Day 39 - Issue 38
Playback speed
Nehemiah 9.3 NLT
'They remained standing in place for three hours while the Book of the Law of the Lord their God was read aloud to them. Then for three more hours they confessed their sins and worshipped the Lord their God.'
This was the start of a new chapter for God’s people. It was a time for them to reassess their lives in the light of the Law of Moses. This was an occasion for encouragement because they were reminding themselves of the love and faithfulness of their God who wanted to live in covenant partnership with them. But it was also a time of deep pain as they were reminded that the people of Israel had a long history of rebellion against God.
Worship should always contains these two elements. As we declare the greatness of God and celebrate his love for us, we are bound also to own up to our failures. God doesn’t call us to wallow in our sins and to exaggerate them. He wants to set us free from our failures and shortcomings, but that cannot happen unless we are honest with him. It is, therefore, vital that every act of Christian worship includes both a recognition of our sins and of God’s ability to set us free from them.
On the face of it, it might sound very negative to regularly call to mind the fact that we are sinners, but it is in fact the complete opposite. As we identify the ways in which we have failed God, we do so knowing that his longing is for us to enjoy life to the full, and to leave all our sins with him. If we fail to hand our sins over to God, we can be sure that we will have to drag them and a sense of guilt through life. That will, inevitably, impoverish our lives and prevent us from experiencing the freedom, peace and joy that he wants us to know. So whenever we hear the words confession and forgiveness we should gain a lightness of spirit and a huge sense of relief and joy.
QUESTION: In what way have you experienced the joy of God’s forgiveness?
PRAYER: Thank you, loving God, that you sent Jesus into this world to die for me. Help me to receive your forgiveness and live the liberated life that you want me to live. Amen
Released on 8 Aug 2021
Coming up next
Day 40 - Issue 38
Nehemiah 9.5 NLT Then the leaders of the Levites called out to the people: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, for he lives from everlasting to everlasting!” Time defines our lives so completely that it is very hard to understand eter...
Day 41 - Issue 38
Nehemiah 12.27 NLT 'For the dedication of the new wall of Jerusalem, the Levites throughout the land were asked to come to Jerusalem to assist in the ceremonies. They were to take part in the joyous occasion with their songs of thanksgiving a...
Day 42 - Issue 38
Acts 9.3 NLT 'As Saul was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.' Saul was a deeply committed Jew and his mission was to destroy the church. He was acting with the authority of the High Pries...