Psalm 51:1-19 (14)
 [14] Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
The idiot lights on the dashboards of our car are placed there for a purpose and yet often they are ignored. Maybe you like others have taken a piece of electrical tape and covered up the light so it would not be so annoying. Guilt is like the red warning light on the dashboard of the car. You can either stop and deal with the trouble, or cover up the light. The only way to find peace in the matter is with the cry of the Psalmist, “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God† Coco Chanel a French Fashion designer though not a Christian understood the dynamic of guilt when he said, “Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.â€Â He probably was describing the pain of his own soul. One of the rewarding advantages of salvation from sinfulness is a complete dissipation of guilt. Minnie A Steele expressed this divine relief when she penned the immortal words to her hymn.
 I remember when my burdens rolled away;
That I feared would never leave, night or day.
Jesus showed to me the loss,
So I left them at the cross;
I was glad when my burdens rolled away.
Dr. Gayle Woods
Psalm 116:12-19 (17)
We had just been given a fairly late model car. Actually I bought it. I was told that if I wanted the car I should add a dollar a month to my missionary giving that year.
I was overwhelmed. After driving a junker the thought of driving something respectable was delectable. After driving a moving repair bill the thought of having a reliable vehicle was enough to make me delirious. I was grateful but as I listened to the man’s story I began to understand what real gratitude meant.
He was grateful for God’s mercy and protection. He had been shot down over Germany during World War II. He survived the plan crash and walked out of the country under the cover of night. He sobbed as he relived the terror, suspense and anxiety. He was a Lutheran by up-bringing. Years later he found our church and during an invitation came and knelt on top of the altar. Our evangelical ways were foreign to him and yet he knew that God had spoken and he owed God all. Now God had spoken again. God told him to give his pastor a car. In gratitude for what God had done for him he knew that giving many cars would never repay his debt of love.
The Psalmist said the he would live for God, pay his vows and even die for God. Giving all as a sacrifice of thanksgiving seems as nothing in comparison to His great gift.
Dr. Gayle Woods
