest organ and therefore thought to be the most important, or at least at the center of human life. [Source: Recalling the Hope of Glory: Biblical Worship from the Garden to the New Creation, Allen P. Ross, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publications, 2006), pp. 46-47]. And this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding ONLY the word glory, much less how word glory applies to God!

So why print all the fuss about God’s glory? Why all the explanation about not comprehending God’s glory? Why not just change topics and move on to something more manageable, more palatable?

I will save my answers to those questions for tomorrow’s blog.

Shocking Statistics

Did you know that in the USA…

• Over 50% of people over age 16 are functionally illiterate.
  
  A person who is functionally illiterate lacks a sufficient foundation of basic reading and writing skills to function successfully in our society. A functionally illiterate person..

1. Can read some – signs, food labels, advertisements and parts of a newspaper.
2. Cannot locate two pieces of information in a news article.
3. Can locate the expiration date on their driver’s license.
4. Cannot successfully fill out a social security card application by themselves.
5. Forms opinions from conversations with friends, the radio and TV.
6. Learns through stories, anecdotes, proverbs, songs, and practical experience.

• 58% of the U.S. adult population never reads another book after high school.
• 42% of college graduates never read another book.
• 80% of U.S. families did not buy or read a book in 2002.
• 57% of new books are not read to completion. Most readers do not get past page 18 in a book they have purchased.
• Each day, people in the US spend 4 hours watching TV, 3 hours listening to the radio and 14 minutes reading magazines.
• 65% of American children have television sets in their bedrooms.
• It is estimated that people spend as much as 80% (38 hours per week) of their non-working, non-sleeping time in front of a television or computer screen.
• Nearly 70% of the world’s people (4+ billion) are oral communicators.
• That means... only 20% to 30% of the world’s people are print or literate communicators.
• Researchers believe that 70% or more of the people in North America prefer non-literate means of communication.

Source: www.echothestory.com

Shocking, isn’t it?

Worship

Worship.
Worship is a huge thing.
We look forward to worship every week.
When the worship includes one of our favorites we say, “The worship was great.”
When the music stinks we yawn and wonder why the worship wasn’t very good.
We leave churches because of the “styles of worship”.
Worship is a huge thing.
Have you ever wondered if we are more concerned with what worship does for us… and less with the Object of worship?
It seems like it’s more about what we GET not what we GIVE.
It would be like taking a gift to a friend’s birthday party, but keeping it for ourselves.
Worship is all about giving our lives – again – to God.
Worship is NOT about the feelings we receive.
Worship is NOT about convincing God to bless us.
Worship is NOT about whether or not the guitar was too loud.
Worship is NOT about what’s happening on the stage.
Worship is NOT about lighting, entertaining or sound.
Worship is NOT about us at all.
It’s NOT about us.
Worship is about Him.
It’s about Him.
We enter worship through the gateway of the cross.
At the cross
We kneel
We surrender
We confess
We cry
We repent
We gaze
We respond
We cling
We wait
We worship
Worship is about looking at God and placing Him above all things.
-copied

The Painful Reality of Death

My dear cousin, Danny, called me this morning. His heart is so full of grief. You could hear the deep sorrow in his voice.

Danny and I spent several minutes on the phone talking about his son’s funeral and graveside service. Danny was calling to ask permission to read part of yesterday’s blog in the service. Of course I said yes. My prayer is that anything and everything that is read or said in Timmy’s funeral service would be used for God’s glory as well as for the salvation for all those who need to repent.

I could tell from his weary voice that Danny was exhausted. I am not sure Danny has had too many hours of sleep or rest since receiving that fateful phone call Saturday evening. And, I am sure he will not get much rest in the days to come.

When I asked Danny how he was holding up he said, “It feels Christ is breathing for me.” Wow, what a powerful image—Christ breathes for you!

In many respects, I think that is exactly what Christ wants to do for us. Christ wants to breathe for us. Christ also wants to think for us, love through us, serve through us, provide for us, and meet all of our needs for us.

While talking to Danny I kept running Philippians 4:19 through my mind. Paul writes,

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory
in Christ Jesus.

It is “according to the riches in glory in Christ Jesus” that all of our needs are met. Christ Jesus wants to and is completely able to meet all of our needs. Before hanging up the phone, Danny and I spent time praying together over the phone.

After talking to Danny I called on Christ to meet my needs. I, too, am weary today. The news of Timmy’s death has also saddened my heart. I can only imagine the despair his parents feel today.

The painful reality of death reaches deep into one’s soul. And, it is in times like these the only relief we can ever received will be found in calling on Christ to meet all of our needs according to His glorious riches.

Are You an Organ Donor?

My extended family received some terrible news Sunday afternoon. My first cousin’s son, Timmy Henley, was shot and killed during a drug deal in Atlanta Saturday night.

Timmy was only 33 years old. His life was marked by drugs, prison and many other problems. However, the last two or three years of his life were noted by a continual effort to overcome his addictions.

I last visited with Timmy on the night of October 15, the date of his grandfather’s (and my uncle) 80th birthday. Timmy visited with us for about three hours that night. I commented the next morning to my uncle how proud I was to see and hear of Timmy’s great progress. He had been drug free for almost a year, had a job and it seemed like he had turned a major corner in his battle against the demons of drug addiction. Little did I realize then that would be the last time I would see Timmy alive.

The authorities believe the execution-style murder was due to a major debt Timmy owed a local drug dealer. They believe Timmy’s friend was also set up for her execution as well. She, too, owed the drug dealer money. How tragic it is to think two lives were taken because of debt for drugs.

My uncle and cousin’s families are devastated. His funeral service will be this Thursday night in Knoxville, followed by a graveside on Friday morning. My mother and I will be heading that way very early Friday morning.

I called Timmy’s father and my first cousin, Danny Henley last night. Danny was so grief stricken he could hardly speak. Danny expressed a wide range of emotions throughout the call. He was so full of despair. He was also angry, angry enough to take revenge into his own hands. Thankfully his older brother helped him leave the murders in the Lord’s hands.

Even in the midst of tragedy, there are some glimmers of hope.

One shining ray of faith all of us share is that Timmy was born again a few years ago during his drug rehab treatment in Atlanta. He told his father and grandfather that one day during his rehab he got on his knees before God, admitted that he was a sinner and submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. For that decision we are all eternally thankful. Now, rather than just saying Timmy is gone, we can say Timmy is gone home to be with the Lord.

Another spark of hope that has encouraged us was that Timmy was an organ donor. Even though Timmy was pronounced brain dead upon arriving at the hospital, his heart continued to beat for several hours. Thus, the medical team was able to put his body on life support in order to harvest some of his organs for transplant patients across the country. The medical team honored a request Timmy made years ago after a terrible traffic accident where 30% of his body was badly burned. Soon after that wreck he noted on his driver’s license he wanted his organs donated.

Even in the midst of tragedy Timmy’s family can rejoice because…

• a 16-year old girl in Georgia was given a new hear
• a 30-year old man in Tennessee was given a new lease on life
• his stomach was given to a man in another part of the country
• Timmy’s large intestines were given to a grandmother battling cancer
• His corneas were donated to an 18-month old baby who could not see
• His bones, ligaments, tissue and skin were donated to various hospitals across the country.
• The only organs the transplant team could not use were his lungs because they had already started to fill with fluid

My cousin tells me an entire team of doctors, surgeons and nurses were on hand with airplanes waiting as they received each of these organs. Additionally, a nurse from the organ transplant group in Atlanta remained with Timmy’s body through the autopsy performed by the police coroner. She wanted the family to know that someone was with Timmy’s body at all times during this life-giving process. Danny said it was ironic how thankful he was even in the midst of all this tragedy.

I apologize for the graphic nature of today’s blog. I was compelled, however, to write this story in memory of Timmy and in honor of his life-giving donation to so many people. Yes, Timmy had his faults, foibles and sins. Don’t we all, though? The only difference between Timmy’s sins and many others was that they were so public.

Are you an organ donor? Many years ago I noted on my driver’s license that I wanted to be an organ donor. It is easy to do. Organ donors are live-savers. Timmy wasted many years of his life on drugs. Those years can never be taken back, yet nothing about his life was wasted in his death. Even in his death, Timmy was a life-saver.

To learn more about being an organ donor, click here.

International Mission Board Report of the Southern Baptist Convention

Many of you know Gene and Margorie Dykes. For those of you who do not know them, Gene and Margorie have been on this journey with some of us now since the conception of CrossPoint. Both of them have labored sacrificially to see CrossPoint become a reality. They were the couple who extended the welcome during the ONE BIG WORSHIP.

For several years Gene served on the Board of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. It is through Gene’s tenure I befriended Dr. Jerry Rankin, Executive Director of the IMB. And, it is through Gene Dykes I have learned to appreciate the worldwide mission efforts of the Southern Baptist Convention.

