[DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_SOCIAL_ICONS]
Today: Psalms 32; Mark 15:33-47; Leviticus 23 & 24
Psalm 32
“When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.” Psalm 32:3
I’ve recently begun practicing confession as part of my daily prayer routine. I’ve found it to be very valuable, spiritually renewing. Here’s how it works… I think over my previous 24 hours and ask God to bring to my mind any wrong I may have done. I’m not asking God for forgiveness. He’s already done that. I’m simply confessing. As David says in Psalm 32:
“I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not hide my guilt; I said, ‘I will confess my wrongdoings to the LORD’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin.” Psalm 32:5
This has proven to be beneficial in several ways.
- First of all, I do this in the mornings so it cleanses my soul for that day. I start the day with a fresh slate. It acts as a spiritual reset.
- Second, it reasserts in my mind a proper perspective of my relationship to God. I am reminding myself of His perfection and my own desperate need for a Savior.
- Third, I am resting on the cross, the salvation and forgiveness that Christ has accomplished.
- Finally, it helps align my relationships with other people. Usually the transgressions I’ve committed involve my thoughts, negative judgmental thoughts I’ve entertained about others. It is good to sweep that stuff out of my mind every day to ensure that these destructive emotions don’t take root in my soul.
Try it out! Confession is good for the soul!
Mark 15
“But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.” Mark 15:37-38
It Is Finished!
There’s a line that’s been drawn through the ages;
On that line stands the old rugged cross.
On that cross a battle is raging
For the gain of man’s soul or his loss.
On one side march the forces of evil,
All the demons and devils of hell.
On the other the angels of glory
And they meet on Golgotha’s hill.
The earth shakes with the force of the conflict;
The sun refuses to shine.
For there hangs God’s Son in the balance,
And then through the darkness He cries:
“It is finished!” The battle is over!
It is finished! There’ll be no more war!
It is finished! The end of the conflict!
It is finished and Jesus is Lord!
Yet in my heart the battle was still raging;
Not all pris’ners of war have come home.
They were battlefields of my own making,
I didn’t know that the war had been won.
Then I heard that the King of all ages
Had won all the battles for me.
And the vict’ry was mine for the claiming;
And now praise His name I am free!
And it is finished! The battle is over!
It is finished! There’ll be no more war!
It is finished! The end of the conflict!
It is finished and Jesus is Lord!
He is Lord! He is Lord! He is Lord!
Jesus is Lord!
Words by William J. and Gloria Gaither Music by William J. Gaither
©1976 Hanna Street Music (admin. by Gaither Copyright Mgmt.)
