Day 26: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His Grace.” Ephesians 1:7
The Lord’s prayer says, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive the debts of others.” or “Forgive our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” depending on which Gospel you are reading. But the key is that we forgive as we are forgiven. According to the riches of Christ’s grace and because we accept those blessings, we are to forgive those who have offended us FIRST! WE are to show the Mercy of Christ to those who have sinned against us, before going to the alter of His Sacrifice. We have the redemption through the Blood of the Lamb of God, yet we are to give equally to those who seek redemption from us.
As I forgive those who have caused grief and injury in my life, As I forgive those who trample on my rights, freedoms and show no mercy to me, so do you forgive me, a wretched creature who deserves no forgiveness. Grant me the grace to be able to reach out in forgiveness as Jesus has reached out to me. Amen
Day 27: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice, but a fearful expectation of judgment.” Hebrews 10:26-27. “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” Hebrews 10“:18
These two statements seem to contradict each other, but the truth remains, if you continue to sin after coming to the Lord for forgiveness, no amount of sacrifice will erase the judgment of the LORD. Where there is forgiveness, the desire to sin is no more. If the desire to sin is still upon your heart, then you must go before God and be in full repentance, seeking to be of a new heart and a new mind that rejects sin as unacceptable to you and your new life.
In order to receive a “get out of hell card” you must be contrite, that is to turn around and go the way of God rather than continue living the sinful life. Where Jesus offers forgiveness, as atonement in our place, we resolve to live as Christ and free from the desires of sin.
Open my heart to your ways, My God, lest I fall into the traps of sin. Open my eyes to your righteousness in order to free me from the snares of unlawfulness. By your Grace I am received into the kingdom, I desire to sin never again. Let me hear your Wisdom in the ways of Word. Amen
Day 28: For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin.” Colossians 1:13-14
We are freed and taken away from the darkness of the contemptuous life of sin. We are restored to the Kingdom of Light. By the Grace of God, the unrelenting Mercy of His Forgiveness, we who have rejected Wisdom and sought after the foolishness of the flesh, are freed from our stupidity. We have been taken by the Hand of God, through the blood of Jesus into redemption.
The lesson in Colossians goes on to describe the Merit and Nature of Jesus as God made visible to all mankind. For God’s good pleasure, He made Himself flesh so that man could see the love God has for him. And although we were hostile to God by our actions, He still sought us back, to restore us to our rightful place in His Kingdom.
Welcome me back, O Lord, welcome me into your presence. With all my heart, I cry thank you for rescuing me from the pits of darkness and the lies of the flesh. In you all thanksgiving is due for the power of your forgiveness is what saved me from my blinded foolishness. Amen
Day 29: “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there will be no forgiveness….For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Hebrews 9:22,24.
Jesus did not bring the blood offering of Passover to the temple of Jerusalem but brought Himself as the blood offering to the World, that the whole of the world be given atonement for their sins. He did not enter int the temple built for the glory of Herod, but went to God, the Father in Heaven to present Himself as the atonement for all man’s sins.
For us, He died, for us he suffered, for us he presented Himself as the offering of forgiveness that we might be made renewed before the Father. And all this was in the plan even before Adam sinned in the Garden of Life.
How merciful are You, My God, that you should remember me in my sin and yet, by the blood of the Lamb, Your Son, I am made acceptable before You. May my life be always acceptable to Your Grace and forgiving as You have planned from the first that I am forgiven. As Jesus was the blood offering for me, may I offer myself up to you in forgiveness of others. Amen.
Day 30: “…I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people…..And I will forgive their wickedness and never remember their sins.” Jeremiah 31:33,34
Because of the Love of God, He will put our minds and our hearts to live in the righteousness of His laws. We will not look to the written words of scriptures because we will have the purpose of God on our hearts. Our mind will be in one accord with the Most High God and it will be our new nature and the new creation of Christ that dictates our lives.
But until that day, we struggle with sin, we find ourselves searching the Word of God for direction. Yet God remembers our sins no more because we search His will. It is when we no longer search for God’s understanding that we fail and sin again and again. Seek the Wisdom of His Wonderfulness and the Greatness of His law in the Word of God. Seek only to serve and forgive as He so readily forgives us.
God, My God, you promised never to reject your people. Yet we who are called the Children of the Most High often fail in live in your wisdom. Search out our hearts and show us where we are unworthy that we might walk in Your Path of Righteousness. Write Your grace and mercy in our hearts that we see the greatness of Your Will. Amen.