Week 3, day 5
Begin with 2 minutes of silence
Scripture : Psalm 103:1-5
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Devotional : The Gift of Repentance
by KC Cerritos
The word repentance scared me when I was younger. Its was one of those words that sent shivers up my back when heard. I felt like I was never good enough, and couldn’t measure up. And, I felt like I was always repenting! But, it turns out, I didn’t really understand what ‘repentance’ meant. I thought it was just ‘asking for forgiveness' but, it turns out, that it is so much more then that.
Repentance is the act of looking at your life with God and asking him to show you the places where you have let things slip, where you have wandered away from him. It is something you have to be willing to do this with your whole heart. There is no room for the blame game, pointing fingers and making excuses. You must own up to your mistakes and commit to turn away from your old behaviors and choose to live differently. This may sound painful - and it sometimes is - I have grown to realize that repentance is a gift.
If you look at the Psalm above it lists five benefits of God that we are never to forget: God forgives, God heals, God crowns with love and mercy, God satisfies. These benefits are received by those who turn toward God, who repent. It is a gift to be able to repent, to turn back and, though we didn’t earn it, receive all the benefits of God, especially his forgiveness for every one of our sins.
"It is a gift to be able to repent, to turn back and, though we didn’t earn it..."
Farther along in this Psalm, the Psalmist shouts -”as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” (v. 12) By just believing in God through faith and returning to Him ALL of our sins are forgiven. ALL of them. It’s a gift that God is giving to us with open arms.
Question to Consider
Do you look at repentance as a gift or a chore?
Prayer
Father thank you for sending your Son to die on the cross for my sin. Thank you for the gift of repentance. May I not be afraid of it or hide from it but come to you with an open heart and open arms ready to change. Show me where I have been holding on to sin or where I am not right with Jesus. Amen
End with 2 minutes of silence