Midweek Message: Making Mistakes

Midweek Message: Making Mistakes

Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (NIV)

              You and I are going to make mistakes during the coming New Year. We’re going to say something we regret. We may do something that will disappoint or hurt others. We’ll probably let pride overtake our spirits and allow impatience to damage our hearts, minds, bodies, and souls, as well as our relationship with God and others.

              We constantly make mistakes because we are human and far from being perfect. We can try our best to avoid these sinful things with prayer, meditation, and patience, but then, just when we expect it the least, someone will say or do something to annoy us and before we know it, we will stumble down that old familiar road which causes us to find faults in others and do something wrong in return. Sadly, we may quickly experience regret, guilt, or even shame which could leave us isolated, ornery, and perhaps even alone.

              Despite our continuous faults, God will not leave us there to woefully marinate in our mistakes. The Lord has redeemed us from all of these things in the past. We may have our flaws, but God will still forgive us. Long ago at Calvary, Jesus died for every wrong thing that we do, or have done, or have still to do, so He will forgive us if we take time to sincerely come to Christ and humbly ask to receive His pardon and grace.

              Friends, we will all make mistakes during the coming year, but Christ will also be with us, too, when we need Him most to grant us mercy, grace, renewal, and hope.

Prayer: Lord God, in the past You constantly allowed Your sinful people to be restored to Your sacred presence by loving them continuously, despite their faults and failings. We now know that Christ sacrificed Himself for us, so we may also be rescued from our guilt and despair, our mistakes and sins. Thank You for these gracious blessings of love and restoration which mean so much to us every day of every year. In Jesus’ Name, we thankfully pray. Amen.

Pastor John

 

Sabbath Psalms - Sins of Omission

Psalm 19:12 Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults.

I once was given the opportunity to teach two English literature classes in my daughter's High school class. It all came about when her teacher referred to Britain as 'England.' My daughter took offense at this and reminded her teacher that Britain is made up of several nations, which includes Scotland. Thankfully, her teacher accepted what she had to say and, in the ensuing conversation, I somehow got volunteered to teach two classes about Scotland's contribution to English literature, especially the works of Robert Burns, the world's greatest poet.

This highlighted verse from the psalmist reminded me of something that Burns once wrote. The psalmist talks about hidden faults, and how each of us are blind to some of the persistent mistakes that we make. In the past, ministers would call these the 'sins of omission,' the things that we neglect to do, as well as the mistakes that we unconsciously commit. In one of his poems, Burns put it this way:

'O the pow'r that God wad gie us, to see ourselves as ithers see us.'

(O the power that God would give us, to see ourselves as others see us)

Sometimes, we are blind to the sins we commit and the mistakes that we habitually make. If only we had the power to see ourselves making those mistakes, which others around us notice, for then we would be empowered to avoid repeatedly making them.

Perhaps today we could all make a conscious effort to watch what we do or say; to be careful about the witness to Christ that we project, to be aware that we are not perfect all of the time. And at the end of the day, as we make our confessions and give thanks to God in prayer, let's also remember to ask forgiveness for our hidden faults, those sins of omission that we constantly fail to recognize.

Point to ponder: What sins do I constantly repeat? How can I change this?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, sometimes we unknowingly hurt other people and offend You with our frequent mistakes. Sometimes the things we say and do, or the things we neglect to say or do, cause us to disappoint others and sin against You. Help us to recognize our recurring mistakes and give us the ways and means to avoid our sins of omission. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is a retired Scottish Presbyterian pastor now living in Knoxville, Tennessee.