Grief – Praying Pint

33.c. “For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards”

Mat 2:23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”

Matthew 13:53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 11:6   And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

Isaiah 53:3    He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Mark 6:3    Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Luke 7:23     And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

John 6:42    They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

1 Corinthians 1:23-28  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

A miracle conception, humble birth, the Son of God, with brothers and sisters of a carpenters family, in a small village of little recognition, Nazareth and spoken of by prophets is where Jesus seems to have the same type of rejection as was from the Jewish leaders. Their unbelief limited the mighty works that He had done in other villages. They were offended that He was teaching them as one with authority, wisdom, and understanding. They could only see Him as Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary. Who was He to come back home and proclaim things of God?

Rejection of Jesus results in a continuation of life without Him. Many think life is fine this way and they close their ears and eyes to things of God. Like these people from His hometown who rejected Him personally are those who now continually reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They say it is a made-up story, a fairytale. They seem to have made up their minds and become firmer and firmer in their rejection of the Son of God. They find no value and purpose in Jesus in their lives.

To those who believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, He is more than just the Son of God. He is their redeemer, friend, power, strength, joy, peace, courage, and rest. He gives them life, a life more abundant and purposeful. He has given them hope of eternal life. He gives them strength to face all trials and troubles because He said He would never leave them or forsake them. He gives them peace that passes all understanding. He gives them light in a dark and lost world. He guides their paths through this life. He has promised that He will be with them forever and ever. Though He cannot be seen, He is more real than what we can see and touch. He is able to redeem the vilest and lost person and give that person new life. How can anyone reject Jesus Christ and the gospel of redemption, salvation, forgiveness, and eternal life? We do well to remember to honor and glorify the Son of God, Jesus, in all we say, think and do.

32.d. “Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

John 3:22 After this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized (for John had not yet been put in prison). Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Isaiah 53:2-3    For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Isaiah 53:12   Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Daniel 2:44-45   And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,  just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Psalms 72:17-19     May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!  Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.  Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!

John the Baptist understood it was good for him to become less visible and known, for Jesus to become more visible and known. In even larger aspects, this should be the motto of every Christian, especially leaders among God’s people. Jesus should become greater and more visible, and the servant should become less and less visible.

John the Baptist shows us that we may be very popular and outwardly successful, and still be humble. John the Baptist had fame and crowds that modern celebrity pastors could only dream of, yet he was an example of genuine humility. John that Baptist also did not quit his work just because Jesus was doing similar work and doing it for more people. He labored on, content to do what God called him to do even though Jesus gained more and more attention and John less and less.

When we intentionally choose in all we say, think, and do, to do for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ, it is then we will not even notice our fading but rather more and more of Jesus radiating in and through us and others.

31.y. “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.”

Matthew 8:18 Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Luke 14:33    So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

Isaiah 53:2-3   For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Matthew 19:29     And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

With the miracles associated with the ministry of Jesus, following Him might have seemed more glamorous than it really was. Jesus perhaps received many spontaneous offers like this. Jesus didn’t tell the man “No, you can’t follow Me.” But He told him the truth, without painting a glamorized version of what it was like to follow Him. This is the opposite of techniques used by many evangelists today, but Jesus wanted the man to know what it would really be like. This man did not ask for permission to dig a grave for his deceased father. He wanted to remain in his father’s house and care for him until the father died. This was obviously an indefinite period, which could drag on and on.

The man wanted to follow Jesus, but not just yet. He knew it was good and that he should do it, but he felt there was a good reason why he could not do it now. “If the scribe was too quick in promising, this ‘disciple’ was too slow in performing.” Jesus was not afraid to discourage potential disciples. Unlike many modern evangelists, He was interested more in quality than in quantity. “Nothing has done more harm to Christianity than the practice of filling the ranks of Christ’s army with every volunteer who is willing to make a little profession, and to talk fluently of experience.” (Carson)

Jesus pressed the man to follow Him now and clearly stated the principle that family obligations – or any other obligation – must not be put ahead of following Jesus. Jesus must come first. “Much of the concerns of politics, party tactics, committee meetings, social reforms, innocent amusements, and so forth, maybe very fitly described as burying the dead. Much of this is very needful, proper, and commendable work. (Spurgeon)

What each person must settle in their own hearts and minds – is what I am doing – what I have been called or led to do, and am I doing it for the glory and honor of Jesus Christ. Being a disciple of Jesus Christ is being one all of the time. All of our thoughts, words, and actions should fall under our careful eyes and be viewed by and through God’s Word to ensure that in all things and at all times we are honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ. Some of the godliest people I have met are not pastors or preachers but those who, in whatever vocation God has led them, give themselves wholly to being a disciple who honors and glorifies Jesus Christ in all they do at all times.

