I Am Grateful
To Christ Jesus
Our Lord
I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me,
because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I
was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received
mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our LORD
overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying
is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners – of whom I am the foremost. But for that very reason I received
mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost
patience, making me an example in him for eternal life. To the King of the
ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever.
Amen.
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Do you sometimes feel guilty and unworthy because of something
you did years ago? You have confessed it and asked God to forgive you, but the
memory of it still haunts you.
More than 30 years after Paul’s conversion, he still referred to
himself as a foremost sinner. He had sought Christians, persecuted them, and
would have continued doing so, if Jesus had not appeared to him. Paul exulted
in the certainty that he was a forgiven sinner, and so are we.
God, who is greater than our heart and knows us thoroughly, has
forgiven us for the sins we have confessed. We can believe Him!
Confession to God
always brings
His cleansing.
Our Daily Bread –