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Do we understand the depth of forgiveness?
Lord’s Prayer in greek in the Pater Noster Chapel in Jerusalem (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
devotional thought of the day…..
8 The LORD is merciful and loving, slow to become angry and full of constant love. 9 He does not keep on rebuking; he is not angry forever. 10 He does not punish us as we deserve or repay us according to our sins and wrongs. 11 As high as the sky is above the earth, so great is his love for those who honor him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us. 13 As a father is kind to his children, so the LORD is kind to those who honor him. 14 He knows what we are made of; he remembers that we are dust. Psalm 103:8-14 (TEV)
Don’t think any more about your fall. Besides overwhelming and crushing you under its weight, that recollection may easily be an occasion of future temptation. Christ has forgiven you! Forget the “old man”—your former self. (1)
It has been said that those that don’t learn from the past are condemned to repeat it.
While not scriptural, there are many areas that it is true, though sometimes you have to spin it.. just a little.
Dealing with sin, we find that it needs a bit more spinning. For what we are to remember is not the sin, nor the shame. God remembers none, once He has cleansed us of it. Those actions, words, thoughts, or lack of action and words have no power over us. It is broken. God’s love shatters that link between our hearts and the sin – and they are separated as far as the east as is from the West. The prodigal is no longer away… you and I have come home. The Father has welcomed us, as our elder brother has come and brought us home. There is no reason for grieving over the past – as the psalmist rejoiced – God remembers how He made us, and that He knew we would need to be cleansed and healed..
And that is what we must remember – the “welcome home” feast. The Father’s hug! The celebration!
That is the lesson we need to learn from the past – the forgiveness, the mercy, the joy of our Father – the work of God in our lives.
Don’t dwell on your past sins – but rather rejoice in the reconciliation that has come to be our reality, on the work of God that enables us to be welcomed into His presence, on the joy on His face, as we stand before Him.
So learn from your past…. learn the power of His love and mercy… and when the time comes… show that Godly mercy and love to those that sin against you.
(1) Escriva, Josemaria (2010-11-02). The Way (Kindle Locations 693-695). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Related articles
- Can we take sin seriously, that we may rejoice in being forgiven of it? (justifiedandsinner.com)
- Can we be this Holy? In the face of our “enemies”? (justifiedandsinner.com)
- The Power to Forgive (oricles.wordpress.com)
- Imitating Christ… in dying to self. (justifiedandsinner.com)
Abandoned to God
Devotional thought of the day:
“Put your head frequently round the oratory door to say to Jesus… I abandon myself into your arms. Leave everything you have—your wretchedness!—at his feet. In this way, in spite of the welter of things you carry along behind you, you will never lose your peace.” (1)
As I review some of my history, in preparing for the remembrance of the Reformation, I dare wonder what would happen if Martin Luther and St. Josemarie Escriva would meet. (Some Lutherans and some Roman Catholics could not see this occur, yet I wonder) For both seem driven in their lives – to connect people to Chrsit, to reveal to them the love of God, that they may live and love Him in return.
Among all the things that they have in common, from being called beasts of burdens, to their dedication to connect people to Christ, to these incredible words – this idea of being abandoned to God, to be stripped of all that isn’t of Christ. It is not an obligation, bu an invitation to an incredible blessing!
It sounds painful, yet Escriva would tell us that can we be released of all that would constrain us, we would know peace. The words of Hebrews 12 encourage the same…
“With so many witnesses in a great cloud all around us, we too, then, should throw off everything that weighs us down and the sin that clings so closely, and with perseverance keep running in the race which lies ahead of us. 2 Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which lay ahead of him, he endured the cross, disregarding the shame of it, and has taken his seat at the right of God’s throne.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 (NJB)
He has taken his seat there, our Advocate, our Paraclete, given us the Holy Spirit, and is our Lord, our Master. Not to reign over us like a dictator, but to care and provide for us, the head of our family, the Spirit being the “giver of life” and that life the one acquired for us.
My friends, abandon yourself to His mercy, to His grace, to His work redeeming and restoring us to the Father, to His work so beautifully described in Ephesians 2,
2:10 We are God’s work of art, created in Christ Jesus for the good works which God has already designated to make up our way of life.
