Not Guilty

Sacrifices Required Under Law

Read Leviticus 5:14-19

Reflection: Not Guilty

Mandisa "Not Guilty"

1.     What unintentional sins have you committed in the past few days? Spend some time asking God to      reveal your sins to you.
2.  Now offer God a sacrifice of repentance and of praise for declaring you not guilty
3.   Whom can you serves sacrificially? How will you go about this?

Lately I have been struggling with the sin of discontent. I keep rehashing over and over in my mind things that I could have done differently in my life. Ojalá. If only I would have done A, B, C or D, I would have more, be more, be able to do more. I want to give more to the needy; do more for my church; I want to live in a bigger house; have all of my bills paid and not worry about  being able to retire comfortably when the time comes. I want, I want, I want. But then I think about the way I feel when my children are constantly asking me for the same thing over and over. I easily respond to them, “You have everything you need.” I realize that to God maybe I am sounding like a spoiled child, “begging” for something that I don’t have to have or maybe that I really don’t need. Sometimes when I tell my children no, I may not have the money, the time or the energy. Sometimes I tell them no because I want them to learn one of life’s greatest lessons; you can’t always get what you want even though I have it to give. There have been times that I have said no when I had a pocket full of money, a free schedule and energy to burn. But I know that giving your children everything that they want just because they ask for it is a very dangerous thing. God knows this too. They become insatiable and live their lives just to acquire more stuff. They are never satisfied. OK, God. I understand. I am no different than them. I have to accept that My Father has all of the riches in Heaven and Earth. He will supply all of my “needs”. Everything else is a blessing and in order for me to be blessed in the way that He sees fit, I must be content where I am right now with what I have right now. as a matter of fact, if he never does another thing for me, I need to be content. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but it is necessary. If God revealed all that he has for me right here and right now, first I would be overwhelmed, but as soon as that passed, I would be forever looking for more. So I want to offer God my contentment and look around at all of the things that I have and see how blessed I really am. I have food, shelter, clothing and a family that I love, and they love me back. What more do I have to ask for? I don’t need more stuff; I need more God. I know in my heart that there is someone who has a genuine need. I will be grateful and seek out someone who is not just a “begging” child, but has a true need and help them meet it. Maybe then, I will be truly satisfied and content. Thank you Lord, for your sacrifice that I may be forgiven for my sin of discontent. 

Related Readings:

Psalms 139: 23-24

Proverbs 28:13

Isaiah 55:6-7
Hebrews 8:8-12

Not Guilty (ASL) (fast forward to :43)