O Blessed Sinner

IBS Application for 2 Corinthians 4:16 “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.” It’s hard to not go through life as a Christian and not feel as though you have made no progress in your walk at times. We can all relate to this on some level. I know for me, this past week has been especially hard in this way. I felt like I was backsliding, and I’m sure that I had the appearance of a backsliding Christian. I fell back into the sin of self-condemnation again. I know now that I am free from this sin, even though I fall back into it on occasion. But I felt in the moment that God had taken His hand off of me and that His Spirit has departed from me. Again, I know now that this is foolish, but I honestly felt like Saul. I felt as though I was being disobedient in some way that God was not showing me and that He had given up on using me. And this, I condemned myself for the ways I felt that I had failed (though th

IBS Application for Psalms 27:1-6 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple. For He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble; He will conceal me under the cover of His tent; He will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in His tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.” Oh, how I needed to be reminded of this Psalm! I was reminded of this Psalm by listening to a song called “Strength of

IBS Application for Psalms 60:11-12 “Oh, grant us help against the foe, for vain is the salvation of man! With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes.” I wouldn’t normally pick such a violent verse, but this seemed like a fitting prayer for me to imitate as I strive against enemies in the spiritual realm, as I am currently struggling with something today. The devil has set himself upon me to try to make me despair over something, which I cannot deal with on my own. David’s cry for help against the foe is poignant, for I do realize that “vain is the salvation of man.” I have been calling out for help all day, but this is the first time that I’ve felt like I’ve prayed anything appropriate. I typically feel pity for the devil, as he is destined to forever fight in vain in a losing battle until finally he sinks into eternal death along with all the children of wrath and disobedience. But this is one day where I desire for him to be crippled in his pur

IBS Application for Psalm 51:8-12 “Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” I selected another longer passage this time, but the Psalms are speaking to me a lot. David’s words strike the right cords to convict me when I need it, and this passage is no different. I know that the context of the passage here is significantly different than the context in which I find myself, in specific regard to the sort of sin that David is repenting of here as opposed to the sin that I often fall into. But the spirit of repentance I feel is the same, as is the fact that both David and myself are sinners, so I can relate to the feelings expressed here. Ultimately, it is against Go