THE BLESSING OF FORGIVENESS.
MEMORISE:
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Psalm 32:1
READ: Luke 23:39-43.
39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.
40 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?
41 And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.
42 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
MESSAGE:
We may not be able to comprehend what true blessedness is until we experience divine forgiveness. Nothing can be compared with the joy of salvation. We see this with Zacchaeus when Jesus called him in Luke 19:2-8; it was that joy that caused him to make restitution for his past evil deeds. When a man is genuinely saved, he will not only joyfully live a godly life, he will also feel compelled to right his past wrongdoings. It is the lack of genuine salvation that makes an individual to still keep, for example, a strange man or woman in his or her life, even after conversion.
One of the most amazing salvation stories is in today’s Bible reading. With just a few hours before he would have gone to hell, one of the robbers on the cross besides Jesus experience a great turnaround and entered into paradise. From this, we can see that the salvation prayer does not have to be lengthy; it only has to be simple, straight to the point and sincere. All you need to do is repent of your sins and promise God not to return to them. Pleading the blood of Jesus over your life for cleansing is also paramount in this regard. We see the publican pray in Luke 18:10-14 “…God be merciful to me a sinner”. And Jesus said of him” I tell you; this man went down to his house justified rather the other….”
God’s blessing (divine help) come in multiple forms but the blessing of divine forgiveness should be the first one we should all seek. In today’s reading, both robbers made separate requests. One asked for deliverance, the other salvation. Jesus Christ prioritized the request for salvation. Here we see true blessedness.
Beloved, true blessedness lies in the forgiveness we receive for our sins; it is upon this foundation that all other blessings are built. This is why if you are yet to repent, I implore you to do so without further delay. Confess your known and unknown sins to Jesus- the savior of mankind. He will forgive you as He did Zacchaeus and the robber on the cross, so that God’s blessings will flow into your life, in Jesus’ name.
PRAYER POINT:
Father, please pardon all my known and unknown iniquities and give me power to “Go and sin no more”, in Jesus’ name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: HAGGAI.
HYMN 2: AMAZING GRACE! HOW SWEET THE SOUND.
1. Amazing grace! How sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me!
I once was lost, but now am found;
Was blind, but now I see.
2. ’Twas grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved;
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.
3. Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come;
’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,
And grace will lead me home.
4. The Lord has promised good to me,
His Word my hope secures;
He will my Shield and Portion be,
As long as life endures.
5. Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,
And mortal life shall cease,
I shall possess, within the veil,
A life of joy and peace.
6. The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,
The sun forbear to shine;
But God, who called me here below,
Will be forever mine.
7. When we’ve been there ten thousand years,
Bright shining as the sun,
We’ve no less days to sing God’s praise
Than when we’d first begun.
