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Worship XIII, Day 11 I Will Confess

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Worship XIII, Day 11 I Will Confess

Meribeth Schierbeek

April 7, 2025

Confession,Excuses,Faith,Holy Spirit,Love,Truth

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 32
1 John 1:5-10
1 Peter 2:21-25
Romans 3:21-26

His Words Before Mine
Psalm 32
“How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!
How joyful is a person whom 
the LORD does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!

When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long [. . .]

Selah

Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Selah

Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you 
immediately.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.
You are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.

Selah

I will instruct you and show you the way to go;
with my eye on you, I will give counsel [. . .]
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.”

My Words Back to Him
Lord Jesus, in the beginning,
You made all things good. (Genesis 1:31)

We confess that we, Your people,
stain what You have created with our sin. (Romans 3:23)

You have ordained our restoration,
a restoration costly to You:
the sacrificial death of Your Son, Jesus,
who took on our sins
and covers us with His own righteousness. (1 Peter 2:24-25)

His resurrection is proof of Your ultimate victory over sin and death;
one day, Jesus will present us, blameless, before You.
Selah

Father, we are Your restoration project, to Your glory!

When we confess our sins,
You are faithful and just
to forgive our sins 
and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Selah

No matter our age, again and again,
our sins overwhelm our desire to follow You,
and we come to You again in full confession
of our wandering, our idolatry, our love of self and hatred of others.

Trusting in Your rich mercy, we refuse to deny our sin, 
but lay it bare before You, 
asking You to renew us with Your steadfast love and perfect faithfulness. 
(1 John 1:5-10)

Until time is done, speak Your words of peace to our tumultuous hearts,
keep us from folly,
and move our hearts to ever praise You!

Our King and Savior, we confess our sins to You, embracing Your faithful forgiveness. We rest in Your steadfast love.

Confess, Lament, and Praise
Lord Jesus, our redemption is completed and yet, until the day You call us home, sin continues to nip at our heels. 

Father, as one of Your people, I confess not only my sinful deeds, but also my sinful thoughts that never find the air of my spoken words. (Proverbs 15:3, Hebrews 4:13) You see and know my hidden sins, and You continually draw the eyes of my heart to You in repentance, rather than to myself.

Lord, You know all things. 
I confess I hold onto past hurts and failures. 
I confess my anger, plagued with sin and desiring vindication.
I confess I am quick to speak and slow to listen.

I confess that too often, I resist Your grace, and yet You are always ready to meet me with Your forgiveness.  You forgive and I condemn…I am sorry, thank You for saving me from myself. 

(Sisters, I invite you to add your own confession here: I confess ___________.)

Lord God, I lament the half-hearted love and unfaithfulness with which I come before You. 

Yet You, O Lord, have met me with perfect righteousness, with words of peace and truth, and with undeserved grace. 

Lord God, hear my heart’s cry of confession and turning back to You in repentance. In the face of sin’s eternal consequences, You have rescued Your people with the obedient steps of Your Son, who gave each of us what we need: a way home to You.

Steadfast love is Yours, and Your faithfulness is mine, because of the work and steps of Jesus. (Psalm 117)

You alone are praised and worthy.
Father, I love You and worship You and adore You!
Amen and amen!

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Community,Confession,hope,prayer,psalms,worship
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Worship XIII, Day 12
Digging Deeper

As soon as David confessed his sin to God, he received freedom and couldn’t help but shout about the good news!

David was surrounded by joyful shouts of deliverance, even though his physical circumstances had not changed substantially.

He was delivered from the spiritual darkness of sin (Isaiah 9:2) and rejoiced in his freedom.
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Relentless Day 7 Faith Or Fear: Digging Deeper

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Relentless Day 7 Faith Or Fear: Digging Deeper

Rachel Jones

September 17, 2019

Brave,Busy,Courage,Deliver,Digging Deeper,Enemies,Faith,Faithfulness,Fear,God,Hope,Judges

Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

This DD Connects With "Faith or Fear?"
Why Dig Deeper?

Read His Words Before Ours!

Lamentations 3:21-26

Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! 24 I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.”

25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. 26 It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.
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The Original Intent

1) How can I wait quietly for the Lord when I am desperate for help?

