It’s About Repentance and Forgiveness
Today’s Verse:
Proverbs 28:13 ESV
Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.
A few years ago, I made a mistake—on this day before Ash Wednesday, I called the paczki a “jelly doughnut.” They are not traditional jelly doughnuts. They are a Polish delicacy eaten before the start of Lent. Yes, they look exactly like jelly doughnuts and have the same fruit filling and powdered sugar on top, but they are paczki. I haven’t made this error since.
It got me thinking about when we make mistakes toward God. When we sin and go against God’s Law, our Father calls us to acknowledge our faults and ask for forgiveness. Isn’t that what we do at the start of our church services? We acknowledge before God and our brothers and sisters in the faith that we’re sinners and need forgiveness. Our Father showers us with His grace as He forgives our trespasses.
On this Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, let us take a moment and acknowledge our need for the forgiveness of our sins. Oh, and have a paczki to prepare yourselves for the coming season of Lent. And don’t call them jelly doughnuts.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Gracious Father, thank You for Your endless grace in forgiving our sins. Though undeserving, Your love shines through as You forgive us, Your sinful children. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.