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One particular day, when I was feeling riddled with shame for something that I had done before my salvation, a dear friend warned me, saying, "Lois, every time you doubt whether God would love and forgive you, it's as though you have taken His Son Jesus off the cross! Without sin, there would have been no reason for His sacrifice!" Her words of wisdom hit home like a lightning bolt, and I have never forgotten them.
Isaiah 43:25 – I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. (NIV)
God says that He forgives and forgets our sins if we truly repent and ask for forgiveness. He no longer remembers those transgressions from that moment forward. They have been erased.
Isaiah 44:22 – I have swept away your sins like a cloud. I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist. Oh, return to me, for I have paid the price to set you free. (NLT)
That, my friend, is pure grace and unconditional love! There are no sins too big or too small to be forgiven. To walk in freedom, we must take the first step:
Romans 10:9 – If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (NLT)
Living a life of freedom and grace means trusting God's Word. After all, He has never broken a promise. So, when the enemy tries to confuse us with his lies and haunts us by stirring up our past, I find it helpful to have that promise written in plain sight to use as a lifeline when I am under attack! I chose today's Scripture verse from Isaiah 43:25 to post on my refrigerator. It is a constant reminder that our Lord has created in me a clean heart.
Living in freedom, love, and grace, we have no excuse not to forgive others.
- To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation. We set that person free from the negative bonds that exist between us. We say, "I no longer hold your offense against you." But there is more. We also free ourselves from the burden of being the "offended one". As long as we do not forgive those who have wounded us, we carry them with us or, worse, pull them as a heavy load. The great temptation is to cling in anger to our enemies and then define ourselves as being offended and wounded by them. Forgiveness, therefore, liberates not only the other but also ourselves. It is the way to the freedom of the children of God. – Henri Nouwen
"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." – C.S. Lewis
Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, give us hearts ready to forgive and forget the sins of others. May we, Your children, reflect Your grace and love as we walk in the freedom with which You have blessed us. May our actions point to the cross, and may we be ready to share the good news of Your salvation wherever we go. Amen.
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Thanks, Lois. Excellent advice and counsel.
Thanks for sharing Lois.
God’s blessings.
Lois, this was beautiful. Thank you and God bless you always.
Such good advice, Lois. Thank you and may God bless you each and every day!
Thank you for your thoughts in relation to these passages from Isaiah, and thank you for your quotes from Henri Nouwen, and C.S. Lewis.
Dear Lois,
What a wonderful “Daily”. This was just what I needed to read today.
Thank you for sharing, and please, write again.
Thanks, Lois for your good words. God has forgiven me. I’d be wise to do the same. And ‘acceptance’ is the answer to all my problems today. Accepting God’s forgiveness, what a great topic!
Dear Lois,
Thank you for the great reminder and the good idea of posting it right where we would see it many times in the day. We all need to free ourselves and others by truly forgiving and forgetting as we have been. May you have a blessed day.
Dear Lois,
Very good reminder that the Lord is willing to forgive our wrongdoings when we come to Him and repent of what we have done. The verse in Isaiah 43:25 is truly an important one to reflect on and also it is important for us to remember that as we are forgiven so must we be ready to forgive others who may have offended us. Forgiveness is an action that relieves great burdens in our heart.
Blessings for your writing.
(B.C.)
Dear Lois.
Thanks for sharing your devotional today, it is so good, and God is working on me with it today.
Maybe you can help me with this question My son-in law refuses to confess, admit, or ask forgiveness for…. the abuse of my daughter.
When people commit crimes, get away with it by others “forgiving and forgetting “, will they not continue to hurt others with their crimes?
Even more magnanimous, should we have “forgiven and forgotten“ Hitler’s evil regime rather than fought in WW2?
Jesus CAN handle it, but I don’t know how. You seem like a very long and experienced Christian, keep on sharing devotionals. Be open to questions if you are able!
Good morning,
First, I want to thank you for your devotional, it is encouraging.
I do however want to make a small point, you say, and I quote
To walk in freedom, we must take the first step:
I was a bit taken aback by that because Christ has already made the first step. Indeed, I think He makes all of them…we are to be obedient; we are to forgive because we are told to. In order to be like Christ, which is our goal, we must forgive as He forgives, we are warned that if we don’t our Heavenly Father will not (Matthew 6:14-15).
The good thing about this is everything you have said, it brings freedom to each party. I think it is dangerous to think we have anything to do with our Salvation. It is a gift from God. Even the faith we have is from Him. All we do is respond, we choose to respond… and I am not even sure we have a real choice! God knows beforehand who will and who won’t. The point was that we do not really make the first step.
Blessings.
Amen!
Thanks for the good word, Lois.
Amen, Lois. Isn’t repentance grand! Since Christ paid the price to set us free from past and present sins, we are indeed free. Blessings.
Dear Lois,
Thank you for a truly Good News message.
May God bless you with the joy of continuing to write for our Lord and for all of us.
Amen.
For me, I allow myself to feel the anger and hurt, and then, after a bit of time, hand them over to God so, unacknowledged and unexpressed, they don’t go within and fester inside. At that point forgiveness seems real, to me.
Also, the hardest person to forgive is often ourselves.
Thanks for sharing