UCB WORD FOR TODAY 17TH JANUARY 2025 – (FRIDAY DAILY DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE)
Read UCB Word For Today 17th January 2025 Daily Devotional by United Christian Broadcasters
TOPIC: We All Need The Same Grace
‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’
Luke 18:13 NKJV
Jesus said: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, “God, I thank You that I am not like other men – extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.” And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other’ (vv. 10-14 NKJV).
The difference between these two men is that the Pharisee was guilty of sins of the spirit, and the tax collector was guilty of the sins of the flesh. Pride shut the door of heaven to the Pharisee, and humility opened the door of heaven to the tax collector. The Pharisee said he was innocent but went home guilty. The tax collector acknowledged he was guilty and went home innocent.
Notice, he doesn’t use the usual word for mercy. The word used here dates back to the Hebrew word kippur, which means ‘atonement’, as in Yom Kippur, which means ‘the Day of Atonement’. The word atonement means ‘to cover’. What the tax collector said was, ‘God, I’m admitting what you already know is true about me. I am a sinful man with a sinful heart. God, will you cover me?’ That’s all God needed to hear from him to save him – and that’s all God needs to hear from you too.
FURTHER READING: Genesis 36-38, Matthew 10:17-42
United Christian Broadcasters is a Christian media charity that exists to offer every person, in every place, every moment of the day, the opportunity to hear, watch or read the Word of God in a relevant and engaging way.