PRAYER OF REPENTANCE

“I said, LORD, be merciful to me; heal my soul, for I have sinned against You" (Psalm 41:4 NKJV).

In this verse we have a short but great prayer of repentance in this verse. It’s a prayer for clemency, for a cure, and ends with a confession.

Clemency – “Lord, be merciful to me.” Coming to God on our own merit will gain us nothing because our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isa. 64:6). The only right way to come to God in repentance is via mercy. The Psalmist has it right - he comes to God through mercy. “Be merciful to me” was the publican’s prayer in Luke 18:13, and it was commended by our Lord.

Cure – “Heal my soul.” Sin has brought sickness to the human soul. Yet, most folks are not interested in having their soul healed. Most of the requests we hear at church are for physical healing. Now, there is nothing wrong with praying for bodily healing. But there is something wrong if we only pray only for physical healing and never for healing of the soul. Spiritual health is the most important health. The person who is truly repentant will be one who is also concerned about his spiritual health.

Confession – “I have sinned against You.” Here is the essence of true repentance – confessing that you have sinned. Note that the Psalmist is not offering any excuses; he is simply acknowledging that he has sinned. Note also that the sin is said to be “against You.” Since all sin is ultimately against God, the Psalmist is speaking about sinning against God. Yes, we sin against our fellowman; but the worst thing about our sin is that it is against God, and this brings great dishonor to God.

(Adapted from Butler Daily Bible Reading)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Repentance means not only a heart broken for sin but from sin!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Dispensation

In Eph. 1:10 we read, “that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth - in Him” (NKJV).

Dispensation is the is the Greek word oikonomia (οἰκονομία = oy-kon-om-ee'-ah). It is made up of two words: “oíkos” which means house, and “némo” which means manage or distribute. Thus the word means household administration, the management of a household or of household affairs. We get our English words ‘economy’ and ‘economic’ from this word.

In Classical Greek oikonomia referred to the management of a household. In the Septuagint (LXX), oikonomia occurs only in Isaiah 22:19, 21 where it means office or administration. In the New Testament, oikonomia carries the idea of management of the property of others, hence the idea of “stewardship” (Luke 16:2-4).

In the present context oikonomia is used to refer to the administration or management by God of a certain period of human history which Paul designates as “the fullness of times” when God gathers everything to Himself and sums it up in His Son, Jesus Christ. So, Paul is here using oikonomia to describe God’s sovereign order of salvation. This means that salvation is not a divine afterthought. On the contrary, salvation history derives from God’s eternal plan or oikonomia of salvation “that He might gather together all things” in Christ.

Prophecies Fulfilled by Jesus

Old Testament Prophecy – Messiah would be humiliated and then exalted (Psalm 8:5-6)

New Testament Fulfillment – Lu. 24:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:27; Phil. 2:8-11.

Bible Facts About Jesus

Jesus was passionate

The Bible shows some very passionate scenes from the life of Christ. He overthrew the tables of the money changers in the temple (Matt. 21:12, 13). He was moved to tears at the news of Lazarus’ death (John 11:35). Many times we read in the Bible that Jesus was moved with compassion (Matt. 9:36-38; 21:12, Mark 1:41).

Bible Quiz

The well where Jesus met the woman of Samaria was known by what name?

**Answer to last week’s trivia: What surprised a Pharisee when Jesus ate dinner at his house? Jesus didn’t wash His hands (Luke 11:38).

That’s in the Bible

"Tell it not in Gath”

"Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph” (2 Sam. 1:20 KJV).

“Tell it not in Gath” - The expression “tell it not in Gath” carries the idea of not making something public knowledge. In our verse, David issued a warning urging the people not to spread the bad news of Israel’s defeat. We must not drag our dirty linen out into the public for the world to see; it will cause the enemy of the Lord to rejoice and this will greatly dishonor the Lord.

Did You Know – Christian History

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born February 4, 1906 in Breslau, Germany. He was a German pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi dissident, and key founding member of the Confessing Church. His writings on Christianity’s role in the secular world have become widely influential, and his book - The Cost of Discipleship has been described as a modern classic.

After completing his formal education with a Doctor of Theology degree, Bonhoeffer came to the US in 1930 for postgraduate study and a teaching fellowship at Union Theological Seminary. He studied under Reinhold Niebuhr and met Frank Fisher, a black fellow-seminarian who introduced him to Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. There he taught Sunday school and formed a lifelong love for African-American spirituals. After returning to Germany in 1931, Bonhoeffer became a lecturer in systematic theology at the University of Berlin.

Bonhoeffer’s promising academic and ecclesiastical career was dramatically altered with the Nazi ascension to power in 1933. From the outset, Bonhoeffer was an opponent of the regime. This led to the revocation of his authorization to teach at the University of Berlin. Further, he was forbidden to speak in public and was required to regularly report his activities to the police. In 1941, he was forbidden to print or to publish. He was finally arrested on April 5, 1943. Accused of association with conspirators, Bonhoeffer was condemned to death on 8 April 1945. He was executed by hanging at dawn on 9 April 1945, just two weeks before US soldiers liberated the camp, three weeks before the Soviet capture of Berlin and a month before the surrender of Nazi Germany.

Bonhoeffer’s life as a pastor and theologian exerted great influence for Christians from denominations and ideologies, such as Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, the anti-communist democratic movement in Eastern Europe, and the anti-Apartheid movement in South Africa.

A Little Humor

A fellow who owned a pizza shop was audited by the IRS. The agent said to the fellow, “I want to know about all of your travel expenses. For example, you have expenses for six trips to Rome just this year. How do you justify this?” “Justify nothing,” said the fellow. “Don’t you know? We deliver!”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“No sin is small because all sin opposes God!”