“He [John the Baptist] said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.” John 1:23
In many ways, we are like John the Baptist. We are not the Messiah and Savior and do not direct people to ourselves, but we cry out in the barren wilderness of this dark and sinful world, calling upon all to repent of their sins and place their faith and hope in the true Messiah and Savior who has come into the world and redeemed us, the Lord Jesus!
Dear Lord Jesus, help us bear witness to You in this dark and dying world. Amen.
[Scripture is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.” Psalm 65:3
Like David the psalmist, all of us stand guilty before the LORD God. Our iniquities prevail against us. But as David looked forward to the atonement God would provide for his sins, we look back to the fulfillment of David’s hope — to the Lord Jesus Christ, who atoned for our sins and the sins of all by His holy life and His innocent sufferings and death on the cross. Through faith in Jesus, we have God’s pardon and forgiveness!
I have transgressed and broken Your holy commandments, O God. Forgive my sins and make me acceptable in Your sight through the atoning sacrifice You provided for all in Your only-begotten Son, Christ Jesus. In His name, I pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.” Proverbs 30:5-6
The Word of God is true and pure and there is great blessing in accepting God’s every word in faith. But there is danger in adding our own interpretations to God’s Word, in saying more than God has said. Anyone who adds to His words (or takes away from them) will be reproved by the LORD God and found to be a liar.
O Lord God, grant that I accept Your every word in faith, neither adding to Your words nor taking away from them. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]
“I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” Psalm 130:5-8
Believers place their hope and trust in the promises of God’s Word and eagerly await the fulfillment of all that the LORD God has promised. The true Israel, those who share in the faith of Abraham, place their hope and confidence in the LORD and His now-fulfilled promise to send a Savior from sin and eternal death and damnation. We place our hope and confidence in the mercy of God for the sake of the plenteous redemption accomplished by Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son, when He suffered and died on the cross to redeem us from all our sins.
We look to You, O LORD, for mercy and forgiveness in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And we await the fulfillment of all You have promised to those who trust in Jesus, Your Son, and our Savior. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Webster revision (RWebs) of the King James Bible.]
“Out of the depths have I cried to thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” Psalm 130:1-4
None of us measures up to the requirements of God’s law. We all stand condemned and guilty. We cry out to Him from the depths of our hopeless condition. If the LORD God were to record all our sins and shortcomings and hold them against us, not one of us could stand in His judgment. But our God forgives sins! When we honor Him and look to Him with faith in the promises of His Word to show us mercy for the sake of the perfect sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, in our stead, He pardons and forgives our sins and counts us righteous in His sight.
Out of the depths of our sinfulness, we cry unto You, O LORD. We have sinned in our thoughts, desires, words, and actions and are guilty. Have mercy upon us, O LORD, and forgive our sins for the sake of Jesus and His atoning sacrifice on the cross in our stead. In His name, we pray. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Webster revision (RWebs) of the King James Bible.]
