The world can be a pretty bad place. Unfortunately, I sometimes find myself contributing to the bad, the evil. I contribute to the bad when I am thoughtless, jealous or intolerant. I contribute to the bad when I am neglectful, disrespectful or hurtful. I hate to admit this, but I can find myself contributing this negativity almost every day.
You see, the Bible teaches us, and experience shows us, that every person is sinful by his/her very nature. We naturally tend to sin. It is who humans are. It is what we do. We sin in two different ways.
- Our first kind of sin has been referred to as 'sins of commission.' These sins are ones we commit by an act of our will. We know that we are not supposed to lie, for example, and yet we do. Along with several others, this is a sin of commission.
- There are also sins of omission. These are infractions by leaving something undone. That is, we know we are supposed to do something, and yet we do not do it. A good example of this is when we withhold our care or love from another person.
There is no escaping the fact that all people are sinners. We all struggle with both types of sin. But God has made a way out for us. In fact, the way out is once again the way of prayer. We are taught that if we are to be forgiven our sins we must pray. And when we pray, we are led to believe, we will be forgiven. God will forgive us and cleanse us. This means that not only will we have a clean slate, he will work toward taking away our tendency to sin.
That is good news for all of us, and one of the most important aspect of prayer.
PRAYER: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Take away my desire to sin. Forgive those sins I have already committed. Cleanse me and make me new. I pray this in the name of the one who became, and continues to be, the sacrifice for my sins. Amen.
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