Category: Uncondtional Love

A Life that Overflows

Jesus said that He came to give us life and not just life but an abundant life that is overflowing.

John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

Jesus is the only One who can give us life because He is the life.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

In Him is life and His life is the light of men.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

We can not live apart from Him. When we try to “do it on our own” then all we will experience is death. Someone may walk around on the outside but the inside of them is death. Everything is “blah” and they are not motivated and may struggle with depression. They have no light and therefor live in the darkness.

Isaiah 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; And let him return to the Lord, And He will have compassion on him, And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.

The Lord is abundant in His grace and His forgiveness of our sins. Before we can walk in His way we must forsake our way and return to Him.

Matthew 7:14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

What is our hope? Our only hope is Christ. He is the way. He leads us into life. The early Christians were first called “the Way” because His way of life for them was so different than the world. They followed Jesus and lived according to His ways.

Acts 24:14 But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets;

His way is very different from “our way” but when we follow Him and walk in His ways we experience life and His life overflows through us.

Isaiah 55:8,9 For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

He came that 2we might have life and might have it abundantly.  He is the way. When we follow Him we will not walk in darkness but will have the “Light of Life” in us.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

When we look to Jesus Christ we experience life to the fullest and then He lifts us up and sets us on a high place so that we might give light to others.

Matthew 5:14,15 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

 

 

 

A Life that Loves

The greatest of all is love and love is the most powerful influence in the world. When we learn to love as Christ did then our world will be changed. We will be willing to die for each other even as Christ died for us.

Romans 5:7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.

This word good means the highest form of love. What the Lord is saying is that someone would not be willing to give up their life for someone who does the right thing  but perhaps maybe someone would die for a person who loved them. Love is the greatest power in the world. We will always want to be around those who love us.

I John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

We know that Jesus loves us. He died for us and He would do it again. He did not die for us because we were good but He died for us because He is good. Jesus Christ is the expression of the highest form of love.

Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The only way we can love with the love of Christ is if we die to ourselves first.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

We must deny ourselves and follow Him. It is a daily dying to ourselves and it is the path to freedom and to Christlikeness.

Luke 9:23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

This life is only possible through His Spirit and by His Spirit. He will only lead you where He has gone before you. There is no fear in a life of dying to self and following Him. In your dying you will begin living and in your death others will find life.

Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Jesus went before us. He was crushed for our iniquities and by His scourging we are healed. He died for us.

Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.

The Lord is pleased when we offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice. How is it seen by others? It is seen through our love for others as we are poured out as an offering to Him.

Isaiah 53:10-12 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

You have the opportunity to be like Jesus when you intercede for those who have sinned against you. You may not be able to bear their sins as Jesus did on the cross but when you pray “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”, you will be more like Him than you will ever know and others will see Jesus in you.

Luke 23:24 But Jesus was saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves.

The greatest is love and those who love are the greatest.

I Corinthians 13:13 But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.

 

A Life that is Sweet and Good

The Lord has a plan for our lives and it is sweet and good. He wants us to live in and on His promises. We are to live by faith in the land of His promises. In the Old Testament when He described the promised land He said it was a land flowing with milk and honey. Milk is good for you and honey is sweet. That is how it is when we walk by faith with the Lord. Fellowship with Him is sweet and obedience to His Word is good for us.

Exodus 3:17 So I said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt…to a land flowing with milk and honey.

Egypt was symbolic of slavery and the land flowing with milk and honey was the land of promise which they were to possess by faith. Are you enslaved to sin or the flesh? Are their any habits that you are struggling with and know you need to be set free? He came to set you free.

Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

If you have been set free then don’t go back into the bondage of slavery. There are two things that will hold you back from your goals and desires. They are snares and snags. Snares are sins that have ensnared you and that Jesus can set you free and wants to set you free. Snags are things that you have no control over and they cause you to cry out to Him for help. Just as if you were walking down a path and a branch from a tree were to snag you and you could not free yourself. He allows obstacles and snags in our life to cause us to realize that we can not make it on our own. We need His help. By faith we look continually to Him.

Jude 1:5 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe.

The Lord died for you and rose again so that you might be set free from the snares of the devil. However you must trust Him and learn to live by faith or you will end up being destroyed.

I John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

The Lord made you to be an overcomer. He wants life to be sweet and good for you. It is possible only through Him. Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Psalm 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good;
How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!

A Life that is Good

Life can not be good apart from God because only God is good. One of the meanings of the word “good” is the highest form of love.

