meditations for an everyday relationship with Jesus

Our transgressions

Psalm 103:11-12 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His faithful love toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

God is the only One who forgives sin and forgets sin.

We know that Jesus died for our sins, and that the work of forgiveness is complete on the cross. But because we continue to sin there must be someone who can lift them from us each time we confess. This is the work of the Holy Spirit, the one left alongside each one of us in the absence of our risen Lord.

The burning question is this: are you and I entirely ready to have our sin removed? It would seem like an obvious answer … but not so fast. We do not like to give up our areas of comfort and satisfaction even if they are bad for us. Am I right? Sin can be like an old overstuffed chair. It feels good, so good that even though it is destroying our will to live we just can’t lift ourselves out of it.

It is way too easy to stay where we are and wait until tomorrow. Well, it’s a great plan assuming there is a tomorrow! Prepare today for what no one knows: the day or the hour.

Making amends

Psalm 86:1-6 Listen, Lord, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Protect my life, for I am faithful. You are my God; save Your servant who trusts in You. Be gracious to me, Lord, for I call to You all day long. Bring joy to Your servant's life, since I set my hope on You, Lord. For You, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive, abundant in faithful love to all who call on You. Lord, hear my prayer; listen to my plea for mercy.

The manner in which David writes this petition to God, in order to make amends for his own transgressions, is similar to what we would say to the person (or persons) we have harmed. Now, those we have offended may not be as open or as forgiving as God is. So, what about those who are unavailable, those we would be causing more harm to, or those who are dead?

We need to understand that the individual that is most in need of our forgiveness is you and me. I am not suggesting that others do not require a formal apology; what I am saying is that if we are to move on we must forgive ourselves whether or not others are willing to do the same.

Pray for forgiveness, confess your sins, repent and ask for a special blessing on those you have harmed. In this way you are being liberated from the bondage of a past that cannot be rewritten.