I (Jesus) tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home JUSTIFIED before God. Jesus, I thank You that by praying The Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 and obeying Romans 10:8-10 You gave me a perfect record with God. But, help me understand that it wasn’t given to me so I could go right back out there and sin against myself, other people, and God’s plan. Show me that, that perfect record was given to me so I would be able to understand the Bible, have You and Your power to fight against sin, and have DIRECT access to my heavenly Father. Teach me that it made it possible for me to get my sins taken care of without them reinfecting me and killing me (separating me from God).

Jesus, teach me that, IF every time I sinned, I died spiritually (was separated from God), I would lose my understanding of the Bible, You and the Holy Spirit would leave my body, and I would lose my direct access to God. Plus, God would cease being my heavenly Father; and, I would cease being His child. I would have to go back and be born again, get salvation and justification every time I sinned, and would have to get back into God’s family again.

Jesus, teach me that having a perfect record with God, when I sin, if I take advantage of my new attitudes, take advantage of my understanding of the Bible, take advantage of my relationship with my heavenly Father, and take advantage of my power-relationship with You, I will BE ABLE to repent (make a U-turn). This will cause me to REMAIN a Christian and go home justified before God.

Jesus, show me that I need God’s help when I am doing fine. But, make it clear to me that I need God’s help THE MOST when I have done something wrong. But, the problem is, when I need God’s help THE MOST I typically feel like I don’t deserve to come to Him because I SINNED!

Gen 3:8 (NIV) Then the man (Adam) and his wife (Eve) heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. Jesus, sometimes I do like Adam and Eve did, when they disobeyed God. They hid themselves from God because they felt guilty; and, they WERE guilty. Teach me that God’s grace and mercy make my relationship with Him NOT HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH me deserving His forgiveness.

Jesus, teach me that God wasn’t mad at Adam and Eve; He wasn’t going to reject them; He was going to correct and punish them; but, they still needed God’s help THE MOST during that time and got it! Help me see that these are the times that I need You THE MOST. Help me not hide from God, ignore Him, stay away from Him, or think He is mad at me. Help me not fail to come to God at a time when I need Him THE MOST. Teach me that I need to feel bad about what I have done; but, I need to run to God so I can take advantage of my clean record.

Jesus, if I do like the Pharisee and reinterpret the Bible, if I make Your rules, commandments, and teachings mean something else, if I try to decide what is sin and what isn’t, and if I try to decide how to go about getting God’s forgiveness rather than doing what the Bible says, I will sin and fail to repent. I will think I am okay when God, the Bible, and my conscience are trying to tell me that I’m not. The reason You told me the parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector was so I wouldn’t get confused, misunderstand, and start believing false information. JESUS, YOU MAKE SURE THAT I AND NO ONE ELSE ACCIDENTLY, IGNORANTLY DAMAGE OUR PERFECT RECORD.

Jesus, teach me that grace is me getting gifts of good things that I DON’T DESERVE. Mercy is me NOT getting bad things that I DO DESERVE. Teach me that since I am a Christian, when I sin, ignoring, avoiding, and running away from God is the worst thing I can do. Show me that hiding from God is caused by some of my wrong opinions about my heavenly Father. We CAN’T come to God because we think we deserve forgiveness. We MUST come to God at times when we feel so bad about what we did that we feel we don’t deserve forgiveness. We MUST NOT wait until we have done something that we feel made us worthy. We need God’s help at the moment of our greatest lack of worthiness.

Jesus, help me understand that EVEN WHEN I DO refuse to repent, God doesn’t just dump me. Even though I CAN damage my perfect record by refusing to “do what it takes” to repent, God uses a procedure to try to help me change my mind; it is called, discipline. It is hard for me to understand, sometimes, that there are things that are painful but can be good for me; but, help me trust You. Teach me that discipline is a form of grace and mercy that I may not understand or like at the moment.

Jesus, when I am JUDGED by the Lord, I am being disciplined so that I will not be condemned with the world (1 Cor 11:32). Teach me that to be condemned with the world would mean I lost my relationship with God. Make it clear to me that when I sin and refuse to repent, God disciplines me rather than cutting Himself off from me. Help me understand that salvation and justification keep me as God’s child so I can come to Him in my current condition and get healed. If refusing to repent AUTOMATICALLY caused me to not have a perfect record with God, I couldn’t come. Help me look at discipline and all the wonderful things grace and mercy have done and are doing for me.

Jesus, teach me that grace and mercy made it possible for me to come to You and be saved and justified. Grace and mercy provided me with a perfect record with God. Grace and mercy keep me a Christian after I sin so I can come to God and repent. Grace and mercy empower me to go to those I sinned against and make it right. Grace and mercy will give me power, training, wonderful relationships, and the opportunity to work together with You so I will sin less and less. And, grace and mercy will give me discipline rather than condemnation when I refuse to repent. Help me properly respond to that discipline and come to You and repent.

Jesus, even though being disciplined isn’t fun or enjoyable, help me realize that it saves me from the consequences of refusing to repent, when I have done or are doing something wrong. There are times when I DO REFUSE to repent; but, help me see that IF I REALLY don’t want to separate myself from God, God will know.

Jesus, show me that God knows everything, He looks into my heart and can see when I am just being misinformed, distracted, lied to, confused, or driven by some temptation. Help me understand that He can see when DEEP DOWN inside, I still want to remain with Him. When I am struggling with some issue or temptation, help me realize that God knows it is just a matter of time for me to come to my senses. So, He doesn’t let me go; He graciously and mercifully keeps my record perfect. Then He allows me to go through some HARDSHIPS to wake me up.

Jesus, help me not forget that word of encouragement that addresses me as a son: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, and He punishes everyone He accepts as a son.” Help me endure HARDSHIP as discipline; make it clear to me that God is treating me as a son. For what son is not disciplined by his father (Heb 12:5-7)? Teach me that this is my Perfect Father doing everything possible to help me keep heading in the right direction; empower me to not resent it or resist it.

Jesus, in the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, I see the tax collector has the right attitude. The Pharisee had already “forgiven himself.” So many people around me tell me to do this so I can get rid of the guilt. But, help me understand that this is the worst thing I can do to myself. When I feel bad about something I have done, let it be my cue that I need to run to my heavenly Father for help. Teach me this BIBLICAL PRINCIPLE: Luke 18:14 (NIV) I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Help me humble myself and be willing to repent.

Jesus, help me see that if I lacked pain sensors in my body, I would never know when something was wrong. Pain is a very unpleasant experience; but, it warns me so I can take the appropriate action to save my body. Show me that in the same way, God causes me to feel guilty about certain thoughts, feelings, words, and deeds so I will be able to make some important changes. Help me listen to this tax collector in Luke 18:13 (NIV): But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Help me be like him and allowed myself to FEEL guilty and it help me get healed.