A young Christian had obtained permission to preach... - All The Good Seed Daily Devotionals for 2026

Return to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. Return to the LORD. Say to him, Take away all iniquity.
Hosea 14:1.2

A young Christian had obtained permission to preach the good news of Jesus Christ in a prison. When he walked up the aisle to the stage, he sensed the sceptical attitude of many of those present. In a flash he realised that the introduction he had prepared for his message was unsuitable for such an audience.

In a brief prayer he asked God to show him how to begin. When he began to mount the few steps up to the stage, he stumbled and fell. Laughter filled the hall. The preacher stood up, went to the microphone and said, "My friends, that is just why I have come: to show you that a person can fall and get up again!"

That is precisely what God wishes to achieve with mankind, however great or whatever particular form of guilt he has.

"Come now, and let us reason together, says the LORD, though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

No-one is excluded from this offer of grace: "God our Saviour desires all men to be saved" and "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin" (1 Timothy 2:3.4; 1 John 1:7).

God wants to help everyone up, no matter how badly he has fallen. He expects only one thing of him: that he frankly confesses his sins and puts his faith in the Saviour Jesus Christ.

Today's reading: Lamentations 4:7-22 · Psalm 45:11-18