'forgiveness' Tagged Posts
Daily Devotions
You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him.” vss. 5-6 1 John 3:4-7 Just a few paragraphs earlier John had told his readers that anyone who said they did not sin was a liar, and we would heartily agree. That certainly fits our experience! But he doesn’t mean to imply that we should…
Daily Devotions
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” vss. 22-23 John 20:19-25 The gospel writer John understood that the Holy Spirit could not be contained and said that it was like the wind. We could hear the sound of it but not know where it was coming from, or where…
Daily Devotions
But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.” vs. 5 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 When the prophet wrote these words about the Servant, he likely had in mind the nation of Israel, and the horrible suffering that had been endured by his people. They’re powerful words, and likely helped his readers come to terms with the punishment their ancestors had endured–perhaps there had…
Daily Devotions
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us…” vs. 1 Hebrews 12:1-3 Preachers often use sports metaphors to make points about our life in faith, and the writer to the Hebrews is no exception. Unfortunately, he didn’t know anything about golf, the most metaphoric game of all, but he…
Daily Devotions
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” vs. 33 Jeremiah 31:31-34 For hundreds of years Israel had prided itself on being a covenant people. God had chosen them out of all nations and had promised to be their God forever.…
Daily Devotions
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.” vs. 1 Psalm 51:1-17 Through the years we’ve come up with some creative ways to deal with the problem of sin in our lives. Most recently a sizable number of folks have decided that there’s been too much talk of sin in the church, and that we deserve a break. Some congregations have consequently eliminated the confession from the order…
Daily Devotions
They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.’” vs. 27 Mark 1:27-28 The crowd recognized that Jesus was teaching with authority and they were amazed. They were well acquainted with authority figures of several kinds. There was that of their Roman overlords, a kind of political authority derived from the emperor. And the scribes too claimed authority–they interpreted the religious…
Daily Devotions
John 1:15-18 “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” vs. 18 Through the centuries humans have been told that the study of religions will lead them to an understanding of God. And so we have done our work. We’ve dug into holy scriptures, listened to learned teachers, and probed deep into the intricacies of the world’s religions–and for the most part the search…
Daily Devotions
John 8:34-36 “Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin…So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.’” vss. 34, 36 Martin Luther was deeply aware of his own sin! Every day he battled to get the upper hand and be free of this hideous slavery. He used every tool that the Church provided, praying regularly, daily confessing his sins, and even abusing his body with penitential acts.…
Daily Devotions
Jeremiah 31:31-34 … “It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt—a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the Lord.” vs. 32 Jeremiah compares the covenant between the Lord and the House of Israel to a marriage, one established by the Lord when their ancestors came out of Egypt. This covenant, sealed by the promises made…
Daily Devotions
Ezekiel 18:25-32 … “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!” 31a The legal system of Israel was uncomplicated and relatively easy to understand. If people lived according to the law and did what was required by God they would be blessed. If they broke the law and lived according to the ways of wickedness they would be punished. The prophet believed their life choice…
Daily Devotions
Ezekiel 18:1-4 … “Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.” vs. 4 There was a proverb popular among the Israelites, “The parents have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth have been set on edge.” The point was clear: sometimes children end up paying for the sins of their parents. We would probably agree. We’ve all…