Daily Reflections From Higher Things®

Daily Lectionary: Proverbs 31:10-31; John 21:1-25 We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look at our sins, or deny our prayer because of them. We are neither worthy of the things for which we pray, nor have we deserved them, but we ask that He would give them all to us by grace, for we daily sin much and surely deserve nothing but punishment. So we too will sincerely forgive and gladly do good to those who sin against us. (The Small Catechism: The Lord's Prayer, Sixth Petition) In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. According to Luther, the Christian life consists of two parts: faith in the Lord and love toward the neighbor. Both parts are expressed by this petition. Christians pray for forgiveness because they are sinners. They pray for forgiveness every day, even until their dying day, because they commit sins every single day. Some people think that we are justified by the works we perform before our conversion and others think that we are justified by the works we perform after our conver