God's Christmas List Part II; Psalm 51, Proverbs 16

May the mumbling commence!

Only a week before Christmas is here!  So, I thought we might continue the Lord’s Christmas wish list today from yesterday.  Read the thoughts of the psalmist in Psalm fifty-one:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

Do not cast me away from Your presence,

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. 

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners shall be converted to You. 

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,

The God of my salvation,

And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness. 

O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise. 

For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;

You do not delight in burnt offering. 

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,

A broken and a contrite heart –

These, O God, You will not despise. (Verses 10-17)

Tradition has this psalm being written by David after the Prophet Nathan confronts him about Bathsheba and her husband Uriah.  David responds in penitence.  David, a man after God’s own heart, does fall.  But, David also knows what God expects of him – what God wants from us for Christmas and forevermore.

God desires a clean heart.  And the way to that clean heart is to be true to ourselves.  You and I need to realize our broken spirits and hearts.  It makes a contrite heart – one that God is more easily able to mold to His liking and original design. 

And this journey to a clean heart is a long one – one that is never finished on this side of eternity.  For this reason, we need to be renewed by coming to God so that we can have a steadfast spirit.  It is the presence of our Lord that we long for – even if we do not realize it.  We may try to fill that longing with other things or people, but these other things and people will never be able to fill that void.  Only God can truly fill it.

So, let us embrace our Lord and be upheld.  Let us pickle ourselves in the generous Spirit of our Lord.  It will bring a contagious joy.  Let’s infect others with the joy of the Lord.  This joy is our strength. 

Our lips will part in praise of the Lord.  We will burst forth into song together about the righteousness of the Lord.  Yes, praising the Lord in all fullness is also contagious.  Let’s infect others with the joy of praising the Lord.

These are the things that God wants for Christmas and for always.  God wants a broken and contrite heart that welcomes the hand of the Lord to form it into a clean heart.  God wants us to come to Him.  God wants to experience joy with us.  God wants us to be contagious Christians that infect others.  God desires us to praise Him in full voice before all people. 

Let’s warm up, and do these things this Advent season and beyond!  Let’s commit ourselves to the Lord.  It’s all about changing not only from the outside in but also from the inside out.  May our efforts meet in the middle!  Read from Proverbs chapter sixteen:

Commit your works to the Lord,

And your thoughts will be established. (Verse 3)

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out