April 16, 2024 - "God have mercy on me, a sinner."

Joshua 13:1-14:15

Luke 18:1-17

Psalm 85:1-13

Proverbs 13:7-8

One Year Bible Audio & Daily Reading (oneyearbibleonline.com)

Luke 18:9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

Bragging to God is pridefully sinful. We should thank Him for the blessings in our lives but that is not what the Pharisee is doing. He is not only bragging to God but for everyone around him to hear. When we are around other people praying and worshiping it is a corporate experience but it is also a personal experience with God. We pray and sing together and those are to be us joining all of our hearts and voices into one in agreement. But also in all areas of corporate worship, where our hearts and minds are focused is our personal worship. We can be praying and singing the words that everyone else is saying but be thinking of other things including what are other people thinking or doing. Or what other people are thinking about us. When I sing with the praise band at church I try to keep my worship personal. I try not to think about what other people think about my singing and style of worship. But sometimes it is difficult. Some people have come up to me and said I love watching you worship, or I feel God through your worship. I know their hearts are to encourage me and it does but I want them to feel God through their own worship. I also know that there are people that are so uncomfortable with uninhibited worship that even someone else raising a hand in worship can distract them. So sometimes when I am worshiping, I will catch myself wondering if I sound okay, or if anyone is watching me. And if they are watching me, are they helped or hindered in their worship. Those times I try to catch myself and get my heart back to personally worshiping and trusting God to do what He wants with it. I do not want to become prideful in any of my service in the church. But as humans we like to be complimented and one way to get those compliments is to talk about what we have done. That is not what I want to do but I must admit I do.

Luke 18:13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

But if we want to be truly humble we will look at ourselves in light of the greatness of God. If we compare ourselves to Jesus instead of others no matter how much good we have done we will still be miserable sinners. When we come before God acknowledging our sinfulness it takes away our pridefulness. We can better see the greatness of God, His grace and His mercy.

Luke 18:14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

That is the kind of heart that He wants from us.