There is power in applied
truth. Much like a tool that is left on
the shelf and never used for the purpose it was credited for, we have powerful
truth about us that needs to be used.
God created us with purpose, and that purpose is less about and more
about the Savior.
I meet people almost every
day that struggle with applying the truth of God to their lives. They have barriers of one kind or another
that need to be removed. I have had to
deal with some of those barriers as well.
The Bible is the place to
start because it is God’s word and God’s love letter to us. Simple facts about our identity and reality
will change how we respond to life and to the confidence we will live with each
day.
Here is a passage packed
with truth:
Psalm
32:1-5 NLT
Oh, what joy
for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose
record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete
honesty! 3 When I refused
to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of
discipline was heavy on me. My strength
evaporated like water in the summer heat. 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying
to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I
will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
FORGIVEN ---
forