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First Baptist Church of Lee's Summit, MO
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Listen
to the Word
"Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions." (Psalm
51:1) |
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Perhaps the most famous
prayer of confession recorded in the Bible is found in Psalm 51, in
which David begs for God's cleansing after his adultery with
Bathsheba. Notice the grounds on which David asks for forgiveness:
"according to your unfailing love; according to your great
compassion." David does not say, "according to the fact that what I
did wasn't really that bad, forgive me" or "Let this one slide, because
You know I really love You and I normally do the right thing, but there
were extenuating circumstances this time, and..." David doesn't
expect forgiveness because he deserves to receive it; he expects
forgiveness because God delights to give it.
God does not
forgive you because you are good. He forgives you because He is
good. It is pure mercy, not merit. Cleansing is possible
only because of the unfailing love and great compassion of God.
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Live the
Word
Ask God to help you examine yourself for things you need to
confess to Him - times you have done the wrong thing, or failed to do
the right thing. Confess your sin to Him, confident that
forgiveness comes because of His mercy. | |
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