MONDAY: YOU ARE FORGIVEN
KEY PASSAGE
“Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.’ And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.” Psalm 32:1-6
DEVOTIONAL
Jesus did not give his life on the cross to make our lives easier or perfect, but to provide eternal life with Him. Without His sacrifice for us, we are separated from Him, in hell. We are enemies of God without the forgiveness of God. What He chose to do through the cross was to give life to His enemies through forgiveness of their sins.
That is the good news: There is forgiveness for us! However, like David in Psalm 32, we have to come to the place where we acknowledge and confess our sin to God that we may receive His forgiveness. The reality is that we cannot cover up our sins from God because He already knows everything about us. We don’t have to live under guilt and shame anymore. We can, like David, find true freedom and then walk in that freedom which is the forgiveness of God through the confession of our sins. You are Forgiven!
CHALLENGE
In Psalm 32 we see how David was affected by the sin he kept hidden. He describes a heaviness, groaning and weakness. It was through the acknowledgment and confession of sin that David found healing and freedom. Maybe you feel a heaviness today due to secret sin, unrepentant sin, or simply sin you are not aware of. Your challenge today is to take a moment to ask God to reveal if there is unacknowledged sin in your life. Maybe you are already well aware of something you need to confess. Ask for His forgiveness. There is healing and freedom on the other side! And remember, He is eager to forgive!
TUESDAY: GRACE
KEY PASSAGE
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is a gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
DEVOTIONAL
One of the most difficult parts of receiving forgiveness is forgiving yourself. What is your response when you mess up big? How do you handle regrets from your past? Do you beat yourself up, talk down to yourself, and become your own worst enemy? Our enemy, Satan, would love for you to help him in tearing you down! Let’s not assist him! Yet we do struggle with forgiving ourselves, and allow guilt and shame to hold us captive.
Jesus can help you forgive yourself. After all, He Himself has forgiven you! He who is perfect and righteous, has forgiven even you! His grace is sufficient for you, and because He has had grace for us we can learn to have grace with ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are not perfect, that is why we need our savior every moment of every day. We are all works in progress, and our heavenly Father is patient with us. What a good God we serve!
CHALLENGE
Your challenge for today is to take 2 minutes to sit and take deep breaths. Inhale, and then as you exhale speak these truths over yourself. Receive his grace today.
“Today…I am saved by God’s grace”
“Today…I am loved by Jesus”
“Today…I am forgiven by my Heavenly Father”
“Today…I am being made new”
“Today…I give grace to myself, because He has given me grace”
“Today…I receive your grace Father”
WEDNESDAY: CHILD OF GOD
KEY PASSAGE
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
DEVOTIONAL
One of the most impactful stories in the Bible is the story Jesus tells about the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). It’s a story of love, forgiveness, and reconciliation. When Jesus tells this story it is extremely clear that the Father values his son and sees him as his child. Yes, the son was irresponsible, disrespectful, and headed in the wrong direction, but his actions never changed the fact that he was still his Father’s son.
This is the reality we live in with our Heavenly Father. He sees all we have thought, done, and said, but He still calls us Child. Our actions could never turn God away from us. Instead He ran to us like the Father in the story, by sending His son Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” We are children of a forgiving God, the life he wants for us is not one of bondage and bitterness, but one of freedom and joy. When you are a child of God you are no longer bound by what you have done, rather your identity comes from who God says you are. You are “Created in His image” (Genesis 1:27); “A Child of God” (1 John 3:1); “A New Creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17); “More than a Conqueror” (Romans 8:37); “A Temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19); and “Redeemed and Forgiven” (Ephesians 1:7).
CHALLENGE
What are you holding onto that you consider your identity? Have you defined your identity by something that has been done to you, or something that has happened because of you? When we belong to Jesus our OLD life is gone and the NEW life has begun.
Today - Ask God to reveal things that you have attached to your identity that don’t align with who He says you are.
THURSDAY: REPENTANCE
KEY PASSAGE
“Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2
DEVOTIONAL
The world defines the word repentance as “a feeling or expression of sincere regret or remorse of one’s wrongdoing.” But the Biblical definition and expectation gives us a different picture for what repentance truly looks like. The Greek word for Repentance is the word metanoeō (pronounced met-an-o-eh-o) which means to change one’s mind for better. In our church meetings we would define the term repent as “to turn away from” or “to walk away from”.
So we move away from the world’s perspective on repentance as just an emotional decision. At times repentance can start with emotion but the follow-through of repentance truly comes when we stare our sin in the face and say “never again” and walk away. Think of it as someone who, as silly as it may seem, becomes lactose intolerant. They look dairy in the face and say “no more”. Their lifestyle changes. It is the same for us as Christ-followers. The life we lived before Jesus has no place in the life that God has for us. So we must look the ways of old in the face, do a 180 degree spin and walk away. When we turn we must lean on the Holy Spirit like it says in Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
CHALLENGE
What are some things you need to “walk away” from today?
Whatever the Holy Spirit is revealing to you, no matter how hard, repent and walk away from it.
FRIDAY: CONFESSION
KEY PASSAGE
“This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” 1 John 1:5-10
DEVOTIONAL
It is easy to walk in the darkness if the darkness is familiar. Think of walking through your bedroom at night. You can make it around in complete darkness without problem because you know the layout of the room, where every object is, because it is familiar to you.
Notice in 1 John chapter 1 the comparisons of darkness with sin and light with truth. Those who walk in darkness, as John describes, are people who live in sin, or those for whom sin is a consistent pattern in life. Verse 5 tells us “God is light” and “in him there is no darkness at all” and we cannot live in “fellowship” with God unless we retreat from the darkness and come into the light.
How do we do that?
It is only through Jesus that we are forgiven of sins. His blood shed on the cross, and through his resurrection, we are made new and able to fellowship with God.
Confession is the willing act of bringing sin to the attention of God, or allowing what was hidden by darkness to be exposed by the light. Think of bedroom curtains being torn open on a bright morning, revealing a pile of clothes on the floor, clutter on the dresser. God’s light reveals our sin to ourselves, but that’s just the first step. The next step of confession is required. When we confess our sin we don’t just allow God to see it (He always could anyway), but we acknowledge our need for forgiveness. 1 John 1:8 says “if we claim to be without sin . . the truth is not in us.” Letting the light in is letting the truth in. When we confess, God forgives and purifies us from all unrighteousness(1 John 1:9).
One last aspect of confession is fellowship with each other. 1 John 1:7 tells us that if we walk in light with God, then we can have fellowship with one another as well. Confiding your struggles to someone lightens the weight you carry because you allow them to carry part of it with you. We can carry each other’s burdens. When you confess sin to someone else, you bring what was hidden into the light.
CHALLENGE
On a piece of paper, take an inventory of your last few days. When did you feel in the dark? When did you feel far from God? Is there sin that you weren’t aware of? Is there sin that’s been hidden too long?
Hold it up to God. Allow him to see you. Confess what you must to God and let him bring you into His light.
If you feel led, seek an opportunity to confess your struggles to a fellow believer who you trust.