Welcome, I'm Eric Garloff, your
host for Walking With Jesus.
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In our first two programs we
spoke about God's enduring love
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for man and our
great need for Jesus.
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We closed our last program with
prayer, and if you prayed that
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prayer with a sincere heart, God
has forgiven you of your sins,
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and given you the robe
of Christ's righteousness.
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In today's program
titled, What Is Repentance,
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we're going to take a look
at how we can continue our walk
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with Jesus and draw
closer to Him every day.
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I'd like to begin by
sharing with you a passage from
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Matthew 21:28-30.
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In this passage
Jesus is asking a question.
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He says,
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Well, of course,
it was the first son.
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The one who said he would not
go, but then afterward repented,
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and went to work in
his father's vineyard.
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Concerning repentance, the
book Steps to Christ on page 12
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says the following:
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Now that makes
things so much clearer.
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True repentance is not
being sorry, as to avoid the
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punishment for some wrong doing,
but rather it's being sincerely
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sorry for the act
of doing wrong itself.
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Perhaps one of the best examples
of repentance found in the Bible
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comes to us through one of
King David's prayers found in
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Psalms 51:1-14.
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This psalm says:
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Wow!
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As you read this prayer of
David's you can really tell that
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David was sincerely
sorry for what he had done,
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and in just a few minutes we're
going to examine his prayer
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a bit more deeply to see
what we can learn from it.
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But before we do this it's
vitally important to understand
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that a repentance like
David's is not humanly possible.
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Now I'm not saying you can't
repent like him, I'm saying it's
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not humanly possible.
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The only way that David could
have had such a repentance as
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this is to be connected with
God, as He is the one who gives
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us repentance.
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Take some time to think about
this because many people today
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think that they first must
repent before coming to God.
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If that were the case
none would ever come to Him
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because repentance
is a gift from God.
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Now it's true that repentance
must take place before our sins
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can be forgiven, but repentance
is not to be an obstacle
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standing between the
sinner and the Savior.
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It is Christ which leads us to
genuine repentance, therefore,
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if we don't come to Him
first, then we won't be led to
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repentance.
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Acts 5:31 makes it
clear while speaking of Jesus.
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It says:
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This text clearly says that
Jesus gave repentance to Israel.
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Another passage from the book,
Steps to Christ, on page 15
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states the following:
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Thus we see that by beholding
what Christ has done for us,
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we are drawn to Him, and if
we don't resist that drawing,
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our hearts will be
softened and changed.
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We have also seen that a person
can't truly repent unless God
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has been working in his, or her,
heart to give them repentance.
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We've also seen that a person
doesn't wait to have repentance
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before coming to God because
that would be putting the cart
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before the horse.
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We must first come to God, or be
drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit,
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in order to receive repentance
from Him, because it is God who
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works on our heart
and gives us repentance.
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A few minutes ago we read King
David's prayer of repentance
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from Psalm 51.
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And now I'd like to dig
into his prayer of repentance
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and see what gems of truth
we can learn and apply to our
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own lives.
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This prayer of David's was
uttered after Nathan the prophet
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disclosed to David that
God knew all about what he did;
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namely coveting his neighbors
wife, Bathsheba, then plotting
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to have her husband Uriah killed
so he could marry her and cover
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up her pregnancy.
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When I break down this prayer
of repentance, I tend to see
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twelve different
characteristics, or components,
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of David's repentance.
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Some may see more,
others, perhaps, see less.
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The number isn't important.
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What is important is an
understanding that all of these
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things are mingled, and
entertained, in David's prayer
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as a result of David's sin, and
of God's righteousness, mercy,
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and justice.
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What's important is that we
learn something from David's
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prayer of repentance.
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The first line I'd like to
consider in David's prayer says:
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Have mercy upon me,
Oh God, according to thy
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loving-kindness.
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David doesn't say, Have
mercy on me God because I'm,
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basically, a good guy at heart.
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He's not trying to make
any excuses for what he's done.
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No, David lays open the truth
of the matter fully conscious
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of his great sin against Uriah
and Bathsheba, and so he cries
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out for mercy to the
God of loving kindness.
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David says, According to
the multitude of your tender
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mercies, blot out
my transgressions.
