05/30/2024
This morning let’s contemplate the truth we find in God. He is without reproach in this regard and His promises are always fulfilled. Wonderfully, we serve a God who cannot lie and whose Word is true and fast. This gives us reassurance in many things but most of all it provides us with confidence in His love, and eternal life with Him.
“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;”
Titus 1:2 KJV
We have faith in God's promise, and Jesus told us to ask and we shall receive, which makes this another promise we can hold onto.
“Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
John 14:13-14 ESV
But, we have promises we must make and keep as well... To have faith in God, to be within His Will, to come in the name of Jesus, and to confess our sins. Listen to this verse…
“We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.”
John 9:31 ESV
So sin can stand between us and God (Isaiah 59:2), but to remove this barrier we have the blood of Christ to redeem us. We must deal with this sin by accepting Jesus as our savior and asking that our sins be washed from us by the blood of His sacrifice.
“Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.”
Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV
When we pray we should ask that our sins be removed through Christ. Confessing, repenting, and calling upon the name of Jesus can wash away the debris of a sinful life and allow us to come into the presence of God. It is then that our conversation begins in earnest, and our requests are heard.
Even our children know that when they have misbehaved they must begin their reconciliation with someone by asking forgiveness, and then telling them that they won't do that again; it is ingrained in their being and they don't need to be taught this lesson. One of the first words children learn is "sorry". Now granted, it is often used without the commitment to the "I won't do it again" portion, or in the words of Jesus, the "go and sin no more" clause, but that is where parental instruction steps in.
So this morning we can rest assured that our God does not lie, and that He will answer our prayers, but we must also adhere to our commitments to Him. We must live within His will, ask His Forgiveness, repent, seek Him, love Him with all our heart, thank Him for His blessings, and pray with persistence. This sounds like quite a long list, but if we love Him, seek Him, and ask forgiveness, all the others will fall into place.
This morning let's start by calling His name, "Father", thanking Him for His blessings, and then confessing we have sinned. Once the air has been cleared and we are forgiven... Then the conversation can truly begin, and miracles happen.
I would like to pray some scripture for all those who took the time to read this today…
“May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfill all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and in the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!” Amen
Psalms 20:4-5 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your many blessings in my life, and forgive me of my sins. Forgive me for those I have committed knowingly, unknowingly, and not the least of all, by abstention. So often I turn my face from obedience, or neglect your commandments. I don’t lie, but look the other way when a lie is told that benefits me. I might not sin, but don’t speak out against the sins of others that are perpetrated in my presence. Help me Father to be truthful, and honest just as you are, and like your Word, let there be no doubt that my word is true. Through my actions and truthfulness let the world see that I abhor sin in all its forms. Give me courage to speak out against it, and cast your light on even the shadow of a sin that can be so easily overlooked. To this end, wash me clean in the blood of your Son Jesus Christ, and make me pure and truthful as I pick up my cross and follow Him. Reveal my righteousness to all of creation, and let the effect of Christ on my soul that confesses its sin, loves you, and sins no more, be obvious to all. I pray that no soul be lost because of my sinfulness, nor by the example I set through my tolerance of sin in the world. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who was, and is, and is to be without blemish, and forever truthful in all you say and do. Make me brave as I face sin, give me strength as I wrestle with temptation, and hear my thankfulness as you pour your grace and mercy over me as I confess my sin, and ask forgiveness in the name of Jesus your Son… your Dove of Peace, your Holy and unblemished lamb. In all my efforts to be like you I pray that I am successful, and that I will not only be pleasing to you, but a living example of a Christ-like life to those about me who are continuing in their struggles against sin in their lives. Keep dipping me like your holy pen in the blood of Jesus when I fall short in my pursuit of righteousness; dip me in the well of redemption time and time again as you use me to write your Word upon the hearts of those about me, and in every victorious Word I will give you the glory for what you have done with my life.
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.””
Hebrews 8:10-12 ESV
Hallelujah! Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes