Forgiveness

With the Lord there is forgiveness of sin and total reconciliation, for He draws to the humble and contrite heart.  The Lord never despises a repentant person but He does resist the proud, so humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up in due time.  Psalm 130 is a much needed message for all time; a Psalm with a message of forgiveness for the person who repents and confesses their sins.  It has an anonymous author who may have been Hezekiah.  This is a short Psalm with only eight verses of encouraging words for Israel and for us today and also the generations to come.

This is what it says in Psalms 130:1-8:

“Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord;

Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

To the voice of my supplications.

If You, Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You,

That You may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

And in His word I do hope.

My soul waits for the Lord

More than those who watch for the morning—

Yes, more than those who watch for the morning.

O Israel, hope in the Lord;

For with the Lord there is mercy,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

And He shall redeem Israel

From all his iniquities.”

Here is a picture of a person that is crying out in despair, desperate for the mercy, grace and forgiveness of God.  This is not a person that feels sorry for himself, but one who knows where forgiveness lies, not one who says, “woe is me, I got caught,” but one who admits they sinned and confesses it before the Lord, acknowledging the fact that they have sinned and with remorse in their heart cries out for forgiveness.  Despair over sin should never result in self-pity but true repentance and confession.  Feeling sorry for yourself will only result in hopelessness of mind but crying out to God with a repentant heart will bring release and peace through God’s forgiveness, praise the Lord!!  

In 1 John 1:9 it also says this, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

I have said this before and I will say it again, God knows all things and sees all things so you cannot shock Him or fool Him.  He knows the thoughts of your heart, so come clean, be honest and sincere, repent, which means to turn away from your sin, and confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you.  That is the only way you will find peace and joy, then go and try not to sin anymore.

Did you know that Christianity is the only religion that you can be saved, healed, delivered and forgiven without working for it?  I think every other religion teaches that a person has to work or accomplish something to appease the god or deity they serve.  Christianity is the only one where someone paid the ultimate price for you, which was Jesus Christ the only begotten son of God, and the only way you can receive pardon and forgiveness is by faith, never by your own works or accomplishments. Every non-believer has the opportunity to receive this grace, pardon and forgiveness by faith, which also comes from God.

This is what Paul said in Romans 3:25-26, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Through Jesus Christ we can freely be justified and forgiven, or deemed not guilty because Jesus paid the price by shedding His blood on the cross and we can stand before God as if we had never sinned.  And when our sins are forgiven they are remembered by God no more.

If this is speaking to and you are a non-believer and you feel the tug, or conviction, of the Holy Spirit, ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and to be the Lord of your life.  Don’t be in a hurry, wait upon the Lord and be sure you pray through and the Lord floods you with His peace, love and joy.  Then you can walk away excited, knowing that you are a child of God.  Something to meditate on; have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours and don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!