Forgiveness assured
1 John 1:8-9; Psalm
103:8-12
A
picture is worth a thousand words. Jesus often used stories to paint a picture
to teach an important lesson. One of the most important lessons for us to learn
is that if we repent, that is admit that we have sinned and turn from our sin, then
He will forgive us. It’s as if we had never sinned.
This
is a hard lesson to learn. Guilt and shame can attach themselves to your soul,
like a cancer, and destroy you from the inside out. Here, coupled with several
scriptures, are some of my own personal stories that have helped me to paint a
picture to learn this invaluable lesson.
For
years, after we moved to Columbus from Michigan, people would make some kind of
derogatory comment about Michigan until they found out I was a Michigan State
fan. Apparently, that made me tolerable. However, the point had been driven
home that nothing could be further apart from a Buckeye than a Wolverine.
Psalm 103
12 …as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. NIV
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. NIV
My
Dad had an ink blotter on his desk when I was growing up. I can still remember
him blotting out the extra ink that was left after writing with his fountain
pen. The blotter cleaned up many of his letters. The messiness would never be visible.
Isaiah 43
25 “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more. NIV
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more. NIV
When
I was a young boy, we took a vacation out west. One day on a mountainous road we
pulled off to look at the scenery. There was a very deep ravine that you
couldn’t see the bottom, although you could hear a river below. Being a young
boy, I threw a stone over the guardrail and waited to hear it hit the water. Imagine
my surprise when a couple of angry men yelled to quit throwing those stones. Oops.
Micah 7
19 Once again you will have compassion on us. You will tread our
sins beneath your feet; you will throw them into the depths of the
ocean! TLB
Recently,
by brother and sister-in-law were visiting us. On Saturday night, as we were
getting ready to go out for dinner, my brother caught his pant leg on the
toenail of his big toe and tore it off. There was a huge blood stain on the
carpet. After using several different brands of carpet cleaner with much elbow
grease, the stain was finally gone.
Isaiah 1
18 Come, let’s talk this over, says the Lord; no matter how
deep the stain of your sins, I can take it out and make you as clean as
freshly fallen snow. Even if you are stained as red as crimson, I can make you
white as wool! TLB
Sometimes
I like to tease my granddaughter when I have a small gift for her by hiding it
behind my back and ask her to choose which hand it’s in. Of course, which ever
one she chooses I quickly switch the gift to my other hand. Eventually though, she
gets the gift; but in the meantime it’s great fun… at least for me.
Isaiah 38
17 Surely it was for my benefit
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins behind your back. NIV
that I suffered such anguish.
In your love you kept me
from the pit of destruction;
you have put all my sins behind your back. NIV
A
picture is worth a thousand words. No doubt, you have your own stories
that could paint a picture of how God has removed your sins; blotted them out;
thrown them away; cleaned them; hidden them or… you fill in the blank.
The
bottom line is that our guilt and shame have been nailed to the cross with
Jesus, so that we might live free from sin. Can you picture that?
