9-1-2017

Good Morning All,

                       Psalm 32:5; “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

    Many of you speak “those words” most Sundays.  You know “those words”; “I a poor, miserable sinner”.  Are you?  Are you a “poor, miserable sinner?”  I remember listening to a lady on the radio one time just go off on this phrase.  She was emphatic; she was “no poor, miserable sinner” She was loved by God and she was not miserable, she was good stuff.  This may be but I think she misses the point.

    First, we need to take a look at the word “miserable.”  One way we use the word has a negative connation as in, the movie was “miserable”.  The second has a more positive connation as in, I feel “miserable.”  God does not look at you and think, “boy is that guy miserable”.  It is not used in a derogatory way towards the sinner.  It is used to describe the way we feel when we look at our sin and our ability to deal with it.

    A “poor, miserable sinner” is the person who, when he takes stock of his life, realizes that he has failed to live according to God’s will.  He recognizes that he has no hope, no chance of salvation, on his own.  A “poor, miserable sinner” recognizes that he desperately needs God’s help; he needs Jesus.

    A person who is not poor as in “poor in spirit” and not miserable when you take stock of your sinful condition and nature oftentimes downplays their sin.  They are “mistakes” or “slips” or “lapses” and “not that bad”.  There is a tendency to mitigate the sin.  Everyone else is worse than I am; I am not that bad; I am pretty good on the balance of things.  This is a person with a haughty spirit.  This is a person who does not think they really need a savior.  This is a person who is lost.

    One of our struggles today is that many people’s consciences are calloused over.  They do not feel the pain or sorrow of their sin.  This callousing in conjunction with a current prevalent thought to reduce sin or to gloss it over makes it easy to do.  Yet this callousing separates us from God’s love because we turn away from it thinking it is unnecessary.

    So I encourage you to be the “poor, miserable sinner” who knows that you need a savior who will rescue you from your fate as a broken, defeated sinner.  Then take joy, not in your goodness but in God’s love and goodness.  Take joy and comfort in God’s grace and know with confidence that you are saved because of his grace and his grace alone.

Father, too often I see myself as good and wonderful.  Keep me mindful of my need for a Savior.  Keep me mindful of the emptiness that is in my life without you.  Keep me humble and looking only to you for my hope.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret