Forgiving Challenge: The 11-Day Life-Changing Journey to FreedomSample

Day 3: How Do We Sin?

• Lady Gaga - Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta
• Jon Stewart - Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz
• Mark Twain - Samuel Langhorne Clemens
• Muhammad Ali - Cassius Clay

Famous people change their names to make themselves more marketable. A name used to be a lot more than a fancy monogram on a baby bib or a name that sounded cute to your parents. It could tell you who someone was by trade, father's name, location of birth, or physical features.

Jesus changed Peter's name from Simon (meaning snub-nosed) to Peter (meaning the rock or big boulder) when He called him a disciple. It must have been an honor for Peter to have such a powerful meaning with his name. Unfortunately, soon afterward, the man nicknamed "Big Boulder" is most known for a series of big blunders.

Peter denied Jesus three times after promising that he would never leave Jesus or abandon Him. Talk about missing the mark.

Sin often starts the same way. We deny who we are and who we know. We forget or don't want to own that we are children of God, that a Savior loves us, and that we are daily redeemed through the greatest act of love ever done. When all this sin stacks up against us, we do two things. We hide it or deny it, wallowing in our guilt. Jesus doesn't want us to do either of these. Through forgiveness, He offers us the freedom to see ourselves for what we are.

Hebrews 9:22 tells us, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness."

However, part of receiving God's forgiveness is revisiting the sins of our past for God to make us whole before we move forward into the future. And to revisit our sins can be painful.

So even though the healing process will not be without pain for you, the most painful part of the healing process has already taken place in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Jesus went to the cross to shed His blood to fulfill the requirements and pay for the world's sins. Yours, mine, and the whole wide world's. Past, present, and future.

Challenge: There are two different types of sin, sins of omission and commission. Sins of omission (hear part the word 'omit'?) are things you probably should have done and didn't. Sins of commission are things you should not have done but did. We often jump to something we did wrong when we think of sin, but the reality is we struggle in both areas. So spend some time jotting down some sins of omission and sins of commission in your life. Is there any connection between those and your road to freedom?