This was first posted on my blog on September 25, 2020
God is teaching me to live like I’m forgiven.
I recently read a book by Max Lucado in which he said
because of Calvary, we can make choices. He reminded me that I can choose to
live forgiven.
I struggle to leave behind the things I did in the past. I
sorrow over them. How can I share with others the joy of god’s mercy this way?
I have begged for forgiveness, and God promises to forgive.
This is a promise I can accept.
1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will
forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
God’s Word commands us to forget the past so He can do
something new and wonderful in our lives.
Isaiah 43:18-19:
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I
am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am
making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Philippians 3:13-14:
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have
taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining
toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
I can’t forget my sins, but God promises that He has.
Isaiah 43:25:
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my
own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”
Psalm 103: 12:
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed
our transgressions from us.
This is a battle against Satan which God yearns to help me
win.
1 Peter 5:8:
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Psalm 51 is such a comfort to me.
David committed adultery, then tried to cover it up by
committing murder. He and his wife had to suffer the loss of a child through
all of this.
But David didn’t give up. In Psalm 51, he writhes over sin
he has committed. He pleads for God’s help, His forgiveness, and to have the
joy of his salvation restored.
Psalm 51:1, 12-13, 17:
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing
love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Restore to
me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then
I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. My
sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God,
will not despise.
David knew that God would accept the plea of a truly
repentant heart. And he knew that forgiveness was the best motivation for him
to share God’s love with others.
And what wonderful grace God shows David.
Acts 13:22:
After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified
concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he
will do everything I want him to do.’
Father, I pray for the trust of David. Help me to accept Your mercy and joyfully share Your love with those around me.