But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ -- by grace you have been saved -- and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:4-6

In 1900 Mark Twain gave a speech before the Society of American Authors. During that address he confessed, "I am constructed like everybody else and enjoy a compliment as well as any other fool, but I do ... have ... another side. I have a wicked side. Estimable friends who know all about it would tell you, and take a certain delight in telling you, things I have done and things further that I have not repented. The real life that I live, and the real life that I suppose all of you live, is a life of interior sin."

This Daily Devotion is not for people like Mark Twain who feel fine about their wicked side, who do wrong and refuse to repent, who are pretty proud of their "interior sin."

I mean if you're the kind of person who feels good about yourself because you've managed to get away with all kinds of sins and abuses, then I don't think this devotion will have much to say to you. If you think of life as survival of the fittest, and you consider yourself to be at the top of the food chain -- and everybody else is your prey -- then do yourself a favor. Don't read any further. Stop now.

Well, are you still there? Good. I'm glad.

I would imagine you're still reading or listening because you are not content with who you are.

You're still here because you are not pleased with who you are and you feel, somehow, someway, your life ought to be changed. Thankfully, such a change is not only possible and attainable, it has already been taken care of.

No, you weren't the one who fixed things and made them right. You don't have that kind of skill, perfection or ability. You have been -- or can be -- made right only through the work of God's innocent Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Spirit inspired it. Paul wrote it. You can believe it. God made us alive in Jesus Christ. In Christ we are forgiven of all our sins. Because of Jesus' sacrifice, His suffering, torture, martyrdom and resurrection there is complete and total forgiveness extended to the entire world -- and which must be received through Holy Spirit-given faith, which brings forth a repentant heart.

All our sins? Yep, you heard that correctly: all!

In our total, blood-bought forgiveness, there is no exception. There is no small print; there is no exemption, omission or exclusion. You may keep your secret sins a secret from others, but the omniscient Redeemer has seen them, He knows and recognizes who committed them and He gave His life to forgive them.

His third-day resurrection from the dead assures that all who are given a repentant heart are also -- by faith in the Redeemer -- given a forgiven soul.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, I have committed sins which are embarrassing and I would like to keep them secret. They are just too scandalous to air publicly. Still, I give thanks that Jesus saw each of those sins. He saw them and did that which was necessary to save me from them. For His work I shall always express my deepest gratitude. In Jesus' Name I pray it. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Today's Bible Readings: Jeremiah 43-44    Hebrews 11:20-40

To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select "Save Link As" or "Save Target As" or "Download Linked File As"