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13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
    may they not rule over me.
Then I will be blameless,
    innocent of great transgression.
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This is an interesting verse that stood out to me. I had to read this Psalm twice because i felt like it didn't really pertain to me, but then the second time, this verse really stood out. I'm intrigued by this idea of "willful sins". I think it kinda speaks to the fact that we're all sinners and, yes Christ died for our sins and defeated sin, we are still, by nature, sinners in need of God's grace and that can't be helped. One thing that CAN be helped, however, is our decision to willfully sin. I remember a sermon that I heard from PB talking about 3 different times of sins: inequities, transgressions, and sin. Inequities are the sins passed down through generations, sin is just our natural disposition to stray away from God, and transgressions are the sins we choose to commit. I like this prayer from the Psalmist asking God for help with his transgressions and it not ruling over me. It reminds me a lot of the conversations that take place in our meetings. It reminds me that, at the end of the day, we have the power to choose what we do, and it is our responsibility to say yes to the right things and no to the wrong things. Although I will always be a sinner, I know that I can, for the most part, have a say in my partaking of transgressions.

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Lord. Thank you for your word. Thank you for speaking to me when I struggle between right and wrong. I pray that you help me in times of my temptations for willful sinning. May I remember the God that I serve and be found "innocent of great transgression" in your eyes. Amen.

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