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Here David's pleading with
the Lord, in His infinite mercy,
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to remove his sins from the
record book which has recorded
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his sinful actions.
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Continuing, David says, For I
acknowledge my transgressions,
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and my sin is ever before me.
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The knowledge of his
wrong doing, his plotting,
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and deliberate actions are
pressing down hard on his mind,
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not giving him any rest.
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It's a burden.
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It's a burden of guilt.
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The guilt of his sin is weighing
him down so he cries out to God
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in his prayer.
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Purge me with hyssop
and I shall be clean.
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Wash me and I shall
be whiter than snow.
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Hyssop was used in ceremonial
cleansing, and so David,
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seeking to be clean from the
depths of the sin that he has
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marred himself with, uses
the language which employs the
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strongest symbol of cleansing
power for his defilement.
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He then says, Create in me a
clean heart, Oh God, and renew
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a right spirit within me.
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David understood that before
a new spirit could be placed
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within him, that he would first
need to have a clean vessel
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in which to contain it.
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His heart, the thoughts of his
mind, would not be cleansed by
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any power of his own.
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They could only be
cleansed by the power of God.
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And God is the only one who
could then renew a right spirit
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within him.
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He is the only one who could
give him a just and steadfast
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spirit; one which would lead
him to obedience, justice, love,
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and mercy within his own life.
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The consequences of not having
a renewed heart is that sin
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separates the sinner from God,
therefore David cries out to God
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and says, Cast me not away from
thy presence, and take not thy
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Holy Spirit from me.
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Although he knew that
his actions had grieved the
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Holy Spirit, he could not bear
the thought of not having God's
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Spirit to lead
him and guide him.
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And so he asks to be restored
with these words: Restore unto
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me the joy of thy salvation.
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True joy and happiness is only
found when a person is walking
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with God.
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Thus he shows his desire to
return to that experience of joy
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which he shared with
God before he sinned.
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He goes on to say, And
uphold me with thy free spirit.
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The words, free spirit,
here, are better translated as
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willing spirit.
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In other words, David desires
to have a frame of mind that is
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ready and willing to obey God,
and to be willing to serve God
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in whatever He asks him to do.
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Next is a phrase, deliver me
from blood guiltiness Oh God.
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This appears to be a
direct reference to the blood on
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David's hands from plotting the
death of Uriah, and he follows
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the phrase, deliver me
from blood guiltiness, Oh God,
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with, thou God of my salvation.
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David realizes that what he had
done under the law would also
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require his own death, and here
he pleads with God that he would
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be delivered from his
guiltiness and retain salvation,
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which is only found in God.
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Then David says, And
my tongue shall sing aloud
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of thy righteousness.
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This is the natural response
for one who has experienced
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the love, mercy,
and forgiveness of God.
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The desire to let others
know what God has done for you
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is natural, and God is pleased
to see you share the stories
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of His love and
mercy with others.
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Now the beauty of this passage
is that God did forgive David,
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and he was restored with a new
heart, and he once again found
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the joy of God's salvation.
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The scriptures say in 1
John 1:9 If we confess our sins,
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he is faithful and just to
forgive to forgive us our sins,
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and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.
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This is a promise, and the
strength of a promise is based
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on the one who gives it.
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Therefore, you can know
that your sins will be forgiven
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when you come to
Him in repentance.
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From the book, Steps to Christ,
page 19, we read this passage
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concerning procrastination:
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II Corinthians 6:2 says: Behold,
now is the accepted time.
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Behold, now is the
day of our salvation.
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In Hebrews 3: 7, 8 says:
Today, if you will hear his
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voice, harden not your hearts.
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As I begin to close, I'd
like to ask you to study the
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Bible prayerfully.
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It's God's word
speaking directly to your soul.
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That word presents
you with the law of God
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and the life of Jesus.
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These convict us of
sin, and reveal to us the way
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of salvation.
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May your prayer be the prayer
of David found in Psalms 51.
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Create in me a clean heart,
Oh God, and renew a right spirit
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within me.
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Now may God's rich blessings
be upon you and your loved ones.
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Walking with
Jesus is most rewarding.
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In Him we find eternal life.
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We pray you draw close to
Jesus every day as you study
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the Bible.
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Visit with us again when we
ask the question, If God already
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knows, why confess?
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