All of us at some point, need a second chance, and God is willing to give it. Paul says it so well in his letter to the church at Ephesus. “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:1-10
I am so grateful to God that I do not have to live my life looking over my shoulder at my past sins. When I do that I feel stuck, unable to free myself to move forward toward a future of healing and reconciliation. Some of the hardest forgiveness is the ability to forgive one's self. God shows us many examples of forgiveness in the bible and expects and actually demands for us to forgive one other. Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Recall the story of Joseph whose jealous brothers sold him into slavery and Joseph later forgave them or David who forgave King Saul after Saul tried to kill him. David later went out of his way to take care of Saul's offspring.
God wants us to repent and forgive ourselves so he can continue working on us as he prepares us for our destiny, the destiny he has chosen just for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
We can all have the future God has planned for us if we choose to go after it—if we choose to grow and develop a deep relationship with God.
“You have put all my sins behind your back.” Out of sight. God no longer “sees” me in light of my sins. He sees Jesus righteousness for me.” Isaiah 38:17
So I hope anyone looking over their shoulder will turn around and face forward before they trip again, unnecessarily on sin that has already been forgiven.
I am so grateful to God that I do not have to live my life looking over my shoulder at my past sins. When I do that I feel stuck, unable to free myself to move forward toward a future of healing and reconciliation. Some of the hardest forgiveness is the ability to forgive one's self. God shows us many examples of forgiveness in the bible and expects and actually demands for us to forgive one other. Mat 6:14-15 (NIV) "For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Recall the story of Joseph whose jealous brothers sold him into slavery and Joseph later forgave them or David who forgave King Saul after Saul tried to kill him. David later went out of his way to take care of Saul's offspring.
God wants us to repent and forgive ourselves so he can continue working on us as he prepares us for our destiny, the destiny he has chosen just for us.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you, says the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
We can all have the future God has planned for us if we choose to go after it—if we choose to grow and develop a deep relationship with God.
“You have put all my sins behind your back.” Out of sight. God no longer “sees” me in light of my sins. He sees Jesus righteousness for me.” Isaiah 38:17
So I hope anyone looking over their shoulder will turn around and face forward before they trip again, unnecessarily on sin that has already been forgiven.
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