Truly Forgiven {1John 1}
7:00 PM1 John 1
I'm writing today to the one who feels she never measures up!
To
the people-pleaser. To the one who is forever striving, but never achieving. The
one who never feels that she has reached her goal; who forever falls short. I'm
writing, but its The Lord's message that He longs for you to hear.
...God is Light [He is
holy, His message is truthful], and in Him there is no darkness at all [no sin,
no wickedness, no imperfection]. (1John 1:5)
…God is Love. In this the love of God was made manifest
among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved
God but that he loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation [atoning
sacrifice]for our sins.(1John 4:8-10)
Christ's death on the
cross was not just a symbol of God's love for 'good people', but for ALL people! "For God so loved
the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
A few months ago I was battling
a persistent migraine that just would not go away! I’d been trying everything I
could think of and nothing seemed to be working!! I even stated that fact to
the Lord one morning when He woke at 2
am with the migraine still there!
It was then that He reminded me of 1Thesalonians 5:16 -18, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all
circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you!”
So, I laid there and began praising Him; thinking of all the
things I had to give thanks for and the next thing I knew it was
morning! My migraine headache was still with me, but my whole countenance had changed! I was full of Joy and Jesus
and I wasn’t going to allow that headache to keep me down any longer;
so I dressed and went out to buy groceries for the pantry by then was pretty
bare!
I was coming around the corner of an isle, when suddenly I
spotted an older women looking intently at something. Her eyes never came up to
meet mine, but suddenly for the briefest moment, it was as if the Lord
parted a veil and I could see how intently, deeply, compassionately …(there
just aren’t words adequate enough to describe) how desperately He LOVES US!! In that brief moment He absolutely TOOK MY BREATH AWAY!
I honestly couldn’t breathe, but suddenly everything made sense!!
I honestly couldn’t breathe, but suddenly everything made sense!!
Of course:
- He sent His Son to die in our place!! We were helpless to save ourselves!!
His love is so intense that He would have died a thousands deaths had the
Law required it!!
- He is faithful to forgive- “"If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness." (1John 1:9) He is Light
and wants us to fellowship in His light!
- Your sins are removed from you as far as the east is from the west! "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (Psalms 103:12,)
- And toss them into the depths of the sea! "...He
will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."( Micah 7:19,)
Not only does God forgive our sins, but He FORGETS them! He chooses
not to remember our sins for HIS own sake! Notice, "I, even I, am he that blots
out your transgressions for mine own sake, and will remember them no longer."
(Isaiah 43:25)
If He has forgotten them, why do we still hang onto them? He’s told us
to stop looking at the past, but press forward towards the future in Philippians
3:13, "...this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching for those things which are before."
He calls us a new creation in 2 Corinthians 5:17 , “… if anyone is in Christ,
he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!” Why is it we don’t often feel
new? Why is it that each new day is a chance at a new beginning, but we seem to
be stuck and unable to break free? Just imagine your life if you truly took God
at His word! Just imagine the intimacy you two would share!
That sweet,
sweet intimate communion is always just one step away!
Remember:
God wants us to be free and forgiven!! He longs for us to allow Jesus' blood to wash our consciences clean! (Hebrews 9:14)
Why has God chosen to make us new creations? Because He longs to walk with us; to fellowship with us just as He once did with Adam in the garden. How about you? Will you take that one step today, and tomorrow, and the next day... until you make it home?
This song from Lauren Daigle sort of speaks to all of this. Enjoy!
This song from Lauren Daigle sort of speaks to all of this. Enjoy!
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