Ephesians 2:10 (NJB)
Let Jesus strip you of that which causes anxiety, that which causes shame and guilt and despair,the sin and idolatry, including self idolatry….. and know His peace and joy, as yourself in His presence.
AMEN
(1)Escriva, Josemaria (2011-01-31). The Forge (Kindle Locations 1235-1238). Scepter Publishers. Kindle Edition.
Taking Sin Seriously…?
Devotional Question/Discussion point of the Day…. Do we…. do I take sin seriously?
It seems to be a trend in my life, and even more visible in society, that we take sin less seriously. Thankfully, it is beginning to bother me again, and maybe I haven’t been as lulled to sleep, or maybe I am beginning to wake up some.
There is a way in which we shouldn’t take sin seriously, because of the cross – it has already been dealt with – the sin, the shame, the little nagging feeling that “this is wrong”. Sin, no matter whether it is on the scope of someone being sentenced to serve their life in jail, or a junior high prank/theft, we shouldn’t take it so seriously that we can’t bring it to God, confess our sins and know, absolutely and without doubt that we are forgiven. That God would heal us, not only of the specific sin, but indeed the disease.
It is exactly because we aren’t healed in our eyes until we get to heaven, that we need to hear of that forgiveness often. Otherwise we lose heart, we think that it’s no big deal – and we begin to take being restored from that sin less than seriously.
And that is where we need to take it seriously – realizing that it cannot separate us from God, yet also realizing we need to deal with it, so it doesn’t. For the believer, this is a matter of realizing God is responsible for cleaning it up, has promised He would, and not letting our pride get in the way of it. Not easy! And I believe, that the more we do confess our sins, the more we ask God to comfort us and assure us of the forgiveness of them, the more we realize how wonderful He is….
And sin begins to break our hearts as it does His, the idea of people living in bondage to sin breaks our Hearts as it does His…. and we desires that they be freed, we desire that we are freed…. and healed.
Sin has little power, only the power we give it, only the mastery of us that we allow. We do need to take it seriously enough to take the cure of it seriously enough to realize that the forgiveness and healing is something wonderful something incredible, something so important that we adore the One who cares for us…
And realizing that… Paul’s words from Romans 6 come to mind…
6:1 What should we say then? Should we remain in sin so that grace may be given the more fully? 2 Out of the question! We have died to sin; how could we go on living in it?
Romans 6:1-2 (NJB)
This day, Lord Jesus, help us to realize the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, cleansing our lives, setting them apart to serve You, guiding us and strengthening us. Help us be so aware of your presence and work in our lives, that we adoringly join You in that work in others. AMEN.
1 John 1:9 and what precedes it….
For a Lutheran Pastor, one of the key passages to have handy when someone walks into my office is 1 John 1:8-9. I like the way Peterson translated in the Message:
1:8 If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. 9 On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. 1 John 1:8-9 (MSG)
Yet many of us struggle with the idea of our sins being forgiven, not necessarily because we want to continue to live in the guilt and shame and anxiety than sin causes, stresses that can dominate our lives, but because we are afraid of dealing with the sin, of letting others – even our pastor or priest – realize that we are… sinners. Kinda silly- but the cure seems more painful than the disease, or that is what we allow ourselves to think. ANd we become paranoid… scared of what will happen if “they” find out!
But the verses prior to this great passage also bear on this…it actually has the same promise, but instead of being able to make it an individual issue, we see the context of God purging our sins is communal, corporate – part of what will bind us together….It removes the “they” and leaves “us”
1:6 If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we’re obviously lying through our teeth—we’re not living what we claim. 7 But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges all our sin. 1 John 1:6-7 (MSG)
We aren’t in this as individuals – we all need our sins purged, the forgiveness which Christ commands the church to speak (see Matt 16 and John 20) and empowers it to speak – You are forgiven – your sins are purged – rejoice! This is no little thing! CLeansed of sin we are formed into a community, one where each can remind the other of God’s love, His mercy shown to us in Christ, the comfort and presence of the Holy Spirit – who will continue to testify to and through us, that we no longer suffer in darkness, hiding from the world, but live in the light.
It’s one of the reasons I love our service – we precede it (technically speaking) with the assurance that as you have confessed you are a sinner, God has cleansed you – now it is time for rejoicing, for relaxing and celebrating the love of God who causes us to “experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God’s Son, purges ALL our sin.”
Come rejoice with us!
