Sin, Again

SCRIPTURE: Hosea 13-14; Psalm 100,102; Hebrews 5

Hosea 14:1-3, 9
O Israel, come back! Return to your God! You’re down but you’re not out.
Prepare your confession
and come back to God.
Pray to him, “Take away our sin, 
   accept our confession.
Receive as restitution 
   our repentant prayers.

⁹ If you want to live well,
make sure you understand all of this.
If you know what’s good for you,
you’ll learn this inside and out.
God’s paths get you where you want to go.
Right-living people walk them easily;
wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.

Hebrews 5:1-3
Every high priest selected to represent men and women before God and offer sacrifices for their sins should be able to deal gently with their failings, since he knows what it’s like from his own experience. But that also means that he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins as well as the peoples’.

OBSERVATIONS: Sin is a constant. It must be treated and dealt with again and again. Because of Christ, this is not a wasted effort; our struggle with Sin is complete, but our struggle with sins is a result of our bad decisions — leftovers from our defeated fallen nature.

APPLICATION: Joey, an inventory of your sins is required. Remember your actions daily. Reflect, adjust, and do.

PRAYER: Lord Christ, my sins were the cause of your sacrificial death. When I selfishly lapse into wrongdoing, I re-crucify you and dishonor your gift of grace and forgiveness. enable my efforts to see myself for who you would have me to be; teach me the habits you would have me hate and the traits you would have me embrace.