Today Daily Devotional

I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
— Romans 7:15

Sometimes church can get in the way of repentance.Repentance plays a huge part in our becoming followers of Christ. We pivot from our previous direction, turning toward the Savior.But then something happens. We get better. We heal and grow in faith. The Bible calls this sanctification, and this is a good thing.As we grow in faith, it can seem like we have less to repent of. And that makes sense. Our lives should change as we mature in our faith in Christ. But is that the whole story?Personally, I have grown in my resistance to some of the sins of my younger days. But I have to admit that other, quieter temptations can easily line up to take their place—sins like pride or defensiveness. When I see progress in resisting one kind of sin, I soon notice a new one cropping up. In Romans 7, Paul explains that sin grows inside us. I get that.I’m learning to adjust my idea of what spiritual growth looks like. As a boy, I sometimes wondered if grown-ups needed to repent. Now, as a grown-up, I realize that I’ll never move past my need for repentance. But, thanks to the work of God’s Spirit in me, I’m getting better at living faithfully.I hope you have experienced repentance. And, as your faith grows, I hope you keep experiencing that, with God’s help all along the way.

Lord, keep us humble as we grow in faith. Remind us that we always need your grace, and help us continually to turn back to you, realizing we need you always. Amen.

I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.
— Romans 7:23

Repentance isn’t complicated. It can be as simple as saying “I’m sorry.” Yet for all its simplicity, repentance can be surprisingly elusive.When I was a child, my parents taught me the basics of repentance. When I broke a rule or did something hurtful to my brothers, they instructed me to say I was sorry (whether I actually was or not!).If you think of repentance, how do you picture it? Does it show the relief of a reunion with a long-lost friend? Or is it more like the grim resignation of a driver pulled over for speeding in traffic—or, similarly, like an athlete called on a foul by a referee: sorry, not sorry!Actually, repentance is amazing, if we think about it. It gives us the chance to name our sins and have them taken away.Oddly, though, we don’t often think or talk much about repentance. And, perhaps more strangely, we can tend to think about it less and less the more we gain experience as believers. It’s almost as if we think we somehow outgrow our need for repentance. (More about that later.)And so we hide.When was your last experience of repentance? Can you remember it?

God, remind me that true repentance brings freedom. Help me not to shrink from confessing, but to embrace turning toward you with joy and trust in your mercy. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
— 1 John 1:9

Shame creates distance from God, just as it did for the woman at the well. Since the fall into sin (Genesis 3), a sense of having spoiled God’s best for us has caused us to keep our distance from him. Even today we carry bad memories, broken expectations, and accumulated regrets. In our shame we subtly back away from God.How do we fix this problem? In the Bible God calls us to repentance for our sin. At its core, repentance involves complete honesty with God: a recognition of not only what we have done but also who we have become. Honest repentance provides a step toward the miracle of having our sins washed away, with our debts charged to Christ’s account. It furthers the process of our sanctification, God’s way of making us new.There is also a relationship side to repentance that is important to remember. Repentance involves more than simply acknowledging that a rule was broken. It involves recognizing that a relationship was damaged. The biblical word for repentance refers to “turning around.” When I repent of a sin, I turn away from that behavior and back toward the way God calls me to live. Repentance involves a new realization that we have in some way left God and are turning back toward him.When was the last time you repented, turning back to God?

Lord, help me to be honest with you. Show me where I have sinned, and help me to turn fully toward you, with my heart open to renewal. Amen.

[Jesus] told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
— John 4:16

In this story we find hints that the Samaritan woman was accustomed to hiding. Her personal life had fallen into ruin, and her sense of shame affected her daily routine. She came out to draw water at the hottest time of day, when most people preferred the shade. She was hiding in plain sight.We, too, often hide. Ever since Adam and Eve crouched in Eden with those forbidden-fruit stains all over their faces (Genesis 3:6-10), we have tried to hide when we have felt guilty or ashamed.Sometimes we hide in our sin, like rebellious sons and daughters far from home. We may not even do this on purpose— it just becomes easier to do as we please when the people who know us aren’t watching us or telling us what to do.At other times we may try a different approach—hiding behind our “goodness.” We instinctively aim to act our best when we realize we have failed in some way. Think of how we put on our best behavior after sliding back into a sinful habit. We may not even be aware we are doing this, but our instinct to try to cover up and “clean up our act” runs deep. Like the woman who came to the well at midday, we tend to hide in our shame.How does shame show up in your life? Do you notice when you are trying to cover up? How do you respond?

God, forgive us for trying to hide in our shame. Replace our fears with assurance of your grace and forgiveness, that we may enjoy the freedom you give us through new life in Christ. Amen.

“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?”
— John 4:9

Most of us like to have a place to call home. We prefer to be in familiar territory and with people who are like us.Jesus was different. That’s why in John 4 we see him chatting with a foreign woman at an unfamiliar well at the least comfortable time of the day. Jesus seems to have loved skipping across social and territorial boundaries that other people had marked with “No Trespassing” signs. (Note: As a Gentile whose ancestors lived a long way away from both Judea and Samaria, I’m personally thankful for that.)Have you ever felt like an outsider— perhaps even with people in familiar surroundings, or maybe even among your own friends and family? If so, how did that affect you? Whom do you know who might be feeling like an outsider among God’s people today? What might God be saying to you about caring for them?In our reading today, we may sense that the Samaritan woman wasn’t exactly thrilled to meet a Jew at the local well and to have him ask her for a drink of water. (Was Jesus trespassing on her territory?) Yet Jesus replied with some words about God and said that he could give her “living water.” I’m glad Jesus didn’t just stay in familiar territory. He knew he was on earth for a reason—and every conversation he had was shaped by that awareness.What relationships in your life could God use in order to reach someone?

Lord, help me to notice people I might overlook. Give me courage to approach them with care and to point them to you. For your sake, Amen.