Written by Bryant Wright, Founder, RFTH
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.”
Psalm 51:1-2
Today’s devotional may be the most important of all.
Because in it, King David reveals the very heart of salvation.
There can be no salvation in a child, a teen, or an adult’s life until there is first the awareness and conviction of sin.
In other words, until we recognize our ‘lost-ness’ in light of God’s holiness, we won’t fully understand the gift of salvation that God offers through Christ’s death and resurrection.
Take King David for example. Even David, the “giant slayer” and “man after God’s own heart” was well aware of his sin – of his own “lost-ness” and need for God’s mercy. In Psalm 51, David confessed his sin to God. Remember, this prayer came after he took part in an adulterous relationship with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered to cover it up. David felt the weight of those actions every day and knew that he deserved judgment.
So what did he do?
David cried out to God to forgive him – and God did.
God didn’t remove the earthly consequences of David’s sin, but His forgiveness was immediate.
There is no salvation without first being convicted of our sin and understanding that we deserve God’s judgment. There’s no salvation until we recognize our “lostness” and cry out to God for mercy. It’s then—and only then—that a person truly begins to understand the greatness of this gift, which is the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation.
Have you embraced the gift of being made right with God and the assurance of eternal life?
It all begins by recognizing our “lost-ness” and accepting the forgiveness and mercy of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
Please don’t wait, my friend. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to become the Lord of your life. It happens immediately.
At that very moment, you will become a child of God.
DIG DEEPER
Read “Dead in Our Sins – Alive in Christ” by Michael Kelley