Matthew 19:17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good…

The “good” person only does good to others. If it is not loving then it is not God’s will and if it is God’s will then it will always be the highest expression of love not only for you but for all who are affected by your action.

Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

This is impossible apart from God but through Him not only is it possible but it is the life that He has planned for you. You are His workmanship made for “good” works which he has planned beforehand for you.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

This is why it is crucial that you learn to hear His voice and follow Him because He will lead you in the good works that He has already accomplished but He wants you to share in the joy.

John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

He knows you and knows what is best for you, or in other words, what is “good” for you. His plan for you is exactly what you need and what will fulfill you and make you the happiest. This is why it is so important for you to stay on the “potter’s wheel” and let Him finish making you into the vessel that He has designed you to be. You will love it!

Isaiah 64:8 But now, O Lord, You are our Father, We are the clay, and You our potter; and all of us are the work of Your hand.

Does He not know what He is doing? Is He not the Master and you His masterpiece? Does He have hands to form you into something beautiful? Yes, yes and yes!

Isaiah 45:9 “Woe to the one who quarrels with his Maker— An earthenware vessel among the vessels of earth! Will the clay say to the potter, ‘What are you doing?’ Or the thing you are making say, ‘He has no hands’?

Don’t quarrel with Him or compare yourself to others. He knows what He is doing and it is perfect.

II Corinthians 10:12 For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

When we compare ourselves with others then we are without understanding, which means that we do not know Him. When you thank Him for His plan for your life you are expressing trust in Him and faith and then you will receive understanding.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

His plan for you is not only good and loving but when you trust Him and experience His plan then you will have a future and a hope.

A Life that Reaches Out

Jesus Christ has touched your life if you are a Christian. He reached out and touched you through someone else. When Jesus walked on earth He touched the lives of many people. He was not afraid to reach out and touch others.

Psalm 72:13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and the lives of the needy he will save.

The godly lady learns how to reach out to the poor and needy. Some of us have to learn how to reach out and touch but for others it comes more naturally or they were brought up in an affectionate and loving environment. Either way, however we learn to touch and reach out, it is something God has called us to do and will bring healing and love to others.

Proverbs 31:20 She extends her hand to the poor, and she stretches out her hands to the needy.

The Lord has called us all to reach out to someone. Ask Him to put someone on your heart who He wants you to reach out to. The guilt of Sodom was that she did not reach out to the poor and needy, thus she became haughty and immoral. She and the other cities around her had abundant food, arrogance and time but rather than reaching out to the poor and needy she became prideful, indulgent and self centered.

Ezekiel 16:49,50 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.

Jesus did not reach out to everyone but He touched the poor and needy and the children.

Matthew 19:13-15 Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” After laying His hands on them, He departed from there.

Jesus even touched the lepers who were considered the untouchables.

Luke 5:13 And He stretched out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him.

Jesus allowed Himself to be touched by His disciples. John wrote at the beginning of His letter that they touched Jesus. Jesus was the Word of Life that became flesh and dwelt among men on earth. He reached out and touched and He was allowed to be touched.

I John 1:1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life—

All of us are at different levels of maturity in our Christian life and have different gifts. If you are beginning to grow in the Lord, ask him to help you. If you need healing so that He can use you to bring healing to others then ask Him for healing. He is the Great Healer and He restores us. He has blessed you and He wants you to bless Him and be a blessing to others.

Psalm 103:1-4 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;

 

A Life that is Not Timid

Three times in Scripture the Lord talks about the timid and timidity and uses the same Greek word. The first time is in the Gospels when He was with His disciples and He rebuked them for being timid. He reproved them doubting His love.

Mark 4:36-40 Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still have no faith?”

The word cowardly in this passage has the meaning of being timid. He reproved them because they questioned whether He cared about them during the storm in their lives. The Lord does not reprove us for being afraid but He does reprove us for doubting His love when we are afraid. He wants you to by faith, trust Him and His love for you then He wants you to come to Him so that He can calm the storms in your life. Has He not promised to care for you and He loves you.

I Peter 5:6,7 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

It is more tempting to doubt His love than to doubt His power. Martha and Mary did not doubt His love but His power when their brother died. 

John 11:21 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.

Again, if He had been there the situation would not have happened.

John 11:32Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

Often we do not come to Him because we feel that He really does not care about us in our situation.

II Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.

The Lord says that He has not given us a spirit of timidity. He wants us to come to Him to receive power to face the storms that He will still. He wants us to love Him and loving Him is coming to Him with our fears. He wants us to be disciplined in our relationship with Him and give Him our cares and concerns every morning before we face the day.

