Father, I know that You love me. I know that I am welcome in Your presence. But often I feel the need to come before You humbly and submissively. You are my God. You are holy. You deserve my reverence and worship. I fall at Your feet…

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Lord, when I sat down to write these words six years ago, I expressed that it must be important for You brought it to mind not once…not twice… but three times throughout the night. At the time I wrote, “Help me to write under Your direction, and may those who need to see it be unhindered from doing so. May the great enemy of our soul be defeated on every front – amen!”

There are things that I have done in my life that can only be labeled as sin. They weren’t mistakes; they were deliberate acts of disobedience on my part. David communicated his situation quite clearly in Psalm 51 (<<click here). One portion of this chapter is quite appropriate here.

“Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;
….I have done what is evil in your sight.” verse 4a

I am purposely not expounding upon what I specifically have done because, as Romans 3:23 states,

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” v23

(The entire passage of Romans 3:21-26 would be great to read. Click on it to do so.)

My sin is not greater than yours, and your sin is not greater the mine. Sin is sin…period.

Long ago I asked for God’s forgiveness, and it was freely given. I may not be able to forget my past but, praise the Lord, those things are no longer held to my account.

Romans 3:24 goes on to say,

“Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

No matter how many times I have fallen in many areas of my life, when I have sincerely asked, God has forgiven me. No sin is too far out or so deeply ingrained that God cannot forgive. We may carry the scars of our actions for the rest of our lives, but our souls are free from condemnation all because of Your great sacrifice, Jesus.

So today, if there is something you have done – maybe even something long, long ago – and you just can’t seem to forgive yourself. Remember, if you have asked God for His forgiveness and this great God, this holy and perfectly pure God, has forgiven you then there is nothing for you to hold on to. It is gone. It is over. It is finished. What is behind is behind and the only place worth moving is forward. So, with God’s aid do so – move forward.

Lord, I would ask that You would enable me, each and every day, to follow closely by Your side. I pray that sin will increasingly repulse me and that my light will shine all the more brightly.

(May 2nd, 2017, Tues, 6:32 am)
May 18th, 2023, Thurs, 5:05 pm