“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” I John 1:9.
As humans, we tend to offend one another. I am no exception and have done my share of offenses. Some people have forgiven me and some have not.
As believers we are called to forgive people who offend us, (And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32) and we are to forgive the way that Jesus forgave us (wholly and completely).
But what if we forgive someone and they hurt or offend us again? (Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22). Almost 500 times! Jesus was saying you just keep forgiving…the way He does us.
Once we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and we begin to walk with Him, we begin to try to be more Christ like, but unfortunately we do still sin. Hopefully, as we continue to walk with Jesus we sin less and less.
Occasionally we drift from the Lord though. Sometimes it is just a momentary walk in the desert. A brief period of time when we just allow ourselves to become distant from God and struggle to seek Him or even here His voice. But, once we repent and seek Him with our whole heart, He is faithful and just to forgive us. (Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord Acts 3:19).
But what about when we begin a momentary walk in the desert that turns into years of separation from God? Will God Forgive Us….Again?
There are a few things we have to know/remember when we ask that question:
1. We serve a God who is available (You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13).
2. We serve a God of mercy, not condemnation (For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. John 3:17).
3. We serve a God of forgiveness and love, not of unforgiveness and hatred (For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Psalm 86:5).
God desires that we would repent and return to Him. He loves us and desires a relationship with us. He sent Jesus to suffer and die on the cross, to pay the penalty for our sin so that we could be reconciled to Him.
There is no amount of sin, no duration of sin, no sin too bad, that God can’t/won’t forgive.
Some of the most complete and beautiful scriptures about His forgiveness are found in Psalm 103. “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.” Psalm 103:8-13. He is a loving and merciful Heavenly Father.
There are times when God will allow our sin to bring us to a point of brokeness. A place where we will cry out to Him and ask Him to forgive and restore us. He doesn’t do this to punish us, but to restore our relationship with Him and to give us that peace, love and forgiveness that we first felt when we initially came to Him. (Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Revelation 3:19)
If you are in a desert today (if not today, unfortunately you may be in the future and should take notes for such a time as that) and if you have not been speaking with God, spending time with Him, obeying Him, pleasing Him and/or glorifying Him the way that you should (no matter how long you have been there) I pray that today you would repent. Let’s face it, you know where you have been and so does He, He wants good things for you (For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11) why stay in the desert…(Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Proverbs 28:13).
God, by the blood of Jesus, wants to forgive you and love His long lost child, let Him. Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep (“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. Luke 15:4-7) and in it the shepherd leaves his whole flock just to find that one sheep and then has a great party of rejoicing when it is found…you are that lost sheep and He is seeking to find you. Call out to Him and repent.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, you have been living from day to day, moment to moment and sin to sin. That is no way to live life, take it from someone who lived it. That life is lived believing lies. You see the enemy, satan, doesn’t want you to know Christ as your personal Savior, because he wants you to suffer in Hell with him. So he lies and makes you believe that the sin that he and this world offer are fun or will make you more popular, or feel better or some other lie. But in the scripture Jesus tells us that “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” 1 John 10:10. Jesus came to give us an abundant, full, life. An incredible eternal life…in paradise with Him. If you have been believing those lies and suffering the consequences for those sins please go to our Life Preserver page (http://forgiven-n-loved.com/Life-Preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there, full, abundant life awaits and so does a Heavenly Father who loves you. Once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-n-loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you.
Luv Ya!
