Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 38:7-12
Ps 38:7-12
My back is filled with searing pain; there is no health in my body. I am feeble and utterly crushed; I groan in anguish of heart. All my longings lie open before you, O Lord; my sighing is not hidden from you. My heart pounds, my strength fails me; even the light has gone from my eyes. My friends and companions avoid me because of my wounds; my neighbors stay far away. Those who seek my life set their traps, those who would harm me talk of my ruin; all day long they plot deception.
Rom 5:12-13, 15
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way, death came to all men, because all sinned- for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
There is nothing in life that makes us feel worse than heavy guilt. Guilt can make us physically sick. It weighs us down with depression. When we feel we have done wrong and try to deny it or hide it, our conscience literally sucks the life from our bodies. It fills our hearts with anger as we try to blame others. Sin is deadly.
The wonderful news is that we can get rid of the guilt. It is not something that we are born with, and it is not something that we have to live with. We feel guilty because we have sinned. We can find relief in Jesus. Since our sin is ultimately against God, we do not deserve to be forgiven. But because of his love for us, and by his grace, he is willing to forgive us and his forgiveness is total, it is complete.
When we put our faith in Jesus as our Savior, as the Son of God who died for us, we can turn from our sinful past, and then as we are buried in baptism we put on Christ and our sins are all washed away. Paul says that in baptism we die to sin and become a new person in Christ, a slave to righteousness. Then as we live for him, even when we do sin again, his blood continues to cleanse us. Paul says that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Thank you, God, for your love, for your wonderful grace, and for the forgiveness this gives me in Jesus Christ! It is a wonderful feeling to know that my sins have been taken away and my record is clean before you – so I am counted as being righteous – free from sin. In view of this grace, help me devote my life to Jesus in every way and live for him and bring glory to you. Thank you for all the spiritual blessings I have in Christ. Fill my heart with your peace and your joy. Please give your healing to those who are sick and who trust in you. In Jesus name.
Robert
