“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” Psalm 32:1-2

Have you ever considered what a blessing it is to have the forgiveness of God? What a blessing to have the LORD not hold your sins and iniquities against you? To be forgiven of the LORD removes all fear of wrath and condemnation and gives us peace with God. To have forgiveness for all our sins gives us the assurance of life everlasting!

Indeed, the one who admits his sin and looks to the LORD for mercy rather than attempting to hide and cover up his sins is blessed because the LORD, for the sake of Jesus’ holy life and His innocent sufferings and death, is merciful and gracious and offers to us forgiveness for all our sins.

The Bible tells us: “For you, Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in mercy to all those who call upon you” (Psalm 86:5). It tells us “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3,4); and that “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And he is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1,2).

So what about you? Do you have God’s forgiveness, or are you attempting to hide and cover up your sins? Are you justified by God, or trying to justify yourself? Are you self-deceived – filled with guile – and attempting to fool others in regard to your sinfulness, or do you admit your utter sinfulness and look to God for mercy and forgiveness?

David wrote in Psalm 32:3-4: “When I kept silence, my bones became old through my roaring all the day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into the drought of summer.”

What happens when we keep silent about our sins? When we are unwilling to admit our sinfulness and look to the LORD for forgiveness? When we are unwilling to give up our sins? God’s hand is heavy upon us. We grow old and weary through our groaning and sighing all day long as we feel the guilt and weight of our sins. Our moisture – our vitality, our joy – is turned into the drought of summer; it evaporates away.

David then wrote the words we speak in our liturgy (v. 5): “I acknowledged my sin to you, and my iniquity I have not hid. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

To confess our sins is to say and agree with what God says of us and our sin. John writes in 1 John 1:8-9: “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Confession makes no excuses for sin but acknowledges sin as sin and deserving of God’s eternal wrath and punishment. It is as we read in Psalm 51:3-4 (another psalm of David): “For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, I have sinned and done this evil in your sight, so that you may be justified when you speak and clear when you judge.”

When we acknowledge our sin unto the LORD and quit attempting to hide it and cover it up, when we confess our transgressions of God’s commandments to the Lord, He graciously forgives our sins for Jesus’ sake. “In [Christ Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7; cf. Psalm 51:1ff.).

David writes (v. 6): “For this everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time when you may be found. Surely in the floods of great waters, they shall not come near to him.”

For God’s forgiveness, everyone that is godly will pray now, before it’s too late, before the floods of God’s judgment overflow him (alluding to the judgment of the Great Genesis Flood but pointing to the coming judgment of God)!

The Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 6:2: “Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.”

So, don’t put off repentance! Don’t wait another day. Acknowledge and confess your sins now and receive God’s forgiveness. Tomorrow may be too late for you. You may never have the opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness again. If you turn to the LORD God now, He will have mercy upon you and save you from the judgment to come!

O LORD God, I have sinned in my thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. I have failed to live in accord with Your holy commandments. Have mercy on me and forgive my sins for the sake of the perfect sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ, in my stead. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Common Version of the Bible.]

With Broken Heart and Contrite Sigh

1 With broken heart and contrite sigh,
A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry.
Thy pard’ning grace is rich and free—
O God, be merciful to me!

2 I smite upon my troubled breast,
With deep and conscious guilt opprest;
Christ and His Cross my only plea—
O God, be merciful to me!

3 Far off I stand with tearful eyes
Nor dare uplift them to the skies;
But Thou dost all my anguish see—
O God, be merciful to me!

4 Nor alms nor deeds that I have done
Can for a single sin atone.
To Calvary alone I flee—
O God, be merciful to me!

5 And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
My raptured song shall ever be:
God has been merciful to me. Amen.

Author: Cornelius Elven (1852)

“The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, ‘I am the bread which came down from heaven.’ And they said, ‘Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, “I have come down from heaven”?’ Jesus therefore answered and said to them, ‘Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, “And they shall all be taught by God.” Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father.’” John 6:41-46

How could Jesus be the life-giving Son of God, come down from heaven to give spiritual and eternal life to sinners? Jesus’ Jewish hearers stumbled over this question because they knew Mary and Joseph, His parents.

Of course, they didn’t know or grasp that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary (cf. Mat. 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38) and was not, therefore, the biological son of Joseph, but the Son of God and the Son of Mary. He was and is true God and true man.

The Gospel of John also expresses this truth in the first chapter, when it says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him, nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1-5,14).

Why didn’t Jesus’ hearers believe in Him? Jesus tells us: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (v. 44). Unless God reveals the truth taught in His Word, no one can come to Jesus and trust in Him as the Messiah and Savior from sin and eternal punishment.

John also teaches this truth in the first chapter of his Gospel: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:10-13).

