Thursday November 16, 2023

Today is Thursday, November 16 and we are studying what the Bible says about confession.

As a new day dawns, I come to a quiet place and seek the God who knows me, sees me and loves me. I pause and center my heart, I breathe and focus my soul, I relax and still my mind.

Pause and Pray

Blessed and holy Lord, I have come here to receive a word of life from you. Open my ears. Speak to my heart and give me understanding. Reveal my sin and expose my transgressions so I can make a good confession. Amen.

I seek the Lord my God and rejoice in his steadfast love with the words of Psalm 32.

When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:3-5

Pause and Pray

Peter and Cornelius would not be men who would “break bread” together. Jews and Gentiles did not share a table. Cornelius was a righteous man, a Gentile and a Roman Soldier. An angel told him in a dream to send for a man named Peter who was in Joppa, a port city on the west coast of Israel. Cornelius sent messengers to Joppa and asked Peter to come. Because of a corresponding dream and vision, Peter agreed to go. Cornelius invited his friends and relatives to his household. They all gathered and listened attentively to what Peter had to say. Peter’s speech is recorded in Acts chapter ten.

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:39-43

Chapter ten is considered the most complete articulation of the Gospel in the book of Acts. It is a simple and straightforward presentation of Jesus as the Messiah of God. It includes the work done by Jesus during his ministry as well as the events of his suffering, death and resurrection. The compelling evidence Peter presented in his speech to Cornelius was his own personal witness of breaking bread with the Resurrected Christ. Peter and the other disciples not only witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion, death and the empty tomb, they experienced the Resurrected Jesus. They spoke with him. Walked with him. Ate and drank with him. Shared a table with him.

Ask: How do the words of Peter’s speech speak to me centuries later? Do I believe the truth of Christ?

Pause and Pray

Holy and Loving God, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for the testimony of the prophets. Thank you for the witness of those who shared fellowship with him and passed on the truth of the Resurrection. Thank you that those who believe in Jesus receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life in his name. I am grateful for your amazing and boundless grace. I read the words from Acts again and listen for the message you have for me.

We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. Acts 10:39-43

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

God endeavors to speak to me through the words of the Bible and I am learning to listen. The testimony of those who spent time with Jesus during his ministry and after his resurrection reaches down through the centuries to me. What words of this ancient testimony strike me the most? How might God want to use the age-old witness to speak to me today? Maybe I need to be reminded of the unfathomable gift of the Gospel. Maybe I need to share the testimony with others who have yet to believe. I consider the word or phrase that stands out to me and will carry it throughout my day.

Pause and Pray

Come Holy Spirit and remind me of the truth of God’s steadfast love and abundant mercy. Jesus was killed by hanging on a cross, but God raised him from the dead. I believe Jesus is God’s Son the Messiah. I confess my sins and repent with the confidence that I am forgiven by the Lamb of God. Amen.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29

I leave this time of prayer a redeemed and grateful sinner. I go to testify to the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and Messiah.

Amen