Category: Sin

Start again

Ruth Kirk

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9; NIV).

Start again with every breath –
Whatever’s happened: start afresh.

Start anew to face the truth –
In every quarrel: call a truce.

Start once more when you’ve told lies –
Admit your fault; apologise.

Start afresh when you’ve caused pain –
Confess your guilt; then try again.

Start from scratch when you’ve done wrong –
Ask Christ to help you: he is strong.

Start anew; forgive your foe –
And never give back blow for blow.

Start, right now, to face your strife
With Christ beside you: this is life.

So take heart with each new breath –
Whatever’s happened: start afresh!

Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world (John 16:33; NLT).

References

This is eternal life: to know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent – Jesus the Messiah (John 17:3; ISV).

God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son (1 John 5:11; NIV).

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth (Psalm 103:8-11; NLT).

He forgives all my sins (Psalm 103:3; NLT).

Your sins have been forgiven through Jesus (1 John 2:12; NLT).

If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15; NLT).

Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:44-5; NLT).

 

No matter what happens

Ruth Kirk

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

No matter what happens,
You’re here, Lord, within me.
No matter what happens,
I walk by your side.

No matter what happens,
You share in my anguish.
No matter what happens,
I need you, my Guide.

No matter what happens,
You love me forever.
No matter what happens,
I love you, Lord, too.

No matter what happens,
We face it together.
No matter what happens,
We always get through.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me (Psalm 23:4; NLT).

 

Peace

Ruth Kirk

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9; NIV).

Pray for peace (Psalm 122:6; NLT).

I pray for the end
Of hate and fear;

I pray for the end
Of pain and grief;

I pray for the end
Of greed and war –

So peace will reign
For evermore.

Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (Psalm 34:14; NIV).

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever (Revelation 21:4; NLT).

References

I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid (John 14:27; NLT).

Oh, that you had listened to my commands! Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea (Isaiah 48:18; NLT).

The Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes (Revelation 7:17; NLT).

 

Love

Ruth Kirk

I love you, LORD; you are my strength (Psalm 18:1; NLT).

I love you, for you came to save me,
Love you, for you help me through;

Love you, for you cleanse my sins, Lord,
Love you, for you heal me, too;

Love you, for you are my Shepherd,
Love you, for you are God’s Son;

Love you, for you loved me first –
I love you, Christ, the Holy One.

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35; NIV).

References

The Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost (Luke 19:10; NLT).

He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases (Psalm 103: 3; NLT).

We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19; NIV).

Even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45; NLT).

 

Go inside

Ruth Kirk

When you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to God who is in that secret place (Matthew 6:6; TIV).

Go inside your body,
For God is found within.

Go inside, where Christ is,
Who sets us free from sin.

Go inside your breathing,
For it is God’s own soul.

Go inside your spirit,
Where you are strong and whole.

Go inside your darkness,
Where Christ shines like the sun.

Yes, go inside your darkness,
Where you and God are one.

Moses went into the darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21; BST).

Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him (Philippians 3:8-9; NLT).

References

I am God, and not man; the Holy One within thee (Hosea 11:9; BST).

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us (Colossians 3:11; NLT).

He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds (Titus 2:14; NLT).

Don’t you realise that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16; NLT).

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you (Romans 8:11; NLT).

The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul (Genesis 2:7; KJV).

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it (John 1:5; NLT).

 

Judgement day

Ruth Kirk

We must all stand before Christ to be judged (2 Corinthians 5:10; NLT).

O LORD, you have examined my heart and know everything about me (Psalm 139:1; NLT). 

There is a sense in which every day is judgement day, because we all stand before Christ whenever we pray, and he already knows everything about us.

Seeing him face to face is like looking into a mirror. Through his eyes we see with perfect clarity the truth about ourselves, and about all we think, say, do and feel.

All we can do is to acknowledge our sins with complete openness and honesty, telling him how sorry we are.

Then, we receive God’s mercy and forgiveness, for which we give thanks.

Lastly, we can move forward again, leaving our guilt behind. Having been renewed, we are ready to start again, clinging tightly, as always, to God’s love, help and support.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9; NIV).

References

We shall see face to face (1 Corinthians 13:12; NIV).

Before a word is on my tongue, you, LORD, know it completely (Psalm 139:4; NIV).

Anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:28; NLT).

He forgives all my sins (Psalm 103:3; NLT).

He restoreth my soul (Psalm 23:3; KJV).

 

Our safety-net

Ruth Kirk

He helps me (Psalm 28:7; NLT).

God is ready to help us all, at every moment:

  • With every task, however great or small
  • With everything we suffer – physically, mentally, spiritually, and in all other ways
  • With everything we face, experience, think, do, say, feel, suffer, and endure

All we have to do is to turn to God, and ask for support.

Sometimes we don’t want to, or cannot, engage with God. Despite this, God’s hands remain as a safety-net beneath us.

When we can no longer cope with life, we fall into God’s safety-net. Yet God is always present, waiting to catch and hold us every time we fall.

Lastly, God is always here to save us in death, too, for when we have to let go of life, we fall straight into God’s arms:

The eternal God is your refuge, and his everlasting arms are under you (Deuteronomy 33:27; NLT).

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

References

The LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

Our lives are in his hands (Psalm 66:9; NLT).

 

Continual spontaneous prayer

Ruth Kirk

Pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:16; NIV).

Continual spontaneous prayer is a way of life. It means opening our whole selves to God at every moment, sharing every thought, sensation, emotion and experience with God as it happens.

In this approach to prayer, we hide nothing whatsoever from God. We may be tempted to push unwanted thoughts or impulses aside, but instead, we choose to acknowledge them openly and willingly. Then we deal with them straightforwardly, directly with God.

This way of praying is constant, dynamic, and totally honest. It has no beginning, middle, or end. Rather, it is a long-term, two-way conversation with God.

A life of continuous prayer means spontaneously expressing our love, worship, praise, thanks, intercessions, rejoicing, sorrows, fears, and cries for help. We share them with God as they arise within us.

It also includes unplanned periods when our prayer continues, but no words are needed. This wordless communion, when we simply rest in oneness with God, is one of the most intimate kinds of prayer we can experience here, on earth.

Above all, a life of continual, spontaneous prayer means being completely real with God, who is always completely real with us. This is the kind of relationship God longs to have with every one of us.

The Lord longs to be gracious to you (Isaiah 30:18; NIV). 

You desire honesty from the womb (Psalm 51:6; NLT).

References

The LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him (Hebrews 10:20; NLT).

We are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16; NIV).

Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence (Ephesians 3:12; NLT).

I am God, and not man; the Holy One within thee (Hosea 11:9; BST).

We are united with Christ (Ephesians 1:3; NLT).

The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him (1 Corinthians 6:17; NLT).

 

Ask Christ

Ruth Kirk

“A sower went out to sow his seed…

Ask Christ to plant seeds in your mind:
He will nourish your thoughts.

Ask Christ to take root in your heart:
He will pardon your sins.

Ask Christ to grow up in your soul:
He will heal all your wounds.

Ask Christ to abide in your body:
For he is your strength.

… and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Luke 8:5-8; NKJV).

The LORD is my strength (Exodus 15:2; NLT).

References

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing (John 15:5; NKJV).

The LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion (Isaiah 30:18; NLT).

 

When we die

Ruth Kirk

The dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:7; NIV).

When we die, we all return
To you: the God who gives us life.

We confess our sins and faults –
You forgive, and set us free.

You redeem us, heal, restore,
And crown us with your tender love.

Then we live in paradise
With you, forever – even me!

Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43; NLT).