Jesus cited the Old Testament Scriptures (Isaiah 54:13) when He said: “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:45). Only those taught by God from His Word recognize Jesus as the Son of God in human flesh and place their trust in Him as their Savior. Those who neglect God’s Word or reject it cannot and do not come to Jesus in faith. It is as St. Paul wrote to the Romans, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

And the only way to see the Father is to see and trust in Jesus Christ, God’s Son. Therefore, Jesus’ hearers who rejected Him and stumbled over Him in unbelief did not see or know the Father whom they claimed to worship and serve. Nor do those today who do not look to Jesus in faith as God the Son and their Messiah and Savior see or know God the Father, even if they claim to worship and serve Him! (Cf. John 14:6-11.)

And what does Jesus promise to those who come to Him in faith, trusting that He is the eternal Son of God in human flesh and that He has fulfilled all righteousness for us and made full atonement for our sins and the sins of all by His innocent sufferings and death on the cross? Jesus says, “I will raise him up at the last day” (v. 44). Those who come to Jesus and trust in Jesus for pardon and forgiveness partake of the true Bread from Heaven, and Jesus nourishes their souls and keeps them in the true and saving faith unto life everlasting.

May God grant you to know Jesus and come to Him!

O dearest Jesus, Son of God and Son of man, grant that we hear Your Word and come to You in faith for pardon, forgiveness, and the everlasting joys of heaven. We ask this for the sake of Your redeeming sacrifice for us on the cross. Amen.

[Scripture is taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

“Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say to you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you: for him hath God the Father sealed.” John 6:26-27 (Read John 6:1-27)

After Jesus fed the multitudes with five barley loaves and two small fish, the people sought Him. Not finding Him where He had fed them, they crossed over the Sea of Galilee and came to Capernaum, where they found Him and questioned Him as to how He had come there since He did not leave in the boat with His disciples.

Jesus cut right to the heart of the issue when He pointed out to the people, “Verily, verily, I say to you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled. Labour not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

As Jesus told them, they sought Him out and came to Him, not because they recognized from His miracles — and now believed — that He was the Messiah, God’s Son who had come into this world to redeem them from sin and death, but because they ate of the loaves and were filled.

Jesus told them not to labor for temporal food that perishes but for spiritual food that nourishes the soul and endures unto everlasting life. Rather than seeking Jesus because He miraculously fed the crowds, Jesus told them they should be coming to Him for spiritual food — for the forgiveness of their sins and for the blessing of eternal life, which He came to provide them by offering up Himself as a sacrifice to God for the sins of the world.

Jesus’ words still ring true today. Why do people call on pastors and churches? Why do you come to the church of Jesus? Is it to hear the Word of God and learn of the salvation Jesus won for all by His innocent sufferings and death? Is it to repent of selfish and sinful ways and look to the crucified and risen Christ for pardon, forgiveness, and life eternal?

Ask any pastor, and he will tell you why his church phone lines ring and why people seek him out. Is it that they might learn the truth of God’s Word and hear of Jesus and what He accomplished for us when He died on the cross and rose again? Is it for spiritual food to nourish their starving souls? No, it is almost always for earthly food, money to pay the bills or free clothing.

Should churches aid those with such temporal needs? Certainly — according to the measure in which God enables them to do so. Our Lord Jesus healed the sick and fed the multitudes even though He desired that people come to Him for their spiritual needs — for mercy and forgiveness, for eternal life!

But churches should also speak the words of Jesus to those who come seeking only earthly food and temporal goods. They should urge those who come to seek the food that will nourish their starving souls and give them eternal life.

Churches should speak the warning words of Jesus: “Labour not for the food which perisheth, but for that food which endureth to everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give to you: for him hath God the Father sealed.”

Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for providing me with food, clothing, and all my earthly needs. But, above all, thank You for providing for me in my greatest need by Your death on the cross for my sins and Your glorious resurrection. Move me to look to You in faith for pardon, forgiveness, and everlasting life in Your eternal kingdom. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the Revised Webster Version of the Bible, a Bible version in the King James tradition.]

“And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered. For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.” Mark 6:51-52 (Read Mk. 6:30-56; cf. Jn. 6:1ff.; Mt. 14:13ff; Lk. 9:10ff.)

Should we be fearful when trouble comes our way, or should we be amazed when Jesus meets all our needs?

Jesus’ disciples were fearful when caught in a storm as they rowed their boat across the Sea of Galilee. And, when Jesus, who walked to them on the water, entered the boat and the winds stopped, they were amazed. Why? Because they hadn’t considered and grasped the miracle they had just seen: the feeding of more than 5,000 with a few small loaves. Their hearts were hardened and they failed to recognize who Jesus is and to trust in Him, the Bible tells us.