Revelation 21:7,8 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

The word here “cowardly” in the book of Revelation means the same as timid. In all three of these instances in Scripture it is the same Greek word, which means timid or cowardly or afraid. The second death is hell. These are the cowards, timid and those who are afraid to come to Him. Sin and unbelief causes us to not go to Him.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

Grace is an invitation to come to Him and faith is coming to Him. Salvation is the gift He gives to those who come to Him. His salvation includes not only eternal salvation in the life to come but saving us from the storms in this present life, .

Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Are you struggling with storms in life? Go to Him and experience His rest for your soul in this present life. Are you struggling with sin and guilt? Go to Him and experience His forgiveness and cleansing. He loves you and cares about the things that concern you, whether it is an outward storm or an inward storm. Jesus is our salvation and came to save us.

 

A Life that is Comforted

One of the blessings of being a child of God is that we are never without comfort. He is a God and Father of comfort who comforts His children in whatever struggle we have.

II Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

He comforts us so that we also may be able to comfort others when they have the same or similar struggles.

II Corinthians 1:4 who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

The Lord comforts us when we are depressed. Depression is an affliction. The Lord comforts us in our afflictions.

II Corinthians 7:6 But God, who comforts the depressed,

The Lord comforts us through His Word and His Holy Spirit. Go to Him in your pain. He has not left you alone. He said that He would not leave us without comfort. The word orphan literally means “comfortless”. He said He would not leave us as orphans but He would send the Holy Spirit to comfort us.

John 14:16-18 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

The Lord unites us through our struggles and through our comfort, that we might be one in Him. We need each other.

II Corinthians 1:6,7 But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer; and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.

Is there anyone in your life who needs comfort? We are the body of Christ. We are His heart, His hands and His feet. The Lord has allowed you to go through suffering so that you might bring comfort to others in the same affliction. When we suffer we become aware of the suffering of others. Someone else will be comforted through your love and refreshed through you.

Philemon 1:7 For I have come to have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

We are comforted through the faith in the Lord of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord is using you and you are not always aware of it. Keep standing firm in Him.

I Thessalonians 3:7 for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith;

When you spend time with Him and walk with Him then you know His love and experience His comfort. You also receive hope through His grace and are strengthened for every good work and word that He has called you to do.

II Thessalonians 2:16,17 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.

 

A Life that is Loved

Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so is the greatest truth in all the world. Is His love real to you? God loves you so much that He gave His only begotten Son for you so that you might live in His love for all eternity. His wrath is poured out on sin and so to take care of your sin He took the wrath that you deserved. We are all like that…we get mad at the sins of others, and yet, when we sin we need to know that He took the wrath that was intended for us. We deserve wrath but we have been given mercy and love.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

When Jesus was here on earth He loved His disciples. He loved them to the end even though they failed Him He never failed them. In the same way, you will fail the Lord many times but He will never fail you. His love never changes.

John 13:1 …having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.

Propitiation means that God was satisfied with what Jesus did for us on the cross. There is nothing we can do to cause Him to love us any more. He is satisfied. We can not add to His love for us neither can we take away from His love for us. He loved us and died for us, once for all.

I John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

He wants you to live in that love that He has for you. He calls you His “Beloved”, which means that He wants you to “be loved” by Him.

I John 4:9 By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

In Him alone is life. When you come into a relationship with Him then you begin to experience life. Eternal life begins the moment you believe in Him. The word “know” means “an intimate knowledge of” just as in the Old Testament when it would refer to a marriage relationship it would say they knew each other. They became one. In the same way, when you come to know the Lord then you become one with Him.

John 17:3 This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

It is only in Jesus Christ that we can understand even a little of the greatness of love. His love is beyond our human comprehension and His ways are unfathomable. The more you know Him and His love for you then the more you will experience the riches of His grace and kindness in Christ.

Romans 11:3 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

There is nothing that can separate you from His love and there is no one who can come between you and His love for you.

Romans 8:35-39 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

When you come to Him then goodness and lovingkindness will follow you all the days of your life.

Psalm 23:6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

A Life Whose Debt is Canceled

We owe a debt we can not pay and there is One who paid a debt He did not owe. We were helpless and at the right time, our debt was paid and our certificate of death was canceled.

Romans 5:6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

When Jesus Christ came and became the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, He became our substitute and took the punishment that we deserved and paid the debt that we owed. Death was what we had earned by going our own way and doing our own thing. We wanted to rule our own lives rather than have the One who made us and created us to be in relationship with Him, to rule us. Sin is wanting to be your own god and the outcome is death spiritually, death to our soul and the death of our body.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Wages is what we deserve but a gift is what we do not deserve and have not done anything to work for it. We earned and deserved death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. When He becomes our Lord then we receive the gift of eternal life and with the gift of life comes the cancellation of the certificate of death.

