God's Forgiveness...

We are all born with a sinful nature.  The only way to be forgiven of our sins is through the blood and forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

I sin.  You sin.  Our friends sin.  Our pastors sin.  Just because you’re a Christian doesn’t mean you won’t be tempted…and sometimes fall.

But we have a loving Savior who is merciful and gracious.  When we fall, He picks us up.  When we sin, He forgives us.  He forgave each of our sins before He created this world!  And He continues to forgive us…because only He knows how often we transgress against Him.

This is going to be a very humbling post for me to write…

No, dear readers, I am not perfect.  I fall…I sin…I give in to temptation.  And recently, I gave in to something that I knew was wrong…but I let myself do it anyway.  Even after I had done it, I kept telling myself that it was fine.  ‘It was just a one-time deal…I won’t do it again’, etc.  I told myself this for a few days…but the burden still weighed heavily upon me.

Then, one weekend, I was visiting friends up in Washington…and my bro and I visited their church.  I had never been to that church before.  I didn’t know the pastor.  And I only knew a couple of the families there.

As I sat through the service, listening to the pastor speaking…everything that he said really hit home with me.  He was talking about how even though we sin, and even though we may think that our sin is too great to be forgiven…God has forgiven us.  All we have to do is realize that we have sinned, repent, and God will forgive and forget. 

I almost started crying during his sermon.

After I had realized how much I needed to ask God’s forgiveness, I still felt guilty…and unclean.  I wasn’t letting go…and letting the past be the past.

It took a letter, from an inmate that I write, to make me realize something…

‘I have grown in the knowledge of His grace towards me…of just what He brought me from…and the absolute knowledge that I am His.  Everything we know…we learn it exactly when He chose to show us.  And He did [that] before the foundation of the world.  He does it.  All of it.’

I literally started weeping when I read that ^.  It took a letter from a brother in Christ to reveal to me that God has forgiven and forgotten my sin.  I can now walk with my head held high…not because I am and pure, innocent person…but because I have been forgiven of my sins…and even when I have failed, even when I have let God down…He has lifted me up and washed me in His blood.  I am still God’s Daughter.  Yes, I fall into temptation.  Yes, I give in to what I know is wrong.  But He still love me.  He never fails me – even when I fail Him.  He has a plan for me.  And He has taught me so much through all of this. 

Jesus, thank You for loving me!  Thank you for holding me, even when I push away from you and close my eyes to Your truth.  Thank you for that no matter what I do…You still forgive me.

~♥~