Thursday, January 19, 2012

Ashamed and Disgraced

Ezra 9:5-6,15 - Then, at the evening sacrifice, I rose from my self-abasement, with my tunic and cloak torn, and fell on my knees with my hands spread out to the LORD my God and prayed: “I am too ashamed and disgraced, my God, to lift up my face to you, because our sins are higher than our heads and our guilt has reached to the heavens…LORD, the God of Israel, you are righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence.”


Job 42:6 - Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes.”

Isaiah 59:12-13 - For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities: rebellion and treachery against the LORD, turning our backs on our God, inciting revolt and oppression, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

Ezra 8:22 - I was ashamed to ask the king for soldiers and horsemen to protect us from enemies on the road, because we had told the king, “The gracious hand of our God is on everyone who looks to him, but his great anger is against all who forsake him.”

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.’

Ezra 10:10 - Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have been unfaithful; you have married foreign women, adding to Israel’s guilt.

Application:

· Do I feel inner shame before God for my sins? God’s love is more than a match for my guilt
· Am I humble and repentant before God?
· Do I own up to my guilt as the cause of my miseries?
· Am I ashamed to pursue actions outside of God’s will after proclaiming my faith in God’s ability to provide?
· Do I plead my good works for forgiveness or do I plead for God’s mercy?
· God is just and merciful. God would be justified in judging me. I should be humbled before Him
· Have I been unfaithful to the commands of God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

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