“Be attentive, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, and you depart from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called ‘Today,’ lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.” Hebrews 3:12-13
Satan would deceive us and have us take sin lightly, as though it would cause us no harm. We need to exhort one another against the dangers of sin constantly. James writes, “But each man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. Then, when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin; and when sin is finished, it brings forth death” (James 1:14-16). Sin and its deception are a threat to our souls. Repent and look to Christ and His cross for mercy, and then seek His help and strength to resist temptation and walk in His ways.
Give me wisdom, O God, to shun every sin and evil, lest I be deceived by sin and suffer eternal death and damnation. I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
“They will drink their fill from the abundance of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:8-9
Those who heed God’s Word, repent of their sins, and flee for refuge to the cross of Jesus Christ partake of the eternal blessings of God’s kingdom. They know true, lasting pleasures. Why? Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Only when we trust in Christ Jesus will we see and know the truth.
Enlighten my heart, O God, that I may know the truth and look to You in faith for pardon and the eternal joys of heaven. I ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the cross. Amen.
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:26-27
The eternal God — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — created mankind in His own image, meaning that man was like God in that he had a true knowledge of God and lived according to the truth God had revealed. As a result, man honored God as his Maker, trusted God, truly loved God, and sought to bring God glory (cf. Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10). God also created mankind male and female and commanded them to reproduce and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28), meaning that the biological differences between a man and a woman are according to God’s creative purpose and design rather than man’s choice.
Grant that I recognize the truth, O God, and honor You as my all-wise Creator and my loving and merciful Redeemer. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. … He who believes in Him is not condemned. But he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16,18
It is indeed true that God loves the people of this world. We see that love in the gift of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, who was born into this world a true man to fulfill the demands of God’s law in our place and then to bear the full and just punishment for our sins — indeed the sins of all — that we might repent of our sinful and rebellious ways and look to Jesus and His cross for mercy and forgiveness and be spared the condemnation of hell. But Jesus also says in no uncertain terms that those who do not repent and turn to Him in faith stand condemned already and will suffer the eternal torments of hell.
Have mercy upon me, O Christ. Forgive my sinful thoughts, desires, words, and deeds for the sake of Your blood, shed on the cross for the sins of the world. And keep me in the true and saving faith that I might be spared the eternal torments of hell and live for You forever in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.
“My little children, I am writing these things to you, so that you do not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” 1 John 2:1-2
How can a holy God forgive us when we repent and confess our sins? It is because of Jesus Christ, who lived a righteous and holy life in our stead and then suffered and died on the cross to atone for our sins and the sins of the whole world. The risen and ascended Lord Jesus is our Advocate with the Father. He pleads for us with His holy and precious blood.
Forgive my sins, O Lord, and cleanse my heart for the sake of Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice for the sins of all. Amen.
