The Icing and the Cake
Today's Devotional is written by Pastor Roy Summers
Every human marriage knows this. On the one hand there is the eternal lifelong bond of love forged by covenant or promise on the day the couple married.
On this rock, the marriage is based, and on that rock it does not move, whatever the tides of daily life, of illness, poverty, wealth and so on.
But then there is the daily relationship which needs the work of regular confession and forgiveness.
The covenant is the thick underlying "cake" of the marriage and the daily relationship is the "icing."
The New Covenant
So too in our walk with the Lord, the New Covenant made in the blood of Jesus Christ is the unchanging pillar or foundation of salvation, which will never change. "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness." (Jeremiah 31:3)
The old adage is true, "There is nothing we can do to make God love us more, there is nothing we can do to make God love us less." Why? Because his divine love is based in himself and in Christ, and not on us or our behaviour.
Daily Confession
But in addition to the "cake" of covenant is the "icing" of daily confession and forgiveness. Daily we do wrong, and daily we feel out of sorts with the Lord, so what do we do? Here's our beautiful memory verse for the day:
"If we confess out sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9)
The Lord makes a promise through his apostle John, that if we come to the Lord and admit, confess our wrongdoing, then he will forgive us our daily sins. He is faithful and just in this. Faithful because he is always ready to hear our confessions. He is just because the sin he forgives has been already paid in full.
The Second Mile
But in closing, let us note how the Lord goes the second mile in his promise. He will not only forgive our sins, he will also cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There is a purifying element to confession. Regular confession is a habitual reminder of our sin, and that constant reminder in the mind of a Spirit-born believer works to reinforce hatred for sin. In some mysterious way, regular confession has a purifying effect upon us.
In marriage, a fault not recognised or confessed never gets dealt with. But once we admit a weakness and confess it, then healing is possible.
So it is with the Lord. If we humbly acknowledge our sins and regularly confess them to him, then he works in our hearts to cleanse us from those very sins. If we do not admit them and hence never confess them, they remain as stubborn stains, which will one day find us out.
A SONG FOR THE DAY
Our song for the day reminds us of the never-ending love of the Lord Jesus for us.
Jesus my Lord will love me forever,
From Him no pow’r of evil can sever;
He gave His life to ransom my soul—
Now I belong to Him!
Now I belong to Jesus,
Jesus belongs to me—
Not for the years of time alone,
But for eternity.
Once I was lost in sin’s degradation,
Jesus came down to bring me salvation,
Lifted me up from sorrow and shame—
Now I belong to Him!
Joy floods my soul, for Jesus has saved me,
Freed me from sin that long had enslaved me;
His precious blood He gave to redeem—
Now I belong to Him!
Norman Clayton
You can worship HERE.
A PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Our ever-forgiving Father in heaven,
We thank you for the covenant you have made through your Son, which makes us pure and clean in your sight, once and forever. We bless you for your unfailing love towards us.
We thankyou for daily cleansing too. How often we fail you and let you down, and yet you do not cast us off or turn away from us.
Teach us to come to you often in confession, as well as thanksgiving and petition, and work in us, by your sanctifying Spirit that cleansing from all sin that is part of your gracious promise to sinners.
We ask these things in the Name of your Son,
Amen
Photo by marcos mayer on Unsplash
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