God Forgives

God Forgives

A few weeks ago I was standing behind the podium in my church, I was making a point and I asked a question. The question was this: “Is there anyone here today that would die for me?” As you can surmise, I was speaking about the love that God has for us. God loves us so much that he (God) “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him (Jesus) should not perish but have everlasting life.”
To my surprise, when I asked, “Is there anyone here today that would die for me? “ A dear brother sitting in the congregation raised his hand. I was not expecting anyone to raise their hand. I smiled at the brother, thanked him and moved on with the topic at hand.
Later in the day as I sat in my cell thinking about my day, my thoughts returned to the moment when that dear brother raised his hand. Then I asked myself, “Is there anyone that I would die for?” I thought about the question for a few moments and the answer was “yes” there is a small hand full of people that I would die for.
Then another question came to me (by the Holy Spirit). The question was, “Would I bear anyone else’s sins upon myself. The answer came very fast and to the point. The answer was “no” I would not and could not bear anyone else’s sins.
Jesus Christ bore our sins for you and me so we could be redeemed: Jesus Christ also took upon Himself our sins, my sins, your sins, the sins of the world. There is no one in this world capable or willing to bear the sins of the world except Jesus Christ. That is how much God loves you and me.
Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” Jesus Christ bore our sins, all of our sins. This scripture also says that Jesus was offered “once”, once and for all. Jesus was not offered once a week, month or once a year. Once and for all.
1Peter 2:14 says, “Who Himself (Jesus) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness… by whose stripes you were healed.”
There are so many of my brothers and sisters that have not come to realize what God has done for them. In John 19:30 Jesus declared, “It is finished.” God is waiting for us to accept the fact that once and for all our sins have been dealt with. Jesus bore our sins.
When you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you received eternal life, you received the Holy Spirit and you received God’s forgiveness for all your sins.
Take a moment to search your heart are you harboring any ill feelings toward someone? God has forgiven you of your trespasses, can you forgive those that have trespassed against you? Search your heart, and pray.
Take one more moment to search your heart and allow yourself to forgive yourself for something you have done in the past. Forgiving yourself can be the hardest thing to do . God has forgiven us.
When we can accept God’s forgiveness, forgive others, then forgive our selves, we can come to a much deeper relationship with God. Jesus bore our sins, accept the free gift.
God Loves You.

Bro. Dan