The God Shot: Luke 11:4a

"Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation." (Luke 11:4)When Jesus is teaching His disciples how to talk to God in prayer, He has them start by acknowledging God as their Father and remembering His character, then confessing their commitment to advancing His kingdom, not their own. Next, He says, we can ask Him for things. In today's verse, He talks about confession and repentance. As long as we're alive, our relationship with God will include our sins and His forgiveness. But those sins no longer act as a barrier between us and the Father because Jesus absorbed all the Father's wrath for our sins. We don't have to fear His wrath. He invites us to confess our sins to Him and since we've received such great forgiveness from Him, we can extend it to others and demonstrate God's love to the world around us. We want the world to know that He is where the joy is!