Psalm 26 - Blame Less

It is human nature to avoid the blame and put it on someone else. We have to be taught to be responsible for our own actions yet we always find a little bit of why it is someone else's fault too. My high school Spanish teacher would give the same vocabulary tests every year. So kids with older siblings or friends would be passed down these tests that everyone would try to get their hands on. Flat out cheating, right? Or was it Senior's own fault for not changing the tests. I remember studying but then finding a friend with a test just to verify I knew the right words. Well pretty soon it was too easy to cram off an old test and not study at all. But then one day the teacher switched out the old test for a new one. You could hear the groans and see the panic sweep over the faces of over half the class. Everyone was mad at him for switching the test but wait a minute, weren't we the cheaters? We wanted to place the blame anywhere but on ourselves. So what does it mean to live a blameless life? Is living blameless the same as living perfectly? If so, I've blown it already, I blew it 5 minutes ago. Or maybe just less to blame than the girl next to me? But blame implies responsibility, who will be responsible for my own life's actions and thoughts? I don't know about you but I have gladly exchanged my blame with the blameless one, Jesus, so that I may have his earned redemption and mercy because I couldn't earn it on my own. I hope you have accepted Christ's gift of salvation, because in the end you will be the only one to blame for not putting your faith in Him.

Psalm 26 Questions -

1. Where does your trust in God waver? Fill in the blank: I know God could but I don't think He would ______.

2. Why is testing necessary? Are you afraid to ask because of what might be revealed? Why would David welcome examination from God? Are you willing to ask God to reveal any areas in your life that need to be returned to God's authority? What grade would you receive if God tested your heart and mind?

3. Where have your feet taken you today? Errands, fitness, shopping, couch, kitchen pantry, mirror, Bible, scale, towards someone, away from someone, kids activities, and/or work? How can you walk these places in God's truth?

4. How do we witness to unbelievers without consorting with them? How do we love the sinner but hate the sin? How can we refuse to sit but still make a stand for Christ?

5. We sin everyday, therefore we need forgiveness everyday. David was human like us, he got his hands dirty too and he even talks in verse 6 about needing to wash his hands in innocence. Dirty hands need washed in clean water to remove dirt. Dirty lives need to be washed clean too. Christ shed his innocent blood so our filthy lives could be washed clean so we could be presented blameless before God. Do you need to go wash your hands?

6. (v8) Where does the house of the Lord live now? Where does His glory dwell on the earth?