Isaiah 28:16-18a Therefore thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone,
A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
He who believes will not be disturbed.
“I will make justice the measuring line
And righteousness the level;
Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies
And the waters will overflow the secret place.
 “Your covenant with death will be canceled,

When we become a Christian then our eyes are opened to the lies that we took comfort in and the secret places of our heart where our sins dwell. Jesus is the foundation and that Cornerstone God sent on which He will build His church. Those who believe in Him will not be disappointed but those who do not believe and are disobedient to His Word will stumble over the rock of Christ and experience doom.

I Peter 2:6-8 For this is contained in Scripture:

“Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone,
And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,

“The stone which the builders rejected,
This became the very cornerstone,”and,

“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;

for they stumble because they are disobedient to the word, and to this doom they were also appointed.

Those who believe in Him, not only do they receive life and their certificate of death is canceled but the accusations and certificate consisting of decrees against them is canceled. He nailed it to the cross. The certificate of decrees against you are all of the sins that you have ever committed or will ever commit. Everything that you have ever done wrong is recorded and that record was nailed to the cross. (Those who do not believe in Jesus Christ, the record of all of their sins will be read on Judgment Day and they will have to pay their own debt for their sins.)

Colossians 2:13,14 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

When you were dead in your sins, Christ died for you, and made you alive together with Him. He has forgiven you of all of your wrongdoings. Because Jesus Christ was raised from the dead and lives, you also became alive and will be raised from the dead and will live forever with Him IF you have received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and the gift of eternal life in Him. The gift is offered to all but only given to those who will receive it. For God so loved everyone in the world that He gave His Son.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

You must call on the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior to receive Christ into your life and be saved. When He saves you then He also forgives you and gives you the gift of eternal life.

Romans 10:11-13 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

He who has Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has the life. He who does not have Christ does not have the life. These things have been written for you who believe in Jesus Christ in order that you may know that you have eternal life. Your debt of sin and certificate of death is canceled forever.

I John 5:12,13 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.

 

 

 

A Life that is Forgiven

The Bible says that the one who is forgiven is blessed. How sweet it is to know that you are forgiven for everything that you have done. There is no sin that is too great for God’s forgiveness. How easy it is to ask the Lord to forgive you over and over again. However, His forgiveness is complete and we only need to ask once.

Psalm 32:1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!

Not only will He forgive you but He removes the guilt of your sin.

Psalm 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I did not hide;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin.

However, you must confess your sin to Him and ask Him to forgive you. Don’t minimize your sins or hide them.

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

Your sins have offended Him because He can not look upon evil. He is a holy God.

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

The Lord is compassionate and wants to forgive you. He wants you to return to Him. Remember when you were a child and you used to love to hear about the Lord and you wanted to come to Him. Return to Him and He will come to you.

II Chronicles 30:9 For the Lord your God is gracious and compassionate, and will not turn His face away from you if you return to Him.”

He is waiting for you and wants to forgive you and cleanse you.

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus Christ died for your sins. He died once for all of your sins. He died for you so that He might bring you to God.

I Peter 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;

If you are still struggling with your sins then either you have never surrendered to Him or you are living in defeat. He took the punishment for your sins so that you could become spiritually alive. If there are doubts about your salvation then tell Him and ask Him to come into your life if He is not already there. He will make Himself known to you. When you become a Christian you become born again spiritually and then you become alive to God. What it means is that you can not continue on the same path of sin that you were on before. He forgives you, cleanses you, gives you a new life and changes your path.

II Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

As you learn to walk with Him then you will learn to have fellowship with other Christians.

I John 1:7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses  us from all sin.

Don’t let the devil weigh you down with guilt. People who do experience God’s forgiveness will often make poor decisions due to the effects of their sins.

II Timothy 3:6 …weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,

He offers everyone forgiveness. God so loved the world that he sent His Son to die for all of our sins. It is a gift but we must receive it. If you are not a Christian yet then come to Him and get it settled. If you are a Christian who is still struggling with sins then come to Him also for cleansing and forgiveness. Confess your sins and experience His forgiveness. The Bible says that in the same way that you received Christ, which was by faith, then learn to walk with Him by faith and that requires a continual confessing and cleansing. We all mess up and sin but He forgives. How blessed is the one who sin is forgiven and whose guilt is removed.