Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 69:30-36
Ps 69:30-36
30 I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving. 31 This will please the LORD more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hoofs. 32 The poor will see and be glad--you who seek God, may your hearts live! 33 The LORD hears the needy and does not despise his captive people. 34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them, 35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it; 36 the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.
Matt 9:12-13
12 But when He heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. 13 "But go and learn what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice, 'for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
Because of his love for all of us, God makes forgiveness possible and offers it to all who will come to Jesus. That does not mean that his first choice is to forgive. He really wants us to do right in the first place and not need forgiveness. His plan for us is that we do his will – perfectly – just like Jesus. But we do fail, no matter how hard we try or how much we want to do right. Peter sinned, Paul sinned and even John, the disciple of love, sinned also. We all need his forgiveness.
God’s forgiveness is complete and free. It is free in that we cannot earn it or pay for it. It is free because it is offered to all, a gift of God because of what Jesus did for us on the cross. It is complete because when God forgives, our sin is gone, never to be remembered again. We praise God for his salvation in Jesus.
But, someone says that nothing is ever really free. In a sense this is also true. It cost God the giving of his Son on our behalf. It cost Jesus the pain and suffering of the cross, plus the acceptance of our sin on himself. It costs us our life. Jesus said we must deny ourselves and take up his cross. So, Paul said he had been crucified with Christ and he no longer lived, but Christ lived in him. We too die to sin, are buried with him in baptism and then raised to live as a new person in Jesus.
Heavenly Father, it is with deep humility that I come to you as God and creator of the universe and all that exists. As a mere speck in the universe and even less in the scheme of time and eternity, I don’t deserve to be noticed or heard. Yet, your love is so great that you have provided a way for me to be forgiven of my sin and to be restored in my relationship with you as your child. I praise your name with thanksgiving. Help me keep my eyes on you, on heaven and on Jesus so I don’t get sidetracked by the things of this life. I come to you in the name of Jesus.
Robert
