Forgiving Our Mistakes

The Bible makes a monumental case out of the fact that forgiveness is a fundamental exercise in our Christian walk. Jesus, Paul and many of the other authors note various aspect of forgiving our self and others (Matthew 6:14-15; Colossians 3:13).

Forgiveness is one of the hardest concepts to grasp and to obey God's directive. We want to hold grudges, thinking we are punishing the offending party; but we are actually only harming our self and our physical and spiritual health.

While balancing my checkbook at the end of the month, I clicked in two small numbers into the calculator and came out with an enormous number as the result.

Shocked, I sat there in disbelief. Then, I remembered that I forgot to clear the information, which I entered into the calculator earlier and this resulted in the confusion and misinformation.

This reminded me that we often carry with us, into our new life in Christ, the condemnation that accompanies our sinful lifestyle of the past. Yet, God forgot all of our sins when we repented and believed in Jesus as our Savior.

There is no longer any condemnation for them, because He cast our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). He remembers them no more (Hebrews 8:12).

Once we realize that God forgives us, it is easier for us to forgive our self, as well as those who offend us. We can delete the balance of our sins from our mind and heart.

God no longer remember them, so why should we? He freely gives us His forgiveness and unconditional love, which accompanies us for the rest of our life.

Prayer:

Father God, nothing takes You by surprise, because You know the end of time from the beginning. Every moment is present before You, because You are not hindered by time, space or matter. You live outside of the realm of earthly hindrances and restrictions. You are immortal and there are no limits to Your knowledge, power or goodness.

Thank You for loving us so completely, for coming to earth as Emanuel and for saving us from our self. You set our feet to dancing (Psalm 30:11), and You give us feet like a goat's feet to traverse the rocky heights of danger in this world (Psalm 18:33). We look forward to spending eternity with You when Your Kingdoms comes to the earth (Matthew 6:10). 

Thought for the Day:

God remembers our sins no more.

A Hopeful Existence

 

There are many facets of this life, which rob us of every positive emotion known to man (2 Corinthians 4:8). Circumstances buffet us and beat us up until we have no emotional energy left; and, sometimes, not even any physical stamina to put one foot in front of the other (2 Peter 2:9). We lose our optimism, feel hopeless and grow bitter and cynical.

We draw within our self and push other people away (Isaiah 41: 10, 13-14). We lose all hope of a better life and we have a hard time getting out of bed. Our soul - our mind, will and emotions - often deflates with worry, doubt and pessimism. Our negative self-talk beats us up. Our heart is disturbed and we see no solution to our problems.

Total surrender to God is the key to making sense of our circumstances. Relinquishing our self, our family and our future to God, and putting our worries in God's capable hands, is the only way to keep sane (2 Corinthians 9:8). God only gives us grace for today. Tomorrow's grace will not come until tomorrow.

The only resolution for hopelessness is to keep our hope in the Lord (Psalm 43:5). As we walk in obedience to His Spirit, moment-by-moment throughout the day, we find more fulfillment than we ever thought possible. Our soul finds rest only in God (Psalm 62:5). As long as we are still breathing, there is hope for our situation (Ecclesiastes 9:4).

If we dictate our plans and goals to God, He remains silent; but if we relinquish our future to His will, everything is possible (Mark 9:23). We take our eyes off our self and put them on Him. With our faith in God's faithfulness, He keeps us in perfect peace (Isaiah 26:3).

Prayer:

Father God, You care about us and draw very close to those who are defeated and heart broken (Psalm 34:18; Isaiah 53:4). You not only binds up our wounds, by nursing us back to physical, emotional and spiritual health, but You also heal us by repairing the situation, which caused the injury in the first place (Psalm 147:3). We put our hope only in You and You lead us through life one step at a time (Matthew 6:31-34; Psalm 39:7).

Thought for the Day:

Our Lord is our Helper, so we have no need to fear what mere mortals can do to us. We cry out to Him in our distress and pray to Him for help, and He hears us from His sanctuary; our prayers reach His ears. - Psalm 18:8