The Heart’s Response To God
BRD REFLECTION 2026
Matthew 12:38-50 and Psalm 51:1-6 (NIV)
(Gary Teng, Watcher Ministry)
READ:
Read Psalm 51:1-6 and Matthew 12:38-50.
OBSERVE:
In Psalm 51, David appeals to God’s Holy character as a loving and compassionate God and a righteous Judge. For his grievous sin against man and evil effrontery against God, David offers no defence. He accepts all punishment due only to plead for God’s mercy, forgiveness and cleansing. David acknowledged his sin – innate (“I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me”) and wilful. He pleaded not only for forgiveness but also for correction.
In contrast, the Pharisees had no desire to accept Jesus’ teaching and gift of salvation. Instead, they wanted a sign. Jesus rebuked them as faithless (adulterous) and wicked and offered them the sign of Jonah – the three days and three nights that Jonah spent in the belly of the big fish before the preaching and conversion of the men of Nineveh. Jesus pointed out that true kinship is not just biological but one bounded by a faith in Jesus and God.
APPLY:
I believe that true confession and repentance from the heart is the requirement for God’s forgiveness, cleansing and transformation. The unbelieving generations in Jesus’ time and after, will be condemned at Judgement (day). Rejecting this gift of Salvation would lead to eternal damnation.
Salvation is not just forgiveness but the person must be transformed to be filled with Jesus. An empty life without Jesus is a recipe for disaster. I am reminded of the importance of sharing the gift of salvation with my family, friends, and those around me to bring them into my family with God.
DO:
My confession must be sincere. I must not give excuses for my wrongdoings. I have to talk to those around me about the gift of salvation from God – Jesus came to the world as a man, punished for our sins. Rejection of Jesus would condemn them to eternity in hell.
PRAY:
Father, I pray that my life will be Christ-centred and I will be able to bear fruit (to tell others the Good News of God granting salvation through His Son Jesus Christ). In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
