Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

One of the resources God uses to re-center us is our community of fellow believers.

Today scripture, Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT
[24] Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. [25] And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Consider…
Let me begin with giving a shout-out to my sisters-in-Christ, Mary and Tanya, and my brothers-in-Christ, Tony and Michael, who have gently remind me to be steadfast in sharing God’s ‘Daily Blessings’, for His glory and our edification.

Their loving reminders demonstrated Paul’s exhortation in Galatians 6:1 (NLT), which says…
[1] Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.

You may wonder, how is taking breaks from writing a blog sin? Well, James 4:17 (NLT)…
[17] Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

And 2 Timothy 4:2 (NLT) instructs…
[2] Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favorable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching.

You see, I know God wants me to share His eternal encouragement daily, whether I feel like it or not. It’s important we never neglect doing what God has called us to do, because we don’t feel like, or think it doesn’t matter.

So again, thank you to my brothers and sisters-in-Christ, and to all of you who pray for me, and ‘Daily Blessings’.

My personal revelation about gentle and humble convicting reminded me of Nathan and David. Let’s read the story.

2 Samuel 12:1-14 (NLT) shares…
[1] So the LORD sent Nathan the prophet to tell David this story: “There were two men in a certain town. One was rich, and one was poor. [2] The rich man owned a great many sheep and cattle. [3] The poor man owned nothing but one little lamb he had bought. He raised that little lamb, and it grew up with his children. It ate from the man’s own plate and drank from his cup. He cuddled it in his arms like a baby daughter. [4] One day a guest arrived at the home of the rich man. But instead of killing an animal from his own flock or herd, he took the poor man’s lamb and killed it and prepared it for his guest.” [5] David was furious. “As surely as the LORD lives,” he vowed, “any man who would do such a thing deserves to die! [6] He must repay four lambs to the poor man for the one he stole and for having no pity.” [7] Then Nathan said to David, “You are that man! The LORD, the God of Israel, says: I anointed you king of Israel and saved you from the power of Saul. [8] I gave you your master’s house and his wives and the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you much, much more. [9] Why, then, have you despised the word of the LORD and done this horrible deed? For you have murdered Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and stolen his wife. [10] From this time on, your family will live by the sword because you have despised me by taking Uriah’s wife to be your own. [11] “This is what the LORD says: Because of what you have done, I will cause your own household to rebel against you. I will give your wives to another man before your very eyes, and he will go to bed with them in public view. [12] You did it secretly, but I will make this happen to you openly in the sight of all Israel.” [13] Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan replied, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. [14] Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD by doing this, your child will die.”

This story is replete with wisdom nuggets about godly re-centering through courageous community engagement.

• First, notice God sent Nathan. The LORD admonished to see that sharing our opinion of anothers sin, it’s not a divinely restorative word from Him. Then the Holy Spirit emphasized, our convicting stories should lead others back to God’s glory. Remember, God tells us to restore, not abhor.
• Second, although it’s not stated, Nathan was courageous. Remember, David was King and could have responded to the courageous conviction by killing the messenger, and ignoring the message. This is a wonderful reminder to always be courageous in gently and humbly confronting others when God leads you too. Regardless of whether the message is ignored or your relationship will be killed, love others enough to tell them the story that leads them back into God’s glory.
• Which brings us to point number three, Nathan had a pre-existing relationship with David. Relationship is a big deal to God! He primarily uses pre-existing connections to communicate His corrections.

The Holy Spirit emphasized this point with Queen Esther, who was able to save her people because of her favored connection to the king. It’s true that she was courageous to approach the king with the message that challenged his decree, but she was also the queen, which meant she had a relationship that afforded her access to do so.

It’s important that we recognize God never forces anything. Accordingly, if the relationship doesn’t exist, ‘cease and desist’.

• Next, Nathan talked to David, not about him. Enough said.
• Point number five, David was humble enough to hear and respond to the word of the LORD. Notice it was God’s word that convicted David, not Nathan’s. Verses 7-12 is direct transcription from God. As a result, notice David’s response in verse 13a…

Then David confessed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD.”

Convicting corrections should lead to contrite confessions. It’s because of this exchange we have Psalms 51, specifically verses 10-12 (NLT)…
[10] Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. [11] Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. [12] Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.

The Holy Spirit just captioned Psalm 51 as a perfect re-centering scripture.

• Observation number six is one we don’t like to acknowledge, which is there are consequences to our sin.

Verse 13b and beyond shared…

Nathan replied, “Yes, but the LORD has forgiven you, and you won’t die for this sin. [14] Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the word of the LORD by doing this, your child will die.”

James 1:14-15 (NLT) reminds us…
[14] Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. [15] These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.

I just realized for the first time, the verse says when sin is a allowed to grow it leads to death. David’s first sin was lust, which grew into adultery, which grew into murder, which resulted in the death of the child conceived from that sin.

The Holy Spirit is telling me to remind us Galatians 6:7-8 (NLT) admonishes…
[7] Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. [8] Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.

Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you can get away with sin.

Fortunately, that’s not how this re-centering story ends. It’s true that David’s initial child with Bathsheba died, but Solomon was also born and is in the lineage of Jesus. Don’t take my word for it, Matthew 1:6 (NLT) lists…
[6] Jesse was the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon (whose mother was Bathsheba, the widow of Uriah).

Remember that Galatians, don’t mock God’s justice that I just referenced? Well, if read the next verse we see…

Galatians 6:9 (NLT) says…
[9] So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.

Which leads to this conclusion. Don’t give up when you mess up, instead confess up, and be blessed up again. But don’t be surprised if it all begins with the courageous conviction from a friend.

Our re-centering sometimes relies on our relationships with others. That lets me know that others are part of God’s spiritual survival kit.

Today’s song is…
I Need You To Survive

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)