Tag Archives: forgiveness

No Condemnation

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My little girl can be so very naughty.  Having hit that terrible 2 age, she regularly throws tantrums and has been know to damage furniture, to scratch me and her mother, to bite, to throw things around, the list is endless on what a 2 year old can do!  And yet no matter what she does, I never stop loving her, and I always forgive her.

How much more does our father in heaven love us!?  He sent His Son to die that the gap that seperates us from God may be bridged.  When we therefore, believe on Him, and seek His forgiveness for our Sin, He forgives us, no matter what!  If an earthly father can feel such love for his child, how much more must our Heavenly Father love.

The prodigal son was still welcomed home by his father, even after sqandering his inheretence.  Like that father, God has His arms wide open to us, welcoming us home.  Remember, whatever you have done, God can and will forgive and you will have a right relationship restored.  Spend time with God, confessing, then believing in Gods promise that you are forgiven.

Forgiveness:
Acts 13:38-39,  Ephesians 1:7-8, James 5:15 and 1 John 1:9

Satan is the accuser, and wants nothing more that you to feel condemed for the things you have done wrong.  Instead of feeling condemed and far from God, read the promises above, believe in them, confess your sin, turn from it and believe in the promisies of God that you are a forgiven child of God.  You are a SAINT not a sinner!

Hard to Forgive – Genesis 45:1-15

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What strikes me immediately about this event, is how Joseph over came the natural urge to “hold a grudge”, and instead was able to see the situation and the past actions of his family as part of God’s plan!  He understood that the Lord had allowed his brothers to sell him into slavery as God had the foresight to see what was ahead.  He knew Joseph would be able to minister to Pharaoh and be a shining light of Gods Glory in Egypt.

It takes some doing to be able to take a step outside of oneself, and begin to understand the benefit of forgiveness.  It does not come naturally, and we have a tendency to want revenge for when we have been wronged.  And yet we need to remind ourselves of the cross.  How our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ bore all our sin on that cross that we might be forgiven.  When we turn to Him and seek forgiveness of our sin, by His grace he is faithful

and forgives.

Colossians 3:13 – Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (NIV)

The Lord keeps on forgiving us, and as in the above verse, we are told to forgive anyone, of anything, whomever they are, just as the Lord forgave us.

Prodigal Son – Luke 15:11-24

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This is one of my favourite stories that Jesus told. In a nutshell a Son who has wronged his father returns after he messes up his life, expecting not to be welcomed and seeking to simply become one of the servants so he can at least live more comfortably than he had been. Yet the father, seeing him from the distance, jumped up and ran to him.

21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

And although his son had stolen from him, rebelled against him and run away, the fathers love and forgiveness knows no bounds.

22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

We were once that son. We had rebelled against God. We were living for ourselves, and yet when we came to the point of realisation that we needed our Father God, and we took that first step, He came running to us with arms stretched wide open! There is a party in heaven for every lost Son/Daughter who comes to the father.

This morning, I am reminded too of the fact that although at a young age I had come to the father, I once again went out on my own, living for myself and freezing God out of my life. They were trying times, and a year ago, I finally came to the prodigal Son realisation again, that I can’t live without God in my life, and thus I began to take baby steps back toward him.

He came running to me, and over a period of a few months I was in a new church, with amazing new Christian friends who have all since helped to build me up, encourage me and help me in my relationship with the Lord.

For those of us who have never accepted Jesus into our lives, or for those reading this who have backsliden, the Lord is sat outside His house like the father in this story, and he is waiting to see you on the horizon so he can come running to you, and throw the biggest party ever at the return of His Son or Daughter. Check out my “Believe” Page.

What amazing grace our Lord has.  He is willing to forgive us ALL our sins, and welcomes us as part of His family.  Not as slaves, or as acquaintances, but as Sons and Daughters!  Heirs to His Kingdom!  It is so incredible to think that our Creator God, Almighty and Powerful God, loves each one of us that much!