What about us? Are our hearts hardened? Are we fearful when we have bills to pay and not enough to pay them? When we become sick or face death? When troubles come? Or storms? Or threats of war and unrest?

Do we look at things with our hearts hardened? Or do we remember who is with us always, even to the end of the world (Matt 28:20)? Do we say, on the basis of hardened hearts, “What are they among so many?” (John 6:9), or do we give thanks and leave the rest to our God and Savior?

Do we not realize that Jesus is God the Son in human flesh? He created all things with His almighty Word, and there is nothing too hard for Him (John 1:1ff.; Jer. 32:17). He fed thousands with a few loaves and fish. He healed the sick, opened the eyes of the blind, cleansed lepers, made the lame whole, and even raised the dead. When He tells us not to worry but seek first His kingdom (Matt. 6:25ff.), should we be afraid? Should we be full of doubts and fears?

And when He intervenes and grants us help, healing, strength, and all that we need, do we see and recognize His helping hand? Or are we astonished and surprised when we do see Him at work?

Have we considered what He did for us on the cross? Do we doubt that atonement has been made for all our sins and forgiveness won? Do we doubt that He gives us to partake of His sacrifice for us in the Lord’s Supper? That all our sins are washed away and we become God’s children through our baptism?

Consider the price He paid. Consider that our redemption is finished, as He said (John 19:30). Consider that when we trust in Him, we are “accepted” and “have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:6,7).

O Spirit of God, open our hearts and minds to see Jesus, to recognize Him for who He is, and to trust in Him and all He has done for us. Grant that our hearts not be hardened but accepting and trusting of the truth. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.” John 6:5-6 (Read v. 1-15)

Why does God test us in seemingly impossible situations? It’s certainly not because God doesn’t already have a plan in mind. And, it’s not to see what we’ll do, for God already knows that too.

So why does God test us? To teach us to trust Him in every situation! That’s why Jesus questioned Philip as to where they could buy bread to feed a multitude of more than five thousand who had followed Jesus to this remote spot along the Sea of Galilee.

Philip’s answer illustrated the situation’s seeming hopelessness: “Two hundred pennyworth [denarii] of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little” (John 6:7).

In another parable of Jesus, a denarius is used as a full day’s wage, so Philip’s answer is equivalent to saying that even 200 days’ wages would not be enough to feed this crowd, even a little.

When Andrew mentioned the lad with five barley loaves and two small fish, the disciples assumed this was nothing compared to the need, but Jesus had the men sit down. He gave thanks to God for the food He had provided. Then Jesus distributed the food to His disciples and His disciples to the people. All ate to the full, and they gathered up twelve baskets of leftovers.

In the book of Exodus, we see that God also fed the people of Israel in a seemingly impossible situation in the wilderness, providing mana in the mornings and quail in the evenings. But God also tested the people and taught them to trust by providing only enough manna for each day so that they might learn to trust in Him each day for their daily bread.

In Exodus 16:4-5, we read: “Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.“

God provided enough manna each day for His people and, on the sixth day, He provided enough for two days so they could rest on the Sabbath. Of course, some people did not trust in the LORD and gathered more than they needed for the day, and the leftover manna bred worms and stank. Some tried to gather on the Sabbath, but there was none (cf. Ex. 16:17-30).

So also, in the Lord’s Prayer, we pray: “Give us this day our daily bread” (Matt. 6:11).

Jesus also teaches us the same when He tells us not to worry about what we will eat and drink or what we will wear in Matt. 6:25ff. After telling us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness (v. 33), He says, “Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (v. 34).

When we consider the feeding of the five thousand with only five barley loaves and two small fish, we certainly see a miracle and proof that Jesus is the almighty Son of God in human flesh. But we also learn that God would have us trust Him in seemingly impossible situations, give thanks for what He has provided, and rely upon Him to care for our every need (cf. Prov. 3:5ff.). We are to “be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [our] requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). We may find the situation impossible, but God already has a plan in mind!

We remember also that, as sinners, unable to measure up to the demands of God’s holy law, we all stand condemned. Our situation is impossible and hopeless.

But God provided a way for us to be saved. He sent His only Son into this world as a true man. Jesus kept God’s commandments for us, perfectly and without sin, and then He suffered our just punishment when He died on the cross for the sins of the world. Though all seemed hopeless, He rose again on the third day in triumph over sin, death, and the devil, and through faith in Him, we sinners are pardoned, forgiven, and given eternal life (cf. John 3:14-16).

Our situation was impossible, but God had a plan. He sent His Son Jesus to be our Savior!

Dear Lord Jesus, forgive us for failing to trust in Your power and willingness to help us in every situation. Teach us always to come to You and to trust in You for all our needs, both earthly and heavenly. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from King James Version of the Bible]