Heb 8:12 - "FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,
AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE."
This is probably the greatest piece of news any forgiven person has ever received. When God says, "I will not remember your sins." It doesn't get any better than that my friends. One of my favorite preachers was a man named Don DeWelt. I remember one of his illustrations about when he would visit his elderly mother in a nursing home. Don said, "Every time he visited her she would ask him the same thing. It was if he would pray for the Lord to forgive her of her sins?" Don said, "At first I said, 'Yes' and would ask the Lord to forgive her." Finally, he said, "I couldn't take it any more and the next time he visited her and she asked him, he said, "No. I am not going to ask God to do something He has already done." This is a great lesson for all of us. When God has forgiven us of our sins and we remain in Christ, the blood of Christ continually cleanses us. In other words, God doesn't remember our sins. 1 Jn 1:7 - "...if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin." We all have sinned and fall short of God's glory, but we can have our sins forgiven by accepting the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. 1 Jn 2:1-2 - And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. The word "propitiation" means "to appease." Jesus' sacrifice of Himself appeased God's holy demand from His creation. I like how the Psalmist has written it. Ps 32:1-2- "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity,…" Have you ever taken the time to sit and ponder how blessed you are because God has forgiven you of your sins? If not lately, now would probably be a great time to take inventory of this tremendous blessing.
The second thing God can't do is break His promises. God not only makes promises He keeps them. One of my favorite promises from God is found in Psalms 34:19 - "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all." You will notice it says the righteous are going to have many afflictions, BUT the LORD will deliver us out of them ALL. I found that in 32 years of ministry a lot of Christians believed they weren't supposed to have any troubles. Yet, it is plain to see God's Word says the opposite. The good news as I see it is God is going to deliver the righteous from ALL their afflictions. What better way to build trust then to be there to help someone in their time of need. God is there for us and that is a promise. Think On These: God makes a promise - Faith believes it, Hope anticipates it, Patience quietly awaits for it. Promises are only as dependable as the individuals who make them. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend.
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Luke 15:17-21 - "But when he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! 18'I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."' 20 "So he got up and came to his father…. 21 "And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' NASU
He chose to leave his father's estate. He chose to squander his inheritance in a distant land. He chose to believe he could have more fun not living around his family. He chose to learn lessons at the School of Hard Knocks. He chose to make one poor decision after another and then it happened. He woke up. He had an aha moment. He came to his senses. He did some quick deducing of the facts and came to this conclusion: My father's hired servants have it better than I do. If you are suffering because of poor choices you have made in the past. Here is a novel idea: Come To Your Senses and Own Your Mistakes.
How many times have you done something wrong and kept it to yourself until finally you just had to confess it? Once the deed is confessed a great feeling of relief comes over us and we say to ourselves, "I don't know why I didn't do that sooner." There is a remedy for a guilty conscience and it is called "confession" of your mistakes.
What about you? Have you made some mistakes that you need to own? Is there a person you need to confess your mistakes to or maybe you simply need to confess your sins to God?
The father said it this way, 'Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; 23 and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; 24 for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.' NASU So have you made some poor choices in your life? Do you need a second chance? Then let me suggest you follow the plan of the prodigal son by coming to your senses, going to the person you need to see and make the confession that will bring about the healing you so desperately need. By making the confession you will open up your life to forgiveness and a time of celebration. Think On These: There's more hope for a confessed sinner than a conceited saint. Few things in life are more difficult for some of us than admitting a mistake. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page, Twitter or Forwarding to a friend. Matt. 26:56- "But all this has taken place to fulfill the Scriptures of the prophets."Then all the disciples left Him and fled."
This reminds me of the old saying when you go to a friend in time of need to ask for a favor and he says, "I'd love to help you out, which way did you come in?" One of the main differences is Jesus knew His betrayal was coming and He even knew the ones going to betray Him. He asked Judas, "Are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?" He not only knew who would betray Him He knew how it was going to be done. He told Peter before the rooster crows you will have denied Me three times (Matt.26:34). We know from reading the gospels Peter will do exactly as Jesus informed him.
First, a Christian remembers that we are all sinners and therefore, we all make mistakes. You may also want to remember this passage of scripture: Luke 22:3-4 - And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. NASU The word "satan" means adversary or one who is against what you are for and the devil is the one who is against what God is for. The devil enters into Judas and then we see Judas begin his betrayal of Jesus. The person who betrays you likewise may have had the devil enter into them and this person then becomes an adversary or one who is against you. Second, remember that God is sympathetic and He cares about what happens to you. He knows you are hurting and He will send relief, but you will have to be patient and wait for it to arrive. 1 Peter 5:6-8 - Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. The devil may have devoured your friend and what will the devil do next? He will get your friend to betray you exactly like he got Judas to betray Jesus. Third, don't betray or desert your friends. You didn't like it done to you so practice the golden rule and do to others what you want them to do to you. The best way to counter betrayal is by being a loyal friend. A friend is one who walks in when everyone else is walking out on you. Be the friend you want to have in your own life. This is how a Christian handles being betrayed or deserted by a friend. Think On These: "A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships." - Helen Keller Some people may still have their first dollar, but the man who is really wealthy still has his first friend. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Luke 23:4 - So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no fault in this Man." NKJV
When Pilate had done some investigating of Jesus he returned to face this mob and informed them that he could find "no fault" in Him. There certainly wasn't any reason for the Roman Government to execute Him. We all know Pilate was not able to convince this group of non-believers and Jesus, a faultless man, would be crucified.
I have thought about Pilate's statement about Jesus on more than one occasion. In fact if Pilate were speaking about me he would probably say something like this: "I find a lot of faults in this man." Great day in the morning my own mind finds fault with me. I remember when I first became a Christian how excited I was to have all of my sins, which were many, forgiven. Then there were times when I would start to question if God could really forgive me of all the sins I had committed against Him. I mean some of them were really horrible. One thing a Christian needs to always remember is the devil is never going to let you forget your sins. He will continue to bring them to your mind for you to remember and cause you to be ashamed of what you have done in the past. His ultimate goal is to have you question and doubt that God could really forgive you of all your sins. Never doubt that God can forgive you.
Rom. 4:7-8 - "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. 8 "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT." NASU (The reason Rom. 4:7-8 is in all capitals is this is a direct quote from Ps. 32:1-2) God not only can forgive us of our sins but He does. Do not allow the devil to lie to you about the power of God's forgiveness. Col 2:13-14 - When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, 14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. NASU How many of our transgressions is He able to forgive? The answer is ALL of them. 1 Jn 2:12 - I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgivenyou for His name's sake. NASU What has been forgiven? Our sins. Believe the Word of God when it says, "your sins have been forgiven".
If ever there is a reason for us to be Pumped Up today it is in the fact that if your sins have not been forgiven by God they can be. If you have no idea how to receive the forgiveness of sins please reply to this Pump Up and I will be more than happy, no I would be honored, to help you know for sure that your sins are forgiven.
Now it is our turn to do our part. When the people were convicted by Peter's sermon on the day of Pentecost they asked what they should do and here is what Peter told them: Acts 2:37-38 - Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?" 38 Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. NASU Think on This: Our Lord is in the cleansing business, not the whitewashing business. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Share this Pump Up with others by Sharing on Your Facebook Page or Forwarding to a friend. |
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