With God we can live free from guilt with no need to reel in our past mistakes...
Today's Scripture:
He has taken our sins away from us as far as the east is from the west.
Psalm 103:12
If you're like the rest of humanity, at some time or another, you've probably done something wrong. One of the worst things about committing a sin is that humans have memories. Long after a woman or man asked God and others to forgive them for what they have done wrong, the memories linger. Your memory plays them over and over again, pounding out our joy and confidence. This is much like I remember back on Friday nights in high school or Saturdays in college while playing quarterback if you ever made an errant pass throwing an interception or coughed up a fumble you just had the lingering feeling that it was going to happen again. If you could not let it go and refocus then it surely would happen again and again. While God does want a person to ask for forgiveness when they have sinned and to decide to do right, he never intended for anyone who loves him to carry the shame and guilt of sins and mistakes forever. In fact, Psalm 103:12 says that when a person has asked God to forgive them for their wrongdoings, he doesn't leave those sins heaped in a pile around the person. Instead, he takes those sins out of their presence; he takes them as far away from us as he can - as far as east is from west, which basically means eternally.
I once shared a story in a sermon message on Corrie ten Boom, a Holocaust concentration camp survivor, who used to say that when a person has asked forgiveness for sins, God throws those sins into the deepest sea, where they are irretrievable. Then, according to Corrie, he puts up a sign that reads "NO FISHING."
God has no interest in dredging up your sins that he has already forgiven.
He has no interest in making you pay for your sins over and over. After all, that's the reason why Jesus Christ lived and was crucified ~ so you can be released from every wrong word, thought, and action you've ever hosted.
Selah people' and friends if memories of past sins and errors are dogging you, make your own little "NO FISHING" sign to remind you of what God has done. And enjoy living in freedom from guilt. (Link provided below to your own sign...if you want to print one out for your home, office or locker http://www.proshieldsafetysigns.co.uk/signs/3615_signs.jpg)
"May today be the day we stop fishing for past mistakes and instead reel in the reassurance that God loves us, forgives us and wants us to move forward and closer to him."
Your pastor,
Rev Patrick Muston ~ Via Mobile: Mount Olive, NC
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