Daily Devotionals
Daily Devotional: Psalms 51:1-6
Ps 51:1-6
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 "two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' 13 "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 14 "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
When we try to be right with God by our own works, we inevitably fall into one of two categories. We either think we are really doing good and become guilty of self-righteousness or we see our weakness and all of our failures, are then filled with guilt and feel helplessly lost. It is only when we realize that we can only be right with God by his forgiveness that we can find true joy and peace.
As with David, we may have sinned against a lot of people in a lot of ways but in the end, our sin is against God. It is his mercy we need. Others may or may not forgive us but when God forgives, we are made righteous before him. God’s love and his grace should be the strongest motivation in our lives to be obedient to him and to serve others. His grace both humbles us and exalts us as his children.
Lord God, eternal Father and giver of life, it is with deep humility I come before you today because I recognize that I am weak and sinful on my own. Yet, it is with joy and assurance that I come to you as my Father who loves me and who wants only what is best for me, knowing that you hear my every prayer. Because of sin this world is filled with all kinds of evil, sorrow, pain and suffering. Help me reach as many as possible with your wonderful saving grace in Jesus Christ. Fill me with your Spirit so others will see Jesus in me. I humbly pray in his name.
Robert
