Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 9th April 2025 (In Touch) Wednesday Message
TOPIC: The God Who Forgives
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus gave His followers a pattern for prayer that includes seeking forgiveness every day. Regular repentance is not a means of renewing our salvation. Instead, it’s a maintenance plan for our fellowship with God.
When we trust Jesus as our Savior, our sins are forgiven forever—the stains from our past, present, and future wrongs are wiped away. The tendency to sin, however, remains part of the human experience, though its influence decreases the more we’re conformed to Christ’s image.
With the exception of Jesus, no one is perfect. So, while on earth, we will all deal with sin and its consequences. The Lord’s admonition to seek daily forgiveness is a reminder to confess our sins and turn away from them because we are forgiven.
God’s grace is not a license to sin. Instead, it’s a reason to continuously pursue righteousness. Bad attitudes, thoughtless actions, and unkind speech do not fit who we are as new creatures in Christ.
Salvation makes a way for us to enter God’s presence, whereas confession and repentance (1 John 1:9) keep the pathway maintained. The “sinner’s prayer” needs to be said only once, but a saint will tap into God’s forgiveness every day throughout life.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 2 Samuel 15-17
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Regularly seeking forgiveness keeps the pathway of fellowship open.
Dr. Charles F. Stanley was the founder of In Touch Ministries and a New York Times best-selling author. Throughout his ministry, he demonstrated a keen awareness of people’s needs and provided Christ-centered biblically based principles for everyday life.