Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 19:12-14
Ps 19:12-14
Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
1 John 1:6-9
If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
God wants to forgive us from all of our sin. He wants it so badly that he sent his unique (one of a kind) Son to the earth to live as one of us. Jesus experienced temptations just like you and I face them. To be tempted means that one desires to do that which is wrong. If there is no desire, there is no temptation. But he did not give in to the desire to sin. Having lived a perfect life (no sin – not even one), he offered that life on the cross for all the sin of all the world. This is God’s grace!
But we are warned to not receive the grace of God in vain. That means we can ignore it, refuse it, or even revile it. Or, we can accept it and have our sins forgiven in Christ. God put our sin on Jesus so that he died as one guilty of sin (our sin), so that we can be counted as totally righteous before him. To be righteous means we have no sin counted against us. Jesus swapped places with us.
When we are buried in baptism, we die to sin and our sins are washed away. We then are raised from that grave of water to walk in a newly transformed life. It is a new life because we are no longer servants of sin but servants of righteousness, but also because as we live for him, he continues to forgive us when we do sin (and we all do sin at times). There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. We have been set free from the law that required death!
O Lord God, creator of all things, giver of life, all powerful and all wise, it is with a humble heart that I come before you with thanksgiving for all you have done for me and continue to do for me every day. Yet, in Jesus, I come to you boldly knowing that you will hear me as a father listens to his child. Thank you for your marvelous grace inspired by your infinite and majestic love for me. Help me truly be a servant of righteousness and walk in your light. Use me to encourage others to live for you and to bring honor to your name. I pray in the name of Jesus.
Robert