26.k. “I have chosen the way of truth”

Paslms 119:25 My life is down in the dust; give me life through your word. I told you about my life, and you answered me; teach me your statutes. Help me understand the meaning of your precepts so that I can meditate on your wonders. I am weary from grief; strengthen me through your word. Keep me from the way of deceit and graciously give me your instruction. I have chosen the way of truth; I have set your ordinances before me. I cling to your decrees; Lord, do not put me to shame. I pursue the way of your commands, for you broaden my understanding.

Revival comes from a sense of spiritual need and lowliness. In the Biblical and historical sense, true revival is marked by a shamed awareness of sin and an urgency to confess and make things right. God uses His word in bringing revival. “Can each one of us now say, in this sense, ‘I have declared my ways’ to the Lord? For this should be done, not only at our first coming to him but continually throughout the whole of our life. We should look over each day, and sum up the errors of the day, and say, ‘I have declared my ways,’ – my naughty ways, my wicked ways, my wandering ways, my backsliding ways, my cold, in different ways, my proud ways.’” (Spurgeon) The psalmist understood that he needed more than knowledge; he also needed understanding. With both, he would meditate on God’s wonderful works. With a deep understanding, we will go beyond a mere understanding of the words to a Spirit-led understanding of what they reveal about the nature of God, the gospel, and God’s ways.” (Boice) If we are to be kept from sin, it must be by the grace of God exercised through the teaching of his Word.” “Men do not drop into the right way by chance; they must choose it, and continue to choose it, or they will soon wander from it.” (Spurgeon) The psalmist understood that if he were to give himself entirely to God – to cling to His word as a shipwrecked man clings to a floating plank in the sea – then he could trust that God would not allow him to be put…to shame. This was well-placed confidence. “Having once chosen our road, it remains that we persevere in it; since better had it been for us never to have known the way of truth than to forsake it when known.” (Horne)

17.s. “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”

John 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!”

Isaiah 49:5-6   And now the LORD says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD, and my God has become my strength—  he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Isaiah 53:10-12    Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Luke 9:23-24     And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus’s thought of the cross just a few days away, His main concern was that God was glorified. His purpose on earth was to redeem, save, and demonstrate God’s love for mankind. It is hard for me to come close to understanding the commitment and longing and desire of Jesus to honor and glorify God, knowing what just a few days away would yield great physical and emotional pain. He knew what He was facing. He knew His purpose and was willing to die on the cross for it to honor and glorify God and redeem mankind.

I can wrap my mind around taking a bullet, fast death, for someone you love, but willing to be tortured, beaten, whipped, and nailed to a cross for the sins of every human being is an act of love so humble, pure, and holy it seems beyond understanding. What a Savior we have in Jesus Christ. In light of this, how should we live our lives? The writer of Hebrews said: Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

17.e. “But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;”

John 17:32 Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”

Hebrews 4:15   For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Job 30:25    Did not I weep for him whose day was hard? Was not my soul grieved for the needy?

Psalms 119:136     My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.

Isaiah 53:3   He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief

Jeremiah 13:17     But if you will not listen, my soul will weep in secret for your pride;

Luke 19:41    And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,

The grief and tears of Mary and Martha moved Jesus. God sees the tears of the grief-stricken and is moved with compassion. Jesus sees our tears and is touched by our tears. According to Trench, the sense of was troubled is “‘And troubled Himself.’ The phrase is remarkable: deliberately summoned up in Himself the feelings of indignation at the havoc wrought by the evil one, and of tenderness for the mourners.” It means that Jesus wasn’t so much sad at the scene surrounding the tomb of Lazarus. It’s more accurate to say that Jesus was angry. Jesus was angry and troubled at the destruction and power of the great enemy of humanity: death. Jesus would soon break the dominating power of death. “Jesus had humanity in its perfection, and humanity unadulterated is generous and sympathetic.” (Clarke) “He suffered all the innocent infirmities of our nature.” (Spurgeon)

“Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” Spurgeon put it like this; “these words were not helpful to anyone. Spurgeon noted that all this “what if” talking is vain, of no use. “Perhaps the bitterest griefs that men know come not from facts, but from things which might have been, as they imagine; that is to say, they dig wells of supposition, and drink the brackish waters of regret.” “Suppose that Jesus is willing to open the eyes of the blind, and does open them; is he therefore bound to raise this particular dead man? If he does not see fit to do so, does that prove that he has not the power? If he lets Lazarus die, is it proven therefore that he could not have saved his life? May there not be some other reason? Does Omnipotence always exert its power? Does it ever exert all its power?