The original Hebrew title of the book of Lamentations, ekah, means Alas!  But, according to John McArthur, “rabbis began early to call the book “loud cries” or “lamentations.”  The author, Jeremiah, weeps for the calamity that God’s people have brought upon themselves because of their love affair with sin. 

Even in this tragic time, though, the Lord brings hope.  Charles Swindoll notes, “at the center of this lament over the effects of sin in the world, sit a few verses devoted to hope in the Lord (Lamentations 3:22–25). This statement of faith standing strong in the midst of surrounding darkness shines as a beacon to all those suffering under the consequences of their own sin and disobedience.” 

Jeremiah determines to wait quietly for the Lord’s salvation.  According to Ellicott’s Commentary, waiting quietly means “wait in silence: i.e. abstain from murmurs and complaints.”  Jeremiah understands that waiting on God without complaining brings him closer to His rescue.  Matthew Henry notes that quietly waiting is “not quarrelling with God nor making ourselves uneasy, but acquiescing in the divine disposals.” 

Quietly waiting on God is yielding to His will and trusting He is in control, even when we don’t understand His plans. It is only possible if we love and trust God and acknowledge that His plans for us are for our good, even if it’s a “good” we don’t yet understand. God told Israel in Jeremiah 29:11 that His plans for them included a hope and a future. 

Likewise, He promises us in Romans 8:28 that He is working all things out for our good. God promises He has destined true believers for eternal salvation and not for wrath in 1 Thessalonians 5:8-10. We can wait quietly for God’s help, even when we are in distress, because we trust His plan for us.

The Everyday Application

1) How can I wait quietly for the Lord when I am desperate for help?

Several years ago, I experienced unexplained vertigo.  I was anxious, wondering how I would care for my family if I couldn’t even stand without the room spinning.  I needed to get better fast, not wait on the Lord.  Yet waiting is what Jeremiah recommends in Lamentations 3:26 where he proclaims, “It is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord.”

Waiting did not seem good to me. But since I was dizzy just lying in bed, there wasn’t much else to do but call on God and wait for His intervention.  I began to understand Andrew Murray’s assertion that God “will never disappoint us.  In waiting on Him we shall find rest and joy and strength, and the supply of every need.” 

Quietly waiting on God helped me determine that a prescribed medication was the cause of my vertigo, and I quickly improved.  But waiting on God also taught me I can trust Him with everything.  God showed me that is purpose in the waiting.  Andrew Murray says, “The waiting is to teach us our absolute dependence on God’s mighty working, and to make us in perfect patience place ourselves at His disposal.” 

While I waited, my panic abated, and I recognized God was in control and watching over me.  It is not easy to wait when we want the answer NOW, but sometimes it is part of God’s plan. 

In Psalm 33:20, David resolves to “wait for the Lord; He is our help and shield.”  In Micah 7:7, Micah vows he “will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.”  Once I calmed down and waited patiently for the Lord, He came to my rescue and became my Refuge.

The Original Intent

2) What does it mean that “the Lord is my portion?”

The book of Lamentations was written by the prophet Jeremiah at a time when the great city of Jerusalem was devastated by the Babylonian invasion of 586 B.C.  The book is full of Jeremiah’s descriptions of the pain and desolation around him, but it also contains the hope Jeremiah finds in God.

That hope was found in Jeremiah recognizing God as his portion and satisfaction. Author David Guzik points out, “Jeremiah found the key to satisfaction—finding one’s portion in the LORD. Whatever measure he was to receive, whatever inheritance, whatever future, it would all be found in Yahweh.”

Having the Lord as our portion means recognizing God as our ultimate source for every need. Bible commentator John Gill says this about the Lord as our portion: ”All he [God] is, and has, is theirs; they are heirs of him, and shall enjoy him forever, and therefore shall not be consumed; he is a portion large and full, inexpressibly rich and great, a soul satisfying one, and will last forever.” 

Matthew Henry, another theologian, states, “It is our duty to make God the portion of our souls, and then to make use of him as our portion and to take the comfort of it in the midst of our lamentations.”

Recognizing the Lord as our portion is important if we are to make it through hardships in life.  With the Lord as our portion, we can always find comfort and hope.

The Everyday Application

2) What does it mean that “the Lord is my portion?”

