Blessed Redeemer, beautiful Savior,
Author of all grace and comfort,
We approach you with the deepest reverence—
not with any presumption, nor with servile fear—
but respectful boldness—because of your gracious invitation.
In days of yore, you met the invited penitent at the mercy seat.
There the sprinkled blood was a covering for sin.
Today, our needed blessings are to be found at the throne of grace.
Here it is that we find grace in every—every—every! time of need.

It is easy for us to elaborate our needs, as trouble upon trouble piles up on us:
fragmented friendships,
hostile relationships,
adversarial conditions,
financial roadblocks,
family nightmares,
unanswered questions.
Some of these heartburning situations have plagued us without relief,
and we have pled with you to alleviate—
yet still we wait for divine answer.
Lord, we have nowhere else to go but to you,
and so we again cast ourselves upon your mercy.
Maybe you delay because of the insidious sins
we tolerate or turn a blind eye to!

Galatians tells of good old Barnabas and influential Simon Peter who were
captured by flagrant hypocrisy.
Maybe that’s our sin today—protection of self—
desiring the approval of the crowd rather than God.
Father God, it will take a detergent as strong as the blood of Jesus Christ
to wash away that sin.
We confess with tears all the times we played the hypocrite
and curried the world’s favor—in the world’s place—
and tried some face-saving, self-serving falseness around God’s people.
Forgive us, Lord.

Thank you Father; help us to never again indulge in hypocrisy.
In the name of Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.
Amen.