Saturday, 28 March 2020

Proverbs 28:13
He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses them will have mercy.

This is a fantastic verse of scripture. We will love to talk about prosperity but not sin. But sin and prosperity are linked together. There is no prosperity if you don’t deal with sin. This verse speaks of the right way to deal with sins in our lives. We are taught what not to do and then the right thing to. And WHY.

We don’t deal with sin if at all possible. If we ever deal with sin, we will follow the way our forefathers have passed on to us. We hide or conceal it. When we are no longer be able to cover up, we blame someone else. You can fool others or even yourself. But God cannot be fooled. We are naked before Him.

Covering your sins is very damaging, for you “will not prosper”. The word “prosper” translated in its original language means “to advance, to make progress, to succeed, to be profitable, prosper.” In Genesis 39:2, “and the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man.” It describes him as successful in his endeavours, flourishing, thriving and being victorious. It is not just about money alone. King David kept silent about his sins with Bethsheba for a year. This is how he described his experience. Miserable! His bones were aching. He groaned all day long. God’s hand was heavy on him. 

What is the right way to deal with sins? Is simple. Just humbly come before God to “confess and forsake” and you will find mercy. “Confess” is  “to throw, to shoot, to cast”. We need to admit or acknowledge our sin or guilt to God. God will forgive (1 John 1:9). You also receive “mercy”. God will show his compassion, love and affection to you. You will be right with God again. Your fellowship is resumed and restored. This is the JOY that David experienced when he acknowledged his sin before the Lord.

We need to be honest with ourselves about our sins and shortcomings. We will not be able to reach our full, God-given potential when we continue to conceal our sin. God can and will reveal the secret sins hidden in our lives but he cannot and will not force us to overcome. That decision is ours.

Prayer for today

Dear Lord Jesus, we come to you with our broken hearts and tears in our eyes as we pray. We don’t fully understand your ways in our dear brother James Wong. We miss him dearly. Lord, you must have loved him MUCH MORE to call him home to be with you. The only thing I know is that you don’t make MISTAKE. In our pain and grief, you come and comfort Joy, Jade, Jo Haan, all his family and the PBC family.

We thank you for giving him to us for even though for a short. We appreciate his love for his family and PBC family. We will miss him leading in our worship in songs on Sunday. Help us to continue to love and care his family he left behind. Continue to heal Joy and Jo Haan from the Coronavirus infection. Thank you for Jade’s test that was negative. May your Holy Spirit surround them. May you fill that void with yourself.

Lord, as we meditate on the subject of sin, help us to come boldly to your throne of grace to ask you to cleanse us of our hidden sins in our lives. Reveal to us and help us to confess them to you. Lord, we know you will not turn away anyone that comes to you with a broken and contrite heart. You will forgive, restore and renew.

Lord, we pray for our homes, our church and our places of work, where we have failed to live as salt and light for you. As a result, we have caused so much conflict and misunderstanding with one another. Help us to come with humility to ask for forgiveness and also be gracious to forgive each other. O, Holy Spirit come and cleanse and heal us. Grant us love, joy and peace wherever we are.

We need you more than any other time. Help us to fix our eyes on you. For we know you will never leave nor forsake us. We thank you, in Jesus Name, Amen.

Pastor Isaac Yim