Forgiven

1 John 1:9 - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

It is amazing what we do to ourselves. Isn't it? We can beat ourselves up over and over and over again for something we did wrong in our past. We can hold onto it for years and never let it go. We can even justify it, roll it up in a pretty package and put a bow on it. But inside we know that if we untie the bow and look in the package the sin is still there.

My pastor, recently spoke about giving up the sin that has been eating away at us. He said that often we go to the altar, repent, lay it at the Lord’s feet and then just as we are about to stand and leave…we pick it back up and take it with us. I am totally guilty of this!

One of my favorite songs is by Casting Crowns and is called, between the Altar and the Door. It is exactly what my pastor was saying, don’t lay it down at the altar and pick it up before you leave the doors of the church.

The wonderful thing about my Lord, Jesus is that he has forgiven me every sin. It doesn’t matter what I have done in the past, his blood has covered it all. It has taken me a long time to realize that since I have asked my Lord for forgiveness, I don’t need to dwell on it, feel bad about it, or even give it another thought. It is gone, washed white, cast as far as the East is from the West. Hallelujah! I don’t know about you, but that just makes me feel amazing.

If you are holding onto something, ask forgiveness, and let it go. Your Lord has forgiven you. If you are having difficulty moving forward in your relationship with Christ, ask why? The Lord has an amazing way of letting you know what things are still holding you back. Sometimes, they roll out like a scroll in your mind. Is there someone YOU need to forgive? Perhaps there is someone you need to ask forgiveness from? Or finally, perhaps you need to forgive yourself and ask your Lord to forgive you. By denying yourself true forgivness, you are denying that Christ's sacrifice was big enough to cover a multitude of sin. You are basically denying Jesus in your life. WOAH! I don't know about you but I don't ever want to deny Jesus or tell him, "Hey, you're big enough to cover this one sin, but sorry JC, you aren't big enough to cover all of it."

They say, “The Truth will set you Free” but I believe it is because of the Truth that we are Free. The truth of everlasting love and life beyond this Earth given to us Freely but at great cost to Jesus Christ.

My friends, set yourself free today. Break the chains that bind you. You are a precious, wonderful, child of God.