The Father Loves You By Pete Briscoeنموونە

Day 13

Guilt-Free Forgiveness

Alas! how difficult it is not to betray one's guilt by one's looks. —Ovid

Guilt is huge… and heavy. Like a lead anchor strapped to our feet, past sins—both big and small—can submerge us in an ocean of shame. This causes some of us to sincerely believe that our sins are unforgivable by man (which may be true), and sometimes even by God (which isn’t true!). We can end up thinking God doesn’t want to forgive us, or worse yet, that He won’t forgive us.

And yet, like so many times before, we know from the Bible that God is quite the opposite.

“…forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:7)

He is forgiving. God the Father forgives the one who truly believes in Him. He forgives everything, and does so completely.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us. (Psalm 103:11-12)

You may need to let that soak in for a moment.

The Bible is a description of the forgiving character of God. It culminates in the New Testament in the person of Jesus Christ by the method of His death and resurrection. It's all because He is a forgiving Father.

He [Jesus] was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. (Romans 4:25)

God, I am not worthy of Your love, and much less of Your forgiveness because of my sin. Thank You SO much for having compassion, for being gracious, for being patient with me. You not only look past my sin, but save me from it! Thank You for Your forgiveness. I believe in it. Amen.