If you have lost your way, take that step back to the Lord.  He is waiting to throw a party for you and to bless you.

Making Things Right – Luke 19:1-9

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8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

This is an extremely challenging passage, and great food for thought.  Here we see a man, whom by faith has taken drastic steps to bring some comfort back to those that he has wronged in the past.  Not only does he give away half his possessions to the poor, but from anyone he s

tole, he paid back 4 times the amount!

I think something we can draw from this passage is the importance of giving to those less fortunate.  Helping our local community / society in ways we can, be it monetary, or by using our skills for greater benefit is a wonderful way of glorifying the Lord.  It can also be a comfort to those we have wronged who will perhaps benefit from the work we are doing.  Charitable work for the local community will indeed have great impact.

We are forgiven our Sins when we turn to the Lord, and we do not earn salvation by doing these extra things, as salvation is the gift of Gods good grace.  However, as Christians we are responsible for living the word, for showing compassion, for helping the needy, for affecting change in the local community, for showing his love.  Its a common theme in my readings, and a constant reminder to be imitators of Jesus…  Actions speak louder than words!

New Creation – Psalm 51:8-13

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My good friend Jenny once said, “becoming a Christian takes the joy out of sin”.  A simple statement but how right she is!  Whenever I have felt as if I have become shrouded in darkness, cut off from the grace of God, and unable to grow spiritualy in the Lord.

Just as a plant can not grow in the darkness, we as Christians need to ensure we are not living in the darkness of sin, but be children of the light.  Exposing and un-confessed sin to the light of the Lord, and opening our hearts to the Holy Spirit, giving us NEW LIFE, a new hope and a strength to do the amazing things He has planned for us.

Sin does not fill the void that the fulness of God fills, and we can often make the mistake of falling further into sin, to try and make ourselves feel better.  Come back to the light, feed on His word, ask for forgiveness, for a new heart, to become a new person in him.

The Lord will forgive your sin, and as he made the heavens and the earth will make you a new creation, giving you the strength, wisdom and courage to do his will.  The Lord wants us to succeed in life, to grow in him and bring others to him, we cant do that with sin in our hearts.

David prayed this Psalm after he had taken another man’s wife.  He was so sorry for what he had done, and came before the Lord in humble prayer.  When we sin, like Jenny said, the fun is gone!  In fact the joy that we feel when with the Lord is blotted out during that time of darkness, and we realise how horrible it is without Him.  Just as David did, confess your sin, pray for strength, pray for a new heart and for the restoration of that joy you feel with him.

Remember how it felt when you first accepted Jesus into your heart and the pure joy?  You can experience that every day in Him!

Staying caught up in sin, not only cuts us off from our joy in him, but hinders the great and exciting plans He has for our lives.  I pray that I will keep this Psalm on my heart as a prayer when I fail and an inspiration not to.

Correction – 2 Samuel 12:1-13

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I think this is a valuable lesson in humility.  Often when someone points out we are doing wrong, we can get very defensive and arguments can ensue.  David here, accepted completely Nathan’s correction without fighting back, without being defensive or getting angry.  David acknowledged that he had sinned against the Lord, and accepted the consequences.

When someone offers you a compliment, it is very easy to accept.  Even at times when it may not be founded in absolute fact, we still enjoy the attention, feel good about the compliment and go on our way.  For some people, compliments are so important to their overall outlook on life, that they can tend to seek approval regularly and even take actions that they see will result in more approval.

David did wrong, and when it was put to him in that way, he accepted the correction.  He confessed his Sin to the Lord and sought forgiveness and as Nathan said, “The Lord has taken away your sin, you will not die”.  Check out Psalm 51.  This is where David says sorry to the Lord for what he has done.

Like David, when we do wrong, confess it to the Lord, and seek his forgiveness and strength to move on and learn.  If a brother or sister points out something that you are doing or have done that you didn’t consider a problem, don’t be quick to defend yourself, but take the time to think about what they have said, how it applies biblically and whether they have a point.