07/06/2026
We often pray for forgiveness, and in one such prayer we should ask God to forgive us for those things we have left undone. Have you ever prayed this way and wondered what those undone things and sins might be? Well, the most powerful example of these is not witnessing in word or deed to a sinner, either unsaved, or who has wandered away from their faith. Not witnessing when we are able places the blood of that soul upon us, but by obedience we save our own souls.
“"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul.”
Ezekiel 3:17-19 ESV
We are not tasked with saving, but we are told to warn those who are in danger of being lost. Certainly, we would like to bring souls to the Lord by our efforts, but like an oxen that pulls the plow... we are to go before and provide the effort that prepares a soul for the seed of faith. We are the foghorn that sounds on a dark and foggy night, warning ships from the rocks, and bringing them to safe harbor. In these acts we are righteous, but when we leave them undone we lose ourselves as surely as those who did not hear our voice.
“The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.”
Proverbs 11:30 ESV
Often we have a vision that saving souls, and being a true missionary, is doing the Lord’s work in a far off place where we witness to those who have never heard of Jesus Christ before, but in fact it can be equally important in our own household when we deliver the word of warning to a soul we know and love. We might be telling our children of our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ for the first time, or speaking to one who has wandered from their faith. By doing this we are saving two souls... the soul of our loved one, and our own too.
“My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”
James 5:19-20 ESV
And then there are our actions. We have all heard the expression that “actions speak louder than words”, and there is great truth in this. Take a household in which the wife has come to Christ, but the husband remains hard in his heart; what does the Word say to us?
“Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives,”
1 Peter 3:1 ESV
And the same holds true for husbands as they are told to show honor and understanding to such wives even as they lift them up in their prayers...
“Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.”
1 Peter 3:7 ESV
So, we should deliver the word, and the warning, and not let those opportunities slip by. Leave nothing undone in this regard, and be not afraid. There are few things harder than a heart that has turned away from God, because it is being forged into a spear by Satan’s own hand. But God’s Word tells us that He can change this, because what He says of nations will certainly be done in our own house, and the word we neglected to speak would have been a puff into a heavenly forge from Christ’s own bellows...
“He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.”
Isaiah 2:4 ESV
Those things we have left undone... do you know of such occasions in your own home, or life? Have you seen opportunities to deliver the gospel in either word or deed and remained silent? Have you walked past someone in your workplace and heard the Holy Spirit directing you to speak, but were afraid to utter a word? These are causes to fervently pray and ask for forgiveness; specifically for those things we have left undone! How will we pray today?
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for hitching me to your plow and allowing me to break the ground for your seed of faith. I thank you for the call that directs my voice to become a puff of wind in the forge of Christ. I thank you Merciful Father for forgiving me when I miss these opportunities in my life, but I thank you most for those times when the one word from me helps you bring salvation to a lost soul. In this I further thank you for covering a multitude of my sins by your grace, and for delivering my soul in the process. There are many times when fear defeats me Father, and I let things go undone or unsaid that you have asked of me; give me courage and resolve to do those things. Even when I can’t see the final outcome that my witness has begun, let me trust in you, and know that every request you make of me has a purpose. Give me the resolve and obedience of Joshua, as he obeyed those things you gave to Moses, and that were passed on to him. Let nothing you ask of me go undone Father. You are great, and although I am small, I pray that you will use me to bring glory to your name. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, whose voice I recognize, and whose commands shall not become my regret; shall not be those things left undone. Hear this my prayer today.
“Just as the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the Lord had commanded Moses.”
Joshua 11:15 ESV
Let all who deliver the Word of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ say, “Hallelujah!” and, “Amen!”
Rich Forbes