Our Daily Elder Devotional
We claim no originality for these devotions. One of our elders searches various sources and finds a daily devotion. Consider this a gift from Clinton Avenue Reformed Church: www.clintonave.org.
Today’s devotional comes from my heart to you.
The Bible teaches us about God’s Love, our Sin and Forgiveness
A very dear friend of mine wanted to discuss a previous daily devotional that I shared with all of you about King David. He explained that King David did not seem like a really good role model or hero based on the many sorted things that he was involved with (lust, adultery, murder see 2 Samuel chapter 11 to name a few). I began by explaining that I agreed with his assessment of David. He was quite a sinner! And yet it says:
Acts 13:22New King James Version (NKJV)
22 And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David[a]the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’[b]
Footnotes:
How can such a sinner be “a man after God’s own heart”? Let’s go back to my belief about the Bible itself. The Bible is a love note to us about our relationship with the Almighty God of the universe. We know about God’s unending love for us from it, for example:
John 3:16New International Version (NIV)
16 For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Then we know more about His love, His mercy and His forgiveness through such sections as seen below (verses 11 and 12 really hit the nail on the head for forgiveness):
Psalm 103:1-14New King James Version (NKJV)
Praise for the Lord’s Mercies
A Psalm of David.
103 Bless the Lord, O my soul;
And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget not all His benefits:
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord executes righteousness
And justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the children of Israel.
8 The Lord is merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.
9 He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13 As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
14 For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
David always accepted God as his sovereign ruler. He also acknowledged his sins. Her repented for them and tried to do a better job going forward. WOW! That sounds like our Christian beliefs about sin doesn’t it? So we acknowledge our sins, repent for them and ask for God’s forgiveness. Then God washes us clean as snow through the precious blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus!
We can learn from the Bible, through King David, that even though we are all sinners, there is hope for us! God will never turn his back on us, if we do like King David and we acknowledge our sins, repent for them and ask for God’s forgiveness.
So David is not a comic book hero for us to emulate, but rather a reflection of a sinner like us, that God can truly love.
The Clinton Avenue Reformed Church, Bergenfield, NJ 