January 17, 2023
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51:15-17) ESV.
A child of God deals purposefully and ruthlessly with sin. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. God had this to say about David in (Acts 13:22), “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.” When God chose David to be king, He said in (1 Samuel 16:7), “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”
Despite David being a man after God’s known heart, he stumbled and fell. He committed adultery and then intensified his sin by having his mistress’s husband, Uriah, murdered. In chapter twelve of 2 Samuel, God sends the Prophet Nathan to confront David with his sin. David humbly responds to the revelation and comes before God to ask for forgiveness. Psalm chapter fifty-one is David’s prayer of repentance. It is a heartbreaking yet beautiful outpouring of his heart. David realizes that he has sinned first and foremost against God, whom he loved so much. His sin breaks David’s heart. God forgave David’s sin, but there were consequences for him and his family.
Friend, if you have sinned against God, come to Him and repent; ask Him to forgive you and restore you. Then walk in the Light of His mercy and grace. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). David went on to be mightily used by God; He can do the same for you. Would you join me in praying today?
Dear Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Father, I come before You on Your Throne; I ask You to forgive me for my sins. I Pray, Lord, that in Your Love and Mercy, You would cleanse me from the guilt and shame of what I have done in my past. Restore me and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
## Encouraging Words from Billy Graham: The Cross shows us the seriousness of our sin – but it also shows us the immeasurable Love of God.
God Bless you, Friends, and have a Blessed Day <><
Thoughts by Randall Stapleton is a Daily Devotion brought to you by The Bridge - Learn more at https://wearethebridge.org
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