A large topic on my mind lately has been the fact of God's forgiveness.  I believe that this is one of the strongest defining factors which sets a Christian apart from the world.

Do you know that it doesn't matter where you've been or what you've done.  If you ask the Lord your God for forgiveness, he will wash you in his blood (shed for you) and you will no-longer need to carry that burden.

 

Some people (myself included) feel that simply apologising is not enough, that they need to drag around miserable and condemned in order to truely "say sorry".  My friends, this is simply not the case.  Realise that it is only becasue we live in a human world that our minds are often this way inclined.  This is the world order of forgiveness.  In the world, sometimes simply saying "I'm sorry" is not enough.  But as Christians we are not part of the world, but of the kingdom of heaven.  God's logic is made clear in the scripture Matthew 18:21:

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No!” Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!”

By this statement, Jesus was not referring to an exact number, but sating that it does not matter how many times someone wrongs you, we are to forgive them nonetheless.  This is the way of God and this is the exact principle which is exercised when he forgives us.  This does not mean that we are taking God's forgiveness for granted.  Not at all.  B ut rather we understand the that we are all imperfect and we all make mistakes (sometimes more than less), and the love of Jesus Christ extends far beyond grudge and far beyond worldly limitations.  When we apologise to the Lord, we ARE forgiven and we must move forward in victory!

Your thoughts?

In my Christian life, I have always found that one of the most difficult things to do is receive God's mercy.

When we sin, and we ask God for forgiveness, the Lord has promised us restoration.  Of course, we must never take this fact for granted, but have you ever found it hard to understand how Jesus can be so merciful towards us when we are not alwasy so merciful towards each other?

I recently found myself freaking out just thinking about all the times that I have been less than my best, and how many times I had let God down.  I prayed to God and asked God how he could restore me when I had been so dissapointing.  It was in this moment that I heard his voice very profoundly.  He said: "The weight of sin was broken when I gave my life on the cross.  Wouldn't it be a waste if my sacrifice did not spare you the guilt and remorce you are feeling right now?  I did this so that you could live without this burden."

It was at this moment that I realised what we are supposed to do to say thank you.  Jesus does not want us to sin, but when we do and he forgives us, he does so so that we can live in victory and fulfill the desitny which he has for us.  Therefore, give thanks to the Lord for his forgiveness, but realise that he has forgiven us the second we asked, and has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west.  He has done this to save us from condemnation and to set us back on the path he has set for us.

So, shake off your sins and regrets.  Jesus has paid the price for us and has saved us!  Live as a Christian should and do not allow the enemy to accuse you, for the Lord has said: "I forgive you!"