Daily Devotions: Me, Me, Me - Psalm 71

Psalm 71:2      Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness; turn your ear to me and save me.

I love the Book of Psalms, but sometimes King David’s self-centered pleas are annoying. He says “Me, me, me” quite a lot and it makes me wonder what kind of a person he really was.

Don’t get me wrong, I think that David is one of the greatest heroes in the Bible, but quite often he made foolish and selfish choices that created major problems for himself, his people, and his family. Time and time again, David blamed his enemies and believed that they should be punished by God. He seemed to be in denial about his own portion of the blame and brazenly expected God to fix everything.

I am not perfect either, and I make selfish choices and foolish mistakes too. I hope, however, that I accept my culpability and seek God’s forgiveness first and my salvation second. The process is called repentance – an old-fashioned word, for sure – but one that I have constantly needed throughout my Christian journey.

Perhaps you are in the midst of a crisis, issue, or problem that you need God to fix. Maybe you’re overwhelmed with anxiety or regret and you feel emotionally paralyzed. As you come to God in prayer, ask Him initially to reveal your portion of blame and humbly seek His forgiveness. Perhaps after that experience, the next step to resolution won’t be as hard.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, forgive our self-centered and annoyingly narcissistic ways. Grant us the ability to see our weaknesses and faults, so that we may begin the process of contrition and repentance, and then seek resolution and completeness. In Your Holy Name, we humbly pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.

Today’s image is John’s latest drawing of Mount Fujiyama in Japan. It’s on his ‘places to see” Bucket List. You can view a larger version of the print by clicking on the following link:

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4820234972_2d0f5a10b0_b.jpg

Free Daily Devotions: Finding Forgiveness - Acts 3

Acts 3:19         Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the LORD.

We all make mistakes and need to forgive ourselves of past foolishness. Not one of us is perfect and, if you’re anything like me, sometimes the guilty burden of past events is hard to live with.

We’ve all said or did wrong things that have hurt or disappointed other people. We’ve all made selfish choices that we later regret. And we’ve all taken sinful paths that leave us empty and disillusioned, unfulfilled and dissatisfied with life. Failing is a part of being human and falling into sin is a daily event.

Forgiveness, on the other hand, is an important part of God’s daily grace. We can be liberated from our unloving ways through the presence of Jesus in our lives. When Peter urges his people to repent, he’s offering them a divine opportunity to be forgiven of what they collectively did to Jesus. He’s inviting them to confess their mistakes and seek God’s grace. If they choose to do this, they will be restored to God’s favor and given the glorious opportunity of beginning again.

That’s the kind of message that I need to hear each day. If I had to carry the burden of past mistakes, I would never be able to get through another day. Christ’s sacrifice allows me to come to Him to ask for, seek, and find forgiveness. Jesus restores my soul and refreshes my spirit each day. I can even forgive myself because He forgives me first.

I don’t know what kinds of heavy burdens you carry in your heart and mind, but this I do know: repentance works. If you truly ask Jesus today to forgive your past mistakes, He will completely pardon you and you will be renewed. This is one of God’s greatest promises. This is how Godly grace works.

Prayer:                        Lord Jesus, we all have sinful secrets and have committed shameful choices in our lives. The past burdens us and we are made miserable by our own stupidity. Help us this day to turn to God, to repent of our ways and seek Your forgiveness. Restore us to God’s favor and refresh our lives from this time forth. In Your Holy Name, we sincerely pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org.