But when Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I will have mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners to repentance.” Matthew 9:12-13
The Pharisees (a legalistic sect that believed one could be righteous in God’s eyes by strictly observing the law) were critical of Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners, but Jesus pointed out that He came to save sinners by calling on them to repent and look to Him in faith for God’s pardon and forgiveness. God desires mercy rather than a legalistic fulfillment of the law regarding sacrifices (cf. Hosea 6:6). He desires true repentance and faith rather than an outward performance of religious rites and rituals.
O gracious and merciful God, grant that I show mercy toward others and forgive them as You have forgiven me for the sake of Christ Jesus and His cross. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]
“Since many have undertaken to set in order a declaration of those things that are most surely believed among us, even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus, that you might know the certainty of those things in which you have been instructed.” Luke 1:1-4
Why did Luke write to Theophilus? To give him an orderly account regarding the life and work of Jesus Christ from His birth to His death, resurrection, and ascension — an account based on the eye-witness testimony of those who were there and could attest to the facts related to Jesus and His fulfillment of what the Scriptures had foretold. Luke wrote so that Theophilus could know, with certainty, the truthfulness of what he had been taught. Luke’s Gospel and all of the Scriptures give us certainty of the truthfulness of what we have been taught regarding our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grant that I read and study Your inspired Word, O Lord, that I may know the truth and place my faith in You and what You have accomplished for me on the cross. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you,” says the LORD, “thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11
As God promised to salvage and rebuild the ruined lives of His people after they were carried away into captivity for their sin and rebellion against Him, God still salvages and rebuilds ruined lives today by calling lost and condemned sinners to faith in Jesus and His cross for pardon and forgiveness and then recreating them and giving them new hearts by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word.
O gracious and merciful God, I have sinned and ruined the life You gave me. Forgive my sins for Jesus’ sake and renew my heart that I may live for You. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]
“You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them…” Exodus 20:3-5a
One of the ways people practice idolatry is to make God in their own image and likeness. We do this when we imagine that God thinks as we do, that our thoughts and ways are God’s thoughts and ways. But God clearly says, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isa. 55:8). Rather than assuming God thinks as we do, God would have us conform our thoughts and ways to His, as revealed to us in the Scriptures, and repent of our sins and iniquities and place our faith in Christ Jesus and His cross.
Your ways and Your thoughts are true and right, O God. My thoughts and ways are not. Forgive my sins in the shed blood of Christ Jesus and cleanse my ways. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]
“Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Psalm 107:8
This refrain, found repeatedly in Psalm 107, urges us to thank and praise the LORD God for His undeserved goodness toward us when we look to Him for mercy. Even though we often turn aside from following Him and we fail to trust Him, when we confess our sins and turn to Him for pardon and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, He forgives our sins and promises us everlasting life.
Forgive us, O LORD, for our disobedience and sin and restore us as Your people for the sake of the atoning sacrifice of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.
[Scripture quotations are taken from the Barbour Simplified KJV, copyright 2022, 2025. Used by permission of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683. All rights reserved.]
