Forgiven!
When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, he wrongly assumed His God would be angry but instead God came looking for Him to take His regular evening walk.
When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh's tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous
ground and that he'd better get her out of there right now. The next words out of God's mouth to Abraham were to reassure him of the covenant He had made with him. Not a word about his sin.
When Elisha was depressed and afraid and angry and prayed to die, God sent an angel to feed him so that he might regain his strength. No shame or blame.
When Peter denied Jesus, our Lord made sure when he arose to mention Peter by name and said to make sure he knew Jesus was alive. No reference to what Peter had done.
These were giants in the Bible - giants who made horrific choices. In each instance, the love of God swallows up their sins and foolishness in one great gush of grace. It's absurd. What have you done that causes you to think God may be disappointed or perturbed toward you? Whatever it is, you need to set it aside because that's what He has done. As absurd as it sounds, God isn't interested in what you've done in the past. He lives with you in the now and wants you to live in this moment of grace and accept His forgiveness.
Jesus showed us our Father's heart when He had the Father of the prodigal son throw him a party when he returned home without so much as a mention of what the boy had done. That's your God.
Refuse to accept His acceptance and you'll lock yourself inside a prison of your own making. Accept His acceptance and you'll run in the joyful freedom only known by those who know their sins never appear on God's radar-- never.
You've messed up? Welcome to the world of great children of God. It happened. So put it aside now. Don't insult the finished work of Jesus on the cross by insisting on trying to share in dealing with it through your own gnawing guilt and spiritually suicidal self-consciousness. You are forgiven. You are free. You are one with the One who keeps no record of wrongs and promises to never remember them again.
So dance. Run. Laugh. Play. Celebrate. That's what the Father, Son and Spirit are doing and He asks you to join in right now.
When Abraham sent his wife, Sarah, into Pharaoh's tent to protect his own life by allowing her to have sex with another man, God told Pharaoh that he was on dangerous
ground and that he'd better get her out of there right now. The next words out of God's mouth to Abraham were to reassure him of the covenant He had made with him. Not a word about his sin.
When Elisha was depressed and afraid and angry and prayed to die, God sent an angel to feed him so that he might regain his strength. No shame or blame.
When Peter denied Jesus, our Lord made sure when he arose to mention Peter by name and said to make sure he knew Jesus was alive. No reference to what Peter had done.
These were giants in the Bible - giants who made horrific choices. In each instance, the love of God swallows up their sins and foolishness in one great gush of grace. It's absurd. What have you done that causes you to think God may be disappointed or perturbed toward you? Whatever it is, you need to set it aside because that's what He has done. As absurd as it sounds, God isn't interested in what you've done in the past. He lives with you in the now and wants you to live in this moment of grace and accept His forgiveness.
Jesus showed us our Father's heart when He had the Father of the prodigal son throw him a party when he returned home without so much as a mention of what the boy had done. That's your God.
Refuse to accept His acceptance and you'll lock yourself inside a prison of your own making. Accept His acceptance and you'll run in the joyful freedom only known by those who know their sins never appear on God's radar-- never.
You've messed up? Welcome to the world of great children of God. It happened. So put it aside now. Don't insult the finished work of Jesus on the cross by insisting on trying to share in dealing with it through your own gnawing guilt and spiritually suicidal self-consciousness. You are forgiven. You are free. You are one with the One who keeps no record of wrongs and promises to never remember them again.
So dance. Run. Laugh. Play. Celebrate. That's what the Father, Son and Spirit are doing and He asks you to join in right now.
This is a repost from "Grace Walk" by Steve McVey. It was so good I thought I would share it.
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