No matter where we’ve been, no matter what demons we have allowed to control our lives…God rejoices when we turn away from the wild life….the life that kills us and sucks away our humanity. When we humble ourselves, recognizing that we deserve so much less…He wants to give us so much more. But this is a condition of our heart. You are forgiven! Ask…seek…knock and the door will be opened…..
Jesus died on that cross to forgive us for all the bad that we have done and will do…..this is called “atonement” in religious terms. The Hebrew word found in Isaiah 6:6-7 that is translated as “atone” is “kaphar” [kaw-far]. “Kaphar” means, “to pardon”, “to atone”, “to purge”.
Who have we hurt? What pain have we inflicted? To others or to ourselves? The key is, we can start anew today. Jesus paid that price and we are forgiven.
There is no reason to continue to feel unworthy or to feel guilty. Turn away from those things.
Isaiah 6:6-7 (TNIV)
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”Romans 5:6 (TNIV)
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In Luke 15:11-32, Jesus tells the Parable of the Prodigal Son. He has two sons, one rebels, the other does all the right things. The father in this parable is God, one of the son’s are US. The lost son really screws up his life, and squanders everything he has on wild living. He gets so far down that he eats pig food. He came to his senses and wants to go back to simply be a servant for his father.
The important thing here is that the father not only forgives him…but he welcomes his son back with fanfare. For those who have done all the right things and did not rebel, God also has a message of forgiveness:
Luke 15:28 (TNIV)
28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29 But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ 31 ” ‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ “
The secret to forgiving ourselves is in forgiving others. It’s not always easy. Look at how unforgiving people look to us. It’s not a pretty sight watching them carry their grudges. Maybe we should work on ours? Realize that God takes care of our needs. To be lied to hurts, but God can clean the wound with truth. To be cheated hurts but, God can repair and restore.
As we forgive others we find forgiveness. Start today…
Ephesians 4:32 (TNIV)
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”Colossians 3:13 (TNIV)
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
I thank our Lord for all he has done and I like how He uses you and what I learn here. Ty Lord and ty Jan!