Grow: First Steps with JesusSample

FORGIVEN

One of the greatest gifts anyone can receive from God is to hear these words: “I forgive you.” 

Psalms 103:12: ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgressions from us.”

The idea of forgiveness paints the picture where God looks at you and literally removes all your past mistakes from you, as far as the east is from the west. You are so valuable to Him that he is willing to separate you from your sins; looking at your value and not your mistakes. Paul continues to help us understand forgiveness in his letter to the church.

Colossians 2:13-15: When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 

What this discovery means to us is that Jesus forgave all our sins. This includes everything you have done in the past and everything you may still do in the future! What a thought!!

For me personally, it means that the complete list of accusations against me was destroyed together with the guilt and shame that accompanies it. Jesus took the legal note against us—with all of its accusations—and paid the full price with His life. In other words, He died in my place! 

God removed the power that sin used to have over us. We are conquerors over sin’s power when we receive this gift of grace. That is why we know that we have been forgiven. God considers you valuable enough to put irrevocable distance between you and your sins. In Him and by His power you become a conqueror.

Daily Affirmation: "Father, I thank you that everything has been restored between you and me."

Action Step for Today: Complete this sentence with 3-4 relevant realizations: I am forgiven of...