He Cleanses Confessions Not Excuses

508 - Today's Prime Time Devo comes from: 2Sa 11:23-25, “And the messenger said to David, "Surely the men prevailed against us and came out to us in the field; then we drove them back as far as the entrance of the gate. 24 "The archers shot from the wall at your servants; and some of the king's servants are dead, and your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead also." 25 Then David said to the messenger, "Thus you shall say to Joab: 'Do not let this thing displease you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city, and overthrow it.' So encourage him." (2 Sam 11:23-25) Is David making this statement to convince the messenger and others within earshot that Uriah's death was simply a matter of war taking it's random toll of lives? Is he acting here? Or is he already in the process of justifying his sin in his own mind? Has he already conveniently forgotten that Uriah was “devoured by the sword” by his own specific order to Joab? We don't know the answer to that question, but here are some things we do know: Jer 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Self -deception in the matter of justifying our actions is in the DNA of our flesh. It's part of our fleshly desire to save ourselves. It's “self-defense.” We forget that through faith in Christ we have the only sure defender. 1Jo 2:1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Yes, sin will happen in our lives but we must never seek to find ways to excuse it or defend it. We have an Advocate, a defense attorney in Jesus, but His defense is of no avail to us if we seek to defend ourselves. On the Last Day, you cannot stand before God and tell Him you are not to blame. You can't say “I have an excuse.” David's excuses for sinning are a mile long. “It was a warm spring night. She was beautiful. All the other kings do it. She got pregnant, how would that look for me the King of Israel? Uriah left me no choice! Hey, it's not like I killed him...he died in battle, that happens all the time.” Listen, the blood of Jesus doesn't cleanse excuses...it cleanses sin. Oh God, forgive me. I confess I am an inexcusable sinner, keep me from that path that seeks to justify my sins, help me to turn to Jesus and allow Him alone to be my defense.