Self-Disclosure

A Series on the Psalms – a collection of prayers
Feeling lost or misunderstood
 (Click on the link below to read the verses.)
Psalm 139 

[Life is full of emotions. The book of Psalms is a collection of prayers that express our emotions which are the cry of our soul for hope. In this series, we will be looking in the mirror of the Psalms, to learn more about ourselves and our Lord.]

  

At age sixty, for the first time in almost forty years, I found myself taking an exam. Only this exam wasn’t just to get a grade, it was to keep my job as an insurance agent. My anxiety level was out of sight as my stress increased with each question.

 

After finishing, I went over to the proctor and gave her my answers. She graded it immediately. When she casually told me that I had passed, I wanted to reach across her desk and hug her. But I resisted.

 

Self-disclosure can be a scary experience. And believe me, taking a test is a form of self-disclosure. It shows either how much you know, or don’t know. Truthfully, most people don’t like any form of self-disclosure. But in Psalm 139, David embraced it.

 

²³ Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.               NIV

 

Not only did David ask the Lord to search his heart, but he recognized that the Lord had created him and knew him from the inside out. Talk about self-disclosure.

 

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb. NIV

¹⁶ You saw me before I was born.
    Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
    before a single day had passed.            NLT

 

David also understood that the Lord was with him everywhere he went... more self-disclosure.

 

⁷ Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.         NIV

 

Self-disclosure can be frightening. Especially if you have skeletons in your closet. I don’t know if David wrote this psalm before or after he slept with Bathsheba and had her husband killed. But either way, David most certainly had skeletons to hide.

 

And yet, he embraced self-disclosure because he took comfort in God’s character: that He is all-knowing, all-present, all-powerful and holy. But also, because even though the Lord knew all of David’s sins – past, present and future - the Lord still loved him.

 

The same is true for you and me.

 

³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.        Romans 8 NIV

 

Copyright 2024 Joseph B Williams

www.lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com

 

 

1-800 How’s My Driving?

Colossians 3:12-17

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%203%3A12-17&version=NIV;NLT

 

After seeing one of these bumper stickers, have you ever wanted to call the 1-800 number to let them know just how bad the driver of vehicle # 50 really is?

 

But then you cut off the guy in front of you so what can you say?

“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”

 

When we trespass against someone, we feel like they should forgive us. But it’s often a different story when we’re the one that is offended. Consider the parable that Jesus told about the unmerciful servant.

 

The first servant begged his master to forgive him his large indebtedness; which he did. But then the same servant immediately refused to forgive a fellow servant the small amount he was owed. Here’s what led up to this parable.

 

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18 NIV

 

This is not a popular lesson. How many times should we forgive our boss or our employee? How many times should we forgive our spouse or parent or child? How many times should we forgive that difficult person who continually rubs you the wrong way? Paul wrote these words which addresses these questions.

 

¹² Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³ Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.        Colossians 3 NLT

 

 “1-800 How’s my driving”, makes a clever bumper sticker. The idea behind it is to provide accountability; ultimately, to make the person behind the wheel a better driver. As followers of Christ, God has called us to become more like Him; in a sense, to be a better driver of our lives.

 

God’s character is to love and to forgive. But sometimes it’s hard for us to do that. However, all we have to do is call out to God, and He will answer. We don’t need a bumper sticker or an 800 number for that.

 

 

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share it with others.)

http://lifelinebasketball.blogspot.com/

 

 

 

 

Now Imagine This

Psalm 82

 

Imagine this: All the leaders and people with power of this world gathered together in a great hall - the Hall of Justice. They wait nervously for the Great Judge to enter the room where they realize He will judge them according to His values, His priorities, and His character.

 

God presides in the heavenly council;
    in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:
² “You must stop judging unjustly;
    you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
³ Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;
    be fair to the needy and the helpless.
⁴ Rescue them from the power of evil people.    GNT

 

The Great Judge, the King of Kings, the Living God, shows a pattern throughout His Book that protects the powerless against those who would exploit or oppress them. Likewise, God calls each one of us to live accordingly. Listen to the words of Jesus as he told the parable of the Sheep and Goats in Matthew 25.

 

³⁵ I was hungry and you fed me, thirsty and you gave me a drink; I was a stranger and you received me in your homes, ³⁶ naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me, in prison and you visited me.’  ³⁷ ‘When, Lord, did we ever see you… ⁴⁰ The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’     GNT

 

Now, imagine this: You and I, along with all the people of the world gathered together in a great hall - the Hall of Justice. We wait nervously for the Great Judge to enter the room where we realize He will judge us according to His values, His priorities, and His character.

 Have we been faithful?