Today’s Scripture:
Psalm 51:1-4
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment.
Food For Thought:
In this passage of Scripture, the Psalmist asks God to have mercy on him. I ran across this beautiful quote by Nishan Panwar about mercy: “Grace is when you get the good things you don’t deserve. Mercy is when you are spared from the bad things you do deserve. God is generous with both.” I am thankful that God’s grace and mercy are far more generous than we can ever imagine. I don’t know about you, but I am often in need of both. Think about how God has extended mercy or grace to you. Think about ways that you can extend mercy and grace to others. I think forgiveness is an integral part of mercy and grace, so think about one person that you need to forgive today. Seek that person out and offer forgiveness.
Prayer:
Persistently forgiving God, we are a stiff-necked and stubborn people who try your patience; yet, instead of giving us up for lost, you seek us out until we return to you. Break our willfulness and bring us back from our wanderings; bend our pride and create in us pure and faithful hearts, which rejoice in your forgiveness made known through Jesus Christ. In your sacred name we pray, Amen.