GospeLines Ministries® Daily Devotional for Friday, April 9, 2010
Have you missed any of our devotionals? Remember they can be found in the Archive section of our Website http://www.gospelines.com "Let Us Pray" Part 7 "And forgive us our debts" Matthew 6:12, 14-15, KJV By whose authority may a debt be forgiven? It is my plan to write a note in my last will and testament asking my sons to "forgive us our debts" left by the fiscal irresponsibility of my generation. While they may be willing to forgive me of my sin, it is not within their power to eliminate the consequences of the deplorable national deficit created in the last decade. Their forgiveness will not be enough.the debt must still be paid. Jesus is the only one who can remove the debt and the penalty, as though it never happened! In the Model Prayer, "Forgive us our debts," acknowledges our sin and asks the help of the only one who can do anything about it. This petition is one of three which are related to man. The first was a request for physical provision, "our daily bread," and this one is as basic to our spiritual needs as food is to our physical needs. In the Bible, there are five words which can be translated sin in English. In our passage here, one is translated "debts," and another of those words is translated "trespasses" in verses 14, 15 in the KJV. But they could all be accurately written as "sins." Why does Jesus want Christians to ask forgiveness for sins when we pray? It is because we are still a part of the human race and we not only are tempted by sin, we are also guilty of sin. There is forgiveness which relates to salvation and forgiveness which deals with restoration for the damage sin does to the Christian witness. One scholar calls this judicial forgiveness and parental forgiveness.the kind which brings us into the family of God, and the kind which restores us to fellowship when sin has hurt the Parent/child relationship with our heavenly Father. When we accept Jesus as our Savior our sin which once prohibited a relationship with Him is now forgiven, and we receive the benefit of the Cross. Our sins are wiped away forever, and the penalty for sin is forgotten. We are considered to be as though we never sinned at all! Do you remember how sweet your fellowship was when you first accepted Jesus as your Lord? That special relationship that a parent has with a newborn baby is similar to those first exciting days we enjoyed as a brand new Christian. There was so much joy and excitement that we never wanted to lose that feeling. But as the days and months passed we learned that sin could (and still does) creep in to destroy that closeness with our Father. That is why Jesus insisted in The Model Prayer that we ask forgiveness for our present sins. By confessing our sins, He will forgive us of our sins and restore us to fellowship ( 1 John 1:9 KJV ). If you are in a struggle with sin right now, read those words again in 1st John , ask God to forgive you and restore you to fellowship with Him. Don't waste one more moment on the fringe of that special experience which you can have as a Christian who is intimately united with Jesus. GospeLines Prayer: Father, never let me hang up on You without first expressing the words in I John 1:9. Let me be diligent in restoring our fellowship by confessing my sins every day, and several times per day when necessary. Amen and amen. Tommy Harrison www.gospelines.com 3 crosses Amen and Amen! _____________________________________________________ GospeLines is a non-profit Christian ministry, providing free devotionals, Monday through Friday, to subscribers around the world. If you are receiving this devotional as a forward from a friend, please use the link below to become a subscriber. 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