On Monday Margorie gave me a letter Gene received from Dr. Rankin. The letter was sent to all the former trustees of the IMB. Provided below are a few highlights from that letter:

• During the Illinois Baptist State Convention, the IMB appointed 82 new missionaries.
• One hundred people groups were newly engaged during 2006, with 83 of those classified as unreached groups.
• New churches started totaled 25,497, for a total of 157,890 churches related to IMB work at the end of 2006.
• Baptisms totaled 609,968—far more than any previous year.
• More than 220,000 people were involved in leadership training around the world.
• The adoption of the 2008 budget of $304,800,000 reflects continuing support by Southern Baptists of the work of the IMB.
• That budget includes this December’s goal for a Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (AKA, World Mission Offering at CrossPoint) of $165,000,000.

Southern Baptists continue to remain on the cutting edge of missions throughout the world. CrossPoint is an active participant in that cutting edge mission endeavor through its World Missions Offering. This year’s goal for CrossPoint is $75,000. Next weekend we expect the Lord to exceed that goal through us as each of us give. I trust you are preparing to give and give generously to the worldwide mission offering of CrossPoint. I give generously the World Missions Offering because I know each dollar goes directly to missions.

Begin Your Week

Here is a great way to begin your week by praying the following prayer:

Lord, I am WILLING
To RECEIVE what You GIVE
To LACK what You WITHHOLD
To RELINQUISH what You TAKE
To SUFFER what You INFLICT
To PRAISE what You ORDAIN
To CHERISH what You CREATED
To BE what You REQUIRE
Lord, I AM WILLING to HEAR and HEED
ALL that YOU have to SAY.

Kudos to Tim Tidwell.

Knowing You Are Forgiven – Part Two

I realize even after the extensive lesson on forgiveness in yesterday’s blog, some might still be struggling with forgiveness. Many struggle so much with the guilt associated with sin that they never FEEL forgiven. You know the FACT of God’s forgiveness, yet you never FEEL the act of God’s forgiveness.

The more I study 1 John 1:9 the more I understand the impact of God’s forgiveness. It is the FACT of God’s forgiveness that helps me FEEL the emotion of God’s forgiveness.

I still cannot escape the last part of verse 9:

…to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

As I recorded yesterday, when we confess our sins, God sets us free from two things. First, he sets us free from the penalty of sin—“to forgive us our sins”. Second, he sets us free from its contamination—“and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. What a great God! What a loving God.

Yet the Bible has more, so much more, to say about forgiveness.

Psalm 51 is an excellent Old Testament application of 1 John 1:9. If you want to learn how to apply 1 John 1:9 then study Psalm 51.

First, consider the introductory remarks prior to the opening verse:

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him,
after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

This is a song—To the choirmaster. It is a song about sin, confession and forgiveness.

Note the situation which produced this song—A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. A painfully sinful situation gave birth to this song. This is some kind of song, isn’t it?

Next, let us read the first two verses:

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!
Psalm 51:1-2

I am not sure there is a sweeter plea in the Bible than in these two sentences.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love…

David calls on the mercy God, according to God’s steadfast love and not according to David’s deeds or goodness.

…according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

Again, David refers to who God is—according to your abundant mercy. Note yesterday’s blog that we must know something about God in order to understand forgiveness.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

Finally, David pleads for the result of 1 John 1:9—to be set free from the penalty of his sin and to be set free from the contamination.

For those of you struggling with the forgiveness of your sin, I beg you to confess your sin to God. When you confess it, use the first two verses of Psalm 51 to make your plea.

After voicing his opening plea, David teaches two lessons about sin.

First, David admits is a cognitive decision:

3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
Psalm 51:3-4

Second, David admits that he was born inherently evil:

5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
Psalm 51:5-6

Finally, David admits that his heart needs cleansing:

7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
Psalm 51:7-12

David's sins had affected his whole person: his eyes (v. 3), mind (v. 6), ears and bones, heart and spirit (v. 10), hands (v. 14), and lips (vv. 13-15). Such is the high cost of committing sin. David knew this, so he asked for more than cleansing, as important as that is; he wanted his entire being to be restored so he could serve the Lord acceptably. He wanted the joy of the Lord within him (v. 12) David asked the Lord to create a new heart within him and to give him a steadfast spirit that would not vacillate.

Verse 10 is the central verse of the psalm and it expresses the heart of David's concern. David knew that the inner person — the heart — was the source of his trouble as well as the seat of his joy and blessing, and he was incapable of changing his own heart. Only God could work the miracle. Only God could work the miracle of David’s emotions. In other words, David desired to FEEL God’s forgiveness.

It is my prayer that you learn two valuable lessons about God’s forgiveness. First, I pray you learn from 1 John 1:9 the FACT of God’s forgiveness. From Psalm 51, I pray you learn to FEEL God’s forgiveness.

Know this: when we confess our sins God forgives us our sin, that is a FACT, whether we FEEL it or not.