Thursday Devotion

David: Let's get a new beginning!
By Mike Kirby

Romans 6:23 - For the wages of sin is death.

Have you ever done something so bad that you thought God would never forgive you? Maybe you feel that way right now. Maybe you think your decisions have been so rotten that God could never take you back, that He could never use you, that you could never be "clean" again. Maybe you think it is just too late to start over.

If you feel that way, I have good news. God is a God of new beginnings. We are going to look at the life of King David to illustrate.

David is described in the Bible as a man after God's own heart. He wrote many of the psalms. He was God's choice to be the king of Israel after Saul's failure. David was the man! He was God's man!

Then, well, there was this girl. King David saw Bathsheba taking a bath from his roof. She was hot! He got his 'secret service' to find out about her and learned she was Uriah's wife. Uriah was one of David's mighty men, one of his best soldiers and a friend. What did David do? He sent for her and slept with her. She got pregnant. David tried to cover it up. When that didn't work, David had Uriah placed in a very vulnerable place in battle and he was killed. David murdered Bathsheba's husband and then married Bathsheba. By the way, David already had wives when this happened. Adultery, lust, lies and murder. If it is too late for anyone to start over, it is too late for David.

Read 2 Samuel 12:1-13 as the prophet Nathan confronts David over his sin. Now reread verse 13. What is David's reaction? What is God's reaction to David's admission of guilt?

Here is all of Romans 6:23. "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." We are all like David. If we haven't committed the act, we have thought about it - still sin. We are all in need of a new beginning. That new beginning is a gift that God gives us!

Read 1 John 1:9. Confess your sins to God right now.
Read Acts 17:30. Repent (turn away from) of those sins you confessed.
Pray that God will give you strength to resist the temptation to sin. Remember our theme verse. 2 Corinthians 5:17. If anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come. Thank God that He is a God of new beginnings!