Establish the work of our hands

“so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever.”

Psalms 102:28 The children of your servants shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you.

Psalms 22:30-31 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

Psalms 45:16-17 In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

Psalms 69:35-36 For God will save Zion and build up the cities of Judah, and people shall dwell there and possess it; the offspring of his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Isaiah 59:20-21 “And a Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.”

Isaiah 65:22 They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be, and my chosen shall long enjoy the work of their hands.

Psalms 90:16-17 Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!

“Establish the work of our hands” I think much of the time we think about this and only apply it to our jobs. We ask God to bless us in what we do. We try to find meaning and purpose in what we do. There will be no blessing from God if we are pursing our own path in life. We should not take a job anywhere if we are not confident this is where God wants us. We will find no purpose in life if we go our own way, seeking what ever it is to please us. Purpose in life and blessings in life come from being in God’s will and seeking to honor and glorify Him. Seeking to hear His quiet small voice leading you in family and work will light your path and allow you to see blessing and give you purpose. How can we expect to give our offspring and generations to come anything to hang on to if we are not clinging to, relying on, and trusting in, and proclaiming the mighty glorious power, love, grace, and mercy of God. We don’t have to look very deep into our society / culture to see that our lack of commitment and complacency toward humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying God has terrible results upon our children and the next generation. Our life can be one filled with purpose and blessing if we would seek Him alone with our heart, mind and soul.

Empty Tomb

“For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,”

John 20:1 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Psalms 16:10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.

Isaiah 25:8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken.

Isaiah 26:19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Hosea 13:14 I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death.

Acts 2:25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’ “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Acts 13:29 And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers,

Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the third day. He was witnessed by hundred’s of people during the forty days after His resurrection and prior to His ascension. He came to redeem the lost and give hope of eternal life. The need for redemption is real. The promise of redemption is real. The penalty of rejection is real.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

Do not fall into the trap of neglect or complacency or rejection of this great price paid for redemption.

God raised Him up

“God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”

John 10:18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

Acts 2:32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

Acts 3:15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

Philippians 2:6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Titus 2:14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Hebrews 5:6 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him,

Matthew 26:53 Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?” At that hour Jesus said to the crowds, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Do you ever wonder in awe, this selfless act of redemption Christ obediently carried out for salvation of those who would believe in Him. He could have asked for and received the help of 12 legions (50,000 +) of Angels to save Him from the hands of those taking charge of Him. He could have stopped this from happening but He didn’t because the will of the Father. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Redemption of our soul came at a very high cost and is not to be taken lightly. “he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him” – what does it mean to obey Him? To obey Him we must have a heart deep desire to humbly serve, honor, and follow Him. Our heart and mind must choose to actively seek to do His will and purpose. His word is active. His word is light unto our soul. His word is a beacon of hope. His word is a light unto our path. His word is the beginning of our understanding of things of God. His word give us wisdom in things of God. His word was given to us to grow in this understanding and knowledge. It is very hard for this to happen unless we spend time in His word. Choose to spend time in His word. Choose to humbly serve, honor, follow and obey.

Sin

“I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.”

“Do not forsake me, O LORD! O my God, be not far from me! Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation!”

Psalms 51:3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.

Job 31:33 if I have concealed my transgressions as others do by hiding my iniquity in my heart,

Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

Psalms 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

Psalms 38:15 But for you, O LORD, do I wait; it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

2 Corinthians 7:7 For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.

1 John 1:8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

There is nothing like having done something wrong to a person and being forgiven. How much more so with the Creator of all heaven and earth. We can sin knowingly and unknowingly. Knowingly when we hear God’s quiet small voice speaking to our heart and mind and we deny it, or even worse we choose to close our heart and mind to His voice and leading. Knowingly, when we choose not to stay in His word and unknowingly when that word of warning, direction, or command is not planted in our heart and mind. Choosing to neglect His word does not give us, by any means, an excuse. Set time apart each day to read His word, listen to His quiet small voice, and humbly serve, honor and obey.