Inspirational
2 Samuel 12:13
David: A Case Study in Repentance
David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” 2 Samuel 12:13
It was a miserable year for King David. Many scholars suppose that the time between David’s great act of sin and his defining moment of repentance was twelve months. During this time David described his emptiness by saying, “My sin is always before me” (Psalm 51:3). David was reminded every day that joy and peace had vanished from his life. But everything changed when the heartfelt words from today’s verse came from David’s lips, “I have sinned.” As Charles Spurgeon said, “The Lord does not allow His children to sin successfully.” Instead, He leads us to repentance. David repented, and God responded with incredible grace and mercy: “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
What is repentance? It means to change one’s mind. It is a word that describes not only what we say with our lips but also how we live our lives. Repentance is honest confession. It’s not minimizing, rationalizing, or generalizing. It does not place blame; it takes the blame. It’s complete break, putting away the desires and deeds of sin. It’s turning around and going in God’s direction.
God is serious about repentance. His infinite grace and mercy are exhibited in these words: “You have cast all my sins behind Your back” (Isaiah 38:17). How serious are you about repentance? Repentance is returning to God, and what returns to you in the process of repentance is priceless. Just as David received back his joy and peace, God will restore you when you repent. First John 1:7 says, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” God responds to our repentance. How do you need to respond to today’s devotional? Do you need to repent?
God, thank You for Your everlasting love, infinite grace, and great mercy. I praise You for the fact You are faithful and just to forgive me of all my sin. I praise and glorify You, my Redeemer. Amen.
Jeff Crook, Flowery Branch, GA
James 2:14-17
James 2:14-17 NIV
Faith and Deeds
14 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15 Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
Hebrews 4:12
Hebrews 4:12 TNIV
"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Luke 6:37-38
Luke 6:37-38 NIV
Judging Others
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Isaiah 61:1
Isaiah 61:1 TNIV
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,"
John 8
John 8 NIV
8 1 but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
Proverbs 12:1
Proverbs 12:1 TNIV
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid."
Jeremiah 32:17
Jeremiah 32:17 TNIV
"“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you."
James 1:5-6
James 1:5-6 NIV
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
Luke 1:26-38
Luke 1:26-38 NIV
The Birth of Jesus Foretold
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[a] the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”
38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
Revelation 3:20
Revelation 3:20 TNIV
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me."
James 3:13-18
James 3:13-18 TNIV
"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness."
Proverbs 3:11, 12
Proverbs 3:11, 12 TNIV
"My son, do not despise the Lord ’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in."
1 Corinthians 14:33
1 Corinthians 14:33 TNIV
"For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people."
Psalm 25
Psalm 25 Of David.
1 In you, Lord my God,
I put my trust.
2 I trust in you;
do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who hopes in you
will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those
who are treacherous without cause.
4 Show me your ways, Lord,
teach me your paths.
5 Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you, Lord, are good.
8 Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
10 All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
12 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
13 They will spend their days in prosperity,
and their descendants will inherit the land.
14 The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart
and free me from my anguish.
18 Look on my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
19 See how numerous are my enemies
and how fiercely they hate me!
20 Guard my life and rescue me;
do not let me be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope, Lord,[c] is in you.
22 Deliver Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
Matthew 7:7, 8
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7, 8
Romans 8:1, 2
How to Handle Feelings of Guilt
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1, 2
Sinner saved by grace. “Forgiven, not perfect.” Have you ever used one of those phrases in reference to yourself? Statements like these permeate church language. The problem is they are not a complete understanding of our true identity according to Scripture. When we do not understand our true identity, we are prime candidates to be deceived, misled, and defeated by the Enemy on a daily basis.
Paul’s favorite phrase to refer to believers in the New Testament is “in Christ.” Through the miracle of salvation, we have been placed in Christ. This means that when God sees me, He no longer sees me as a sinner simply saved by grace; He sees me as righteous as the very Son of God Himself. Is that because I am that righteous? Absolutely not! It is because that righteousness is what I have been given by the grace of God. That is who I am now in Christ! That is my true identity.
Ponder this staggering truth: when you have been in heaven for ten thousand years, you will not be any more righteous in the sight of God than you are right now as you are reading this paragraph. You might ask, “How is that possible?” It is possible in Christ! My righteousness before God is not based on my performance for Christ, but my position in Christ. Because I am in Him, there is no condemnation. Any condemnation that I sense is the Enemy trying to lay accusation where it doesn’t belong, and the only reason I fall for his ploys is that I do not understand who I am in Christ. The greatest thing you could do today is read what the Bible says about you and by faith believe it. Let the truth sink in, my fellow saint!
Precious Jesus, I am amazed at the grace that You have displayed in my life. I am chosen, adopted, forgiven, redeemed, reconciled, filled with Your Spirit, raised with Christ, and seated in the heavenly places with Him. There is absolutely no condemnation in my life because of Your amazing grace. I pray that today You would help me live out the resources of who I am in You. I am Your child. I am holy and blameless. I am a new creation in Christ. May Your grace transform my life today for Your glory. Amen.
Vince Pitman, Las Vegas, NV
Psalm 143:10
Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. - Psalm 143:10
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. - Isaiah 40:8
2 Corinthians 10:17-18
But, "Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord."For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. - 2 Corinthians 10:17-18
Jeremiah 1:5
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
Jeremiah 1:5
1 Corinthians 15:20-22
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. - 1 Corinthians 15:20-22
John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on them. - John 3:36
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:17
1 John 5:14-15
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. - 1 John 5:14-15