I grew up spending summers with my sister and seven cousins at my grandma’s house.  We had lots of fun, but there were inevitable squabbles, usually over who got to drink out of the favorite green cup or who got the biggest slice of apple pie.  We each wanted ours to be the biggest and the best. 

I think of that mindset when I consider the idea of the Lord as my portion.  If I want the best for my life, it is most definitely found in the Lord.  Charles Spurgeon called God’s portion the “infinite possession.”  He said, “It is better to have our good God than all the goods in the world: it is better to have God for our all than to have all and be without him.”

 To have the Lord as my portion is to have the hope of eternal salvation and the hope of present refuge in God (Psalm 142:5).  To have the Lord as my portion is to have blessings found only in Christ and hope for an eternal future (Psalm 16:5). When I have God, even when I am weak, He makes me strong (Psalm 73:26).

When you accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior from your sin, He becomes your portion.  He takes all of you and gives you all of Him; a trade that works infinitely in your favor!  When God is the Lord of your life, He promises to “supply all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). 

In Matthew 7:8, God promises “everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”  To have the Lord as your portion is to have all that you need . . . the infinite possession indeed!

The Original Intent

3) Why should God’s love and mercy give me hope?

Some scholars find in the Jeremiah of Lamentations a picture of Christ.  Author Ray Stedman notes, “As you read through this book, you will find many foreshadowings of our Lord weeping over the city of Jerusalem.”   Author John J. Parsons points out that “in many profound ways, Jeremiah pre-figured the prophetic ministry of Yeshua (Jesus).”

Jeremiah also prophesies and previews some of Christ’s main teachings, including salvation and our hope in His unfailing love and endless mercy.  Jeremiah reminds himself that the Lord is always loving and always merciful, which gives him hope knowing God would be with him and help him in the terrible situation the Jewish people were in after the Babylonian invasion and destruction of Jerusalem.

Jeremiah also prophesies about Jesus’ coming, when God will make a new covenant with His people.  God will forgive their sins and write His law in their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31-34).  Author Tim Mackie asserts that Jesus’s life and death announced “the dawn of Jeremiah’s “new covenant.”

Jesus would die for the sins of his own people, and simultaneously bring about that great act of forgiveness anticipated by Jeremiah.” 

How amazing to see God’s plan for a Savior revealed to His people to give them hope even in their darkest days.  His love and mercy are truly remarkable!

The Everyday Application

3) Why should God’s love and mercy give me hope?

In Lamentations 3:21-22, Jeremiah says he has reason to hope because he is reminded of God’s faithful love and his never ending mercies.  We can find hope in God’s love and mercy, too.  Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, 5 made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” 

God, through His grace, extends salvation to us through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus, who took our sins on the cross so we could be forgiven and have eternal life if we believe in Him.  When we have Christ in our lives, we have great hope.  

1 Peter 1:3 tells us God has caused us to be “born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”  We have the hope of life eternal with Jesus, but we also have the hope of friendship with God while we are living this life here on earth. 

Jesus tells us in John 15:14-15, “You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.”  This communion with God is a wonderful way God provides hope to His children!

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Deliverer,God,gracious,hope,love,portion,psalms,pursue,relentless,satisfaction
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Relentless Day 6 Journey Study

Whether it’s a significant time of tragedy or loss, a situation where our hope and hard work give way to disappointment, or simply a day when the pressures and frustrations of life seem to mount up, it’s easy to question where God is and why He has allowed these things to happen.

Maybe, like Gideon, we have tried to hold on to God’s promises and the ways we have seen or heard of His power in the past, but, when we look at our current situation, we feel abandoned. The idea of God having a good plan for us can seem hard to believe.
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Sep 9 - Sep 27, 2019 ~ Journey Theme #58

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Passionate Day 2
Last Words: Digging Deeper

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Passionate Day 2
Last Words: Digging Deeper

Rebecca Adams

March 28, 2017

Character,Faith,God,Gospel,Hope,Jesus,Power,Praise,Prophecy,Truth

Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

This DD Connects With "Last Words"
Why Dig Deeper?

Read His Words Before Ours!

Psalm 41

Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; 2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies. 3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.

4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!” 5 My enemies say of me in malice, “When will he die, and his name perish?” 6 And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad. 7 All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.

8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out[e] on him; he will not rise again from where he lies.” 9 Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me. 10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11 By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me. 12 But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
Read More Of His Words

The Original Intent

1) Who wrote this psalm and why is that significant?

This psalm is attributed to King David and is significant because David was used by God as a “type” of Christ. This means that God used David’s life to foreshadow Christ’s coming in many ways as well as to use David as an example of what Christ would be like.

Because of this, we look carefully at Davidic psalms to see how they point forward towards Jesus’s time on earth and even beyond to His return!

The Everyday Application

1) Who wrote this psalm and why is that significant?

Though the Bible was written over a span of 1,500 years and composed by 40 different authors in different time periods, it is still amazingly singular in theme and purpose and is incredibly accurate. Approximately 2,500 prophecies appear in the Bible, of which about 2,000 have been fulfilled 100% accurately, while the remaining 500 are considered still to be futuristic from current day.

When we consider these astounding facts, it’s no wonder that God would be able to use David to showcase His future glory!

The Original Intent

2) What is the overarching theme of this psalm?

Nearly every psalm showcases the character of God from different perspectives and this one does exactly that by illuminating God’s eternal, all-powerful victory.

The Lord is shown to be victorious and hold all power over trouble, sickness, death, enemies, and even sin itself.

The Everyday Application

2) What is the overarching theme of this psalm?

In just 13 verses we see God’s living character in a way that we are desperate for in our regular, everyday lives.

How do these truths impact your day, your relationships, responsibilities, and weaknesses?

Our God is not one who is far away, watching us struggle from a distance! His power is here and available to us as we cast ourselves upon Him!

The Original Intent

3) In what ways does this psalm foreshadow Christ?

Prophetic Scripture refers directly to a future event. Foreshadowing, on the other hand, is where a current event “mirrors” or “points forward” to an event that has similar wording and meaning in the future, and usually will have a much fuller significance in the future as well.

In the case of this psalm, the poor were originally exactly that, the financially poor. David saw God did not disregard them, even though society had made them obscure.

In the New Testament, we see the “poor” as being those who are stuck in their sin with no hope of ransom without Jesus Christ. “The Lord protects them and keeps them alive” is a reference to salvation, as He rescues us from “the will of enemies (Satan)”. (see also verses 11-12)

The Everyday Application

3) In what ways does this psalm foreshadow Christ?

If you haven’t been a Bible student for long, you can still easily study and learn to recognize prophecies from the Old Testament without much difficulty. Remember that any time you study God’s Word a little deeper, you will be rewarded!

To look for prophecies, you can first look at the various cross-references that are referred to in a passage to see where else they point in Scripture. Another excellent resource is studylight.org where you can enter your verse, click “study tools”, and then read a few commentaries. (we recommend John Gill’s Exposition and Matthew Henry’s Complete)

The Original Intent

4) Are there any prophecies in this psalm?

Yes! Verses 8-10 are ripe with prophecies! “A deadly thing is poured out on him, he will not rise again from where he lies” is what the Enemy says over Jesus. The deadly thing being our sin poured out on Jesus at the cross. Satan’s lie is that Jesus wouldn’t be able to “rise again.”

Verse 9 refers to Jesus at the Last Supper where he shares bread with Judas who would betray him to the Romans. 

Verses 10-13 ring with triumph as Jesus entrusts Himself to the Father to raise Him up and claim eternal victory over sin and death!

The Everyday Application

4) Are there any prophecies in this psalm?

The Old Testament is so incredibly rich with deep treasures to seek out as they shine beautifully onto New Testament truths. Often our understanding of things we thought we fully understood about the Bible or Jesus take new depth as we learn new insights about the character of God!

Take time to dig a little deeper next time you pick up your Bible. Remember that it isn’t an old, dusty book, its truths are living and active and ready to be applied to your everyday life!

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biblical,cross,foundation,fullness,gospel,Jesus,life,prophecy,psalms,salvation,study,Truth
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Passionate Day 1
Journey Study

Last words are a big deal. Tragedy strikes and lives are cut short, some before we expected them. Some had been slowly watching their last moments pass, knowing the end was approaching. We scroll through final words on Facebook, last Instagram posts, or a person’s last tweet to give us insight into who they were and what they valued.
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March 27 - April 14, 2017 -- Journey Theme #14

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