but I don’t FEEL forgiven…

but I don’t FEEL forgiven…


If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action].
1 John 1: 9

THOUGHTS FOR TODAY

As a Christian, have you ever had the thought, “I’m no different than I was,” or, “I just don’t feel forgiven”? Maybe you struggle with the same sin patterns that used to control your life. Maybe you find yourself having fallen into the same sins over and over again.

The prophet Isaiah speaks of this struggle and gives us hope when he says: “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I [God] am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Is. 43:18-19

Sometimes I look at my life and see a wasteland of sin-wrecked scars and habits that still remain to some degree. As a non-believer, I lived a life of sin that I am now ashamed of. I was proud and selfish and did what my heart desired. And sometimes those reminders of my past leave me feeling guilty and not really living in the good of the gospel of Christ.

We tend to drag up our old sins, that we tend to live under a vague sense of guilt…we are not nearly as vigorous in appropriating God’s forgiveness as He is in extending it. Consequently, instead of living in the sunshine of God’s forgiveness through Christ, we tend to live under an overcast sky of guilt most of the time. Jerry Bridges, The Gospel for Real Life

Christ’s blood has cleansed us, not so that we should now live a life full of guilt and fear, but to live joyfully and abundantly in the forgiveness which He freely has granted to us. Let us thank God for His forgiving grace and the mercy He extended to us.

I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more. Is. 43:25



"Forgiveness" Lyrics
Christian singer Bob Carlisle wrote a great song on forgiveness




Verse 1:
I say I will, but then I won't
Say I do, but then I don't.
It happens every day,
I hate the sinner,
Love the sin.
It's a sorry state I'm in.
I've got to get away.

Every time I throw that stone
The fate I'm sealing is my own.
Do you know how much I need....

Chorus:
Forgiveness - forgiveness
I can't live without.
Forgiveness - forgiveness
That's what love's about.
Forgiveness.

Verse 2:
I say forgive and then forget,
But I ain't learned to do it yet.
You'd think I'd know by now
I know how to hurt someone,
Been on both sides of that gun,
Pulled the trigger anyhow.

When I'm hurting someone else
I only hurt myself.
I've got to let it go.

Chorus:....

A thousand wrongs don't make a right
And nobody wins
When the bridges start burning.
Can't you hear my cry?





quote


If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator.
If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist.
If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist.
If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer.
But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior.



Charles Sell


Prayer

Dear lord we pray that you help us to forgive ourselves , Lord you paid the price for our sins

help us to leave it there at the cross and help us to love and accept ourselves in Jesus name Amen