Confession of a stiff-necked israelite

Good Friday morning, my friends.

I have a serious pride issue.  That is not meant to be facetious or funny in any way - it is a confession.  

Perhaps the most obvious symptom of this is my reading of the 23rd Psalm.  Not don't get me wrong - I absolutely love this Psalm, but there is one line in it that always seems to stick in my craw, so to speak:

"he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:3b)

For his name's sake?  I struggle with that - my natural inclination is to think how arrogant, conceited, selfish this God of ours is. (Yes, I know this is ugly, but all sin is ugly.)  

Let me give you another example.  Michael W. Smith sings a song called "You Are Holy" and here is a sample of the lyrics:

I will sing to

And worship

The King who is worthy

I will love Him, adore Him

And I will bow down before Him

I will sing to and worship the King who is worthy 

I will love Him, adore him 

I will bow down before Him

My neck stiffens up like an Old Testament Israelite when I try to sing those words.

So what's with that? It is pride, pure (?) and simple.  I have such a hard time accepting that He is God, and I am not.  So why tell all of you?  Well, they say confession is good for the soul.  And James 5:16 says "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."  So I am asking you to pray for me, that I may be healed.  And if by chance you are suffering under the weight of this (or any other) sin, I will be happy to pray for you.

Amazing Grace and Eternal Peace to you today,

Bruce

Holy and loving God, I ask you to forgive me for my sin of pride.

Please help me to see you as you truly are:

Holy

Just

Loving

Faithful

Infinite

Give me the wisdom to understand and accept who I am; who You created me to be.

In Jesus holy name I pray.  Amen.

Bruce MacPherson macpherson@celtic.ca