Forgive Us Our Sins
This morning our men finished up our study of the Lord's Prayer in Luke 11. It only took us three weeks. That is a tribute to their hunger for God's Word, and their desire to grow in Him. They are an encouragement to me every week when we get together.
Jesus made a huge point of asking for God to forgive our sins. Now, this doesn't mean being saved and having all of our sins forgiven. It is referring to our every day relationship with the Lord. If we commit sins, they strain our relationship with Him, until we finally can't even hear from Him because our hearts are hardened. Therefore, we have to ask for Jesus to forgive those sins, we commit each day. I liken it to a married couple. When we get saved, we are married to Jesus. We enter the New Covenant relationship with Him by grace through faith. He forgives our sins, and gives us eternal life. We belong to Him. When a couple gets married, God joins them together. However, if they get angry with one another or they hurt each other, they are still married, but they will not have an intimate relationship until one or both of them ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart. It is the same with Jesus.
Also, Jesus says "forgive our sins" which is plural. He means to be specific when we confess and ask for God to forgive us. This is so vital. We can't just pray a flippant prayer. We have to mean it. Also, we have to forgive others before He will forgive us. God is a forgiving Person, and He expects the same from us. So, there is a lot involved in asking God to forgive our sins each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 6-8.
Jesus made a huge point of asking for God to forgive our sins. Now, this doesn't mean being saved and having all of our sins forgiven. It is referring to our every day relationship with the Lord. If we commit sins, they strain our relationship with Him, until we finally can't even hear from Him because our hearts are hardened. Therefore, we have to ask for Jesus to forgive those sins, we commit each day. I liken it to a married couple. When we get saved, we are married to Jesus. We enter the New Covenant relationship with Him by grace through faith. He forgives our sins, and gives us eternal life. We belong to Him. When a couple gets married, God joins them together. However, if they get angry with one another or they hurt each other, they are still married, but they will not have an intimate relationship until one or both of them ask for forgiveness with a sincere heart. It is the same with Jesus.
Also, Jesus says "forgive our sins" which is plural. He means to be specific when we confess and ask for God to forgive us. This is so vital. We can't just pray a flippant prayer. We have to mean it. Also, we have to forgive others before He will forgive us. God is a forgiving Person, and He expects the same from us. So, there is a lot involved in asking God to forgive our sins each day.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Jeremiah 6-8.