Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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 Confession: Sacrament of Reconciliation With God and Human


    Psalm 32

V. 1   “Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.” 

Psalm 32 is one of the seven penitential psalms. This is a prayer of confession expressing contrition, repentance and turning towards God, seeking his mercy and forgiveness. The Apostle Paul makes reference to David writing this psalm in Romans 4:6-8. He wrote this psalm from his experience as a forgiven sinner.
 
David initially attempted to cover his sin of adultery with Bathsheba. He tried to resolve the issue by the treacherous murder of her husband Uriah to cover his sins, in the frontlines of a battlefield. He experienced the intense convicting hand of God in his silence and unrepentant state. When the prophet Nathan confronted David with his sins, he admitted his sins, confessed it and sought the forgiveness of God. He acknowledged his sins and repented.
 
David wrote this psalm to encourage his readers to confess their sins to the Lord and repent as soon as possible. “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us” (1st John 1:8-10). We are blessed when our sins are forgiven. Moreover, we have to confess our sins to God in order to be forgiven. We cannot conceal our transgressions from our omniscient God. When we confess our sins, they are covered by the shed blood of Jesus Christ at the cross in Golgotha. We are forgiven and reconciled to the Father because of Christ’s finished work on the cross.
 
We cannot have our vertical relationship with God restored without having our horizontal relationships restored by reconciling with our fellow human beings. We must forgive others to be forgiven by God. The Lord’s prayer serves as guidance for us in this matter. In the Lord’s Prayer, we ask God to forgive us our sins as we have forgiven others their sins against us.
 

Prayer
Heavenly Father, we admit that we are sinners in need of a Savior. We have sinned against you in thoughts, words and deeds. We confess and repent of all our sins. We forgive those who have sinned against us. Lord, in your mercy and grace, forgive us and restore to us the joy of our salvation. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

 
Thought for the Day

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” Colossians 3:13 


Saramma Chacko
Epiphany MTC, NY

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