Mosaic: Regret Devo

February 25th, 2018

Devotional

“Mosaic: Regret” - Psalm 51: 1-15 and Luke 19: 1-8

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Monday: “Have Mercy” - Psalm 51: 1-2

Psalm 51 is believed to have been written shortly after David had taken another man’s wife as his own. The story goes that David, King of Israel, stayed behind for some unknown reason when his men, his troops, were off preparing for battle. He caught the site of a married women, Bathsheba, bathing on a roof, and he had he brought to the palace where he lied with her. Then she became pregnant. In order to attempt to cover up his sin, David called for Bathsheba’s husband to come home from battle and tried to convince him to sleep with her - only he refused, for it was improper for him to sleep with his wife when other men were in battle.

Finally, David went Uriah back to the front lines of a battle with a letter for his commanding officer, essentially stating to make sure Uriah gets killed in battle. Which he did. And David took Bathsheba as his wife.

David’s priest Nathan came and spoke to him about what had taken place - telling the story of a small lamb that was taken by a man who had all the lambs in the world. David became enraged until Nathan pointed out that he was the man who stole the lambs - he had taken Bathsheba as his wife after having her husband killed. This Psalm is written after all of that had taken place - and David is guilt-ridden, calling out to God for forgiveness and mercy.

However, what was moving about all of the voices reading his psalm together echoing off of the walls was that, while it was certainly written in a particular time in David’s life, can we not find ourselves in it as well? When we hear the words of this Psalm does it not remind us of our own fallenness and entanglement in sin?

What does mercy mean to you?

How are forgiveness and mercy related? 

Prayer: Jesus, we come to you today, and like David cry out for mercy. We know that mercy is a gift, Precious Lord, not something that we can earn. We ask for your forgiveness to rain down upon us and refresh our weary souls. Amen. 

Tuesday: “Transgressions” - Psalm 51: 3-5

So David’s prayer also becomes our prayer. Blot our our transgressions in your mercy. Wash us throughly of our iniquity. Brothers and sisters, none of us are free from the hold of sin in our lives. Since the days of Adam and Eve, when they intentionally made the choice to rebel against the ways of God, we have been making the same choices. We have been choosing to not love God and not love our neighbor with our whole hearts. 

David didn’t feel guilt about what he had done until Nathan called him out and invited him into a time of repentance. He was perfectly happy not examining his actions or how they damaged his relationship with God and his relationship with others. So it is with us. We need the season of Lent to bring our transgressions before God and ask for forgiveness anew. 

What or who invites you to examine your actions?

Prayer: Lord, we thank you for the people in our lives who do not want us to stay entangled in sin. We thank you for their faithfulness in inviting us to repent. Free us from our transgressions we pray. Amen. 

Wednesday: “Desire Truth” - Psalm 51: 6-9

Even if we want to pretend that we don’t know our transgressions, want to pretend that there aren’t consequences, we know they exist. We need a time to let them come to the surface in order to be cleaned out.

God wants to create in us a clean heart. A heart where we can proclaim that we are yes, sinners, but that we are saved by grace. Have you ever noticed that folks tend to focus too much on one side of this statement or the other? People either become focused on their depravity, forgetting God’s gift to us, or become so caught up in the gift of grace that they forget why we need it in the first place. Today we stand before God saying that we are sinners, in need of God’s grace, and then we accept that beautiful and powerful gift with open hearts - allowing God to clean and transform us from the inside out. God not only saves us from our sin, but gives us new lives!

What is the truth that God is inviting you into this day? 

What does cleansing look like in your life?

Prayer: Lord, we confess that sometimes we do not desire your truth in our lives - in fact, we run from it. Help us to embrace your truth this day, the truth that can set us free. May we honor you with our lips and our lives, Almighty God. Amen. 

Thursday: “Restore Me” - Psalm 51: 10-12

When I was little one of the things I hated the most was having scraped knees. For with scrapped knees came the peroxide - that nasty feeling of the dirt and grime in the wound bubbling to the surface. But I also knew that the wound had to be cleaned so it didn’t become infected. Friends, today begins the season of letting the dirt and grime of our lives come to the surface, through confession, so that God can bring healing. Sin is not just on the surface of our life, it is deep within us and needs to be purged. Ignoring our sin only causes it to fester and bring more pain, more hurt.

Where are those places in your life where you need deep cleansing? Where you need restoration? What do you need to confess? What sin needs to come to the surface so God can blot it out? Where do you need to ask God to change you? Where do you need to seek reconciliation in our relationship with God and with others. Because the truth is, we all need to seek to be renewed and made new in the love and mercy and grace of our Lord. 

What do you need to bring to Christ this Lenten season?

What does restoration of your soul look like for you?

Prayer: Lord, we come before you this Lenten season to confess, be cleansed, and to be restored. We bring to you our brokenness and look to you for healing. Restore us, we pray. Amen. 

Friday: “Deliver Me” - Psalm 51: 13-15

This season, may we remember that during this season we are in need of God, we are wholly dependent upon God, and find our hope in God alone. Let us bring ourselves this day and every day, and during the entire season of Lent, as a sacrifice for our Lord, who gives us victory over the power of sin. For it is God alone who can deliver us. 

What do you need to be delivered from this season?

Prayer: Lord, sometimes we are ashamed to tell you that we do not have it altogether. Yet you know our hearts. So Lord, we bring before you today that which we need deliverance from and trust and believe that you will bring us through. In the mighty name of Jesus. Amen. 

Saturday: Preparing for the Word

You are invited to read and pray this week’s text and topic: “Mosaic: Rejection” - Matthew 9: 12-13. Matthew 27: 27-31. 

Family Activity: When you do something wrong do you tell other people or do you try to hide it from them? We know that often when we try to hide the things we have done wrong, it often makes it worse. In the church, we tell God the things we have done through confession. Pray together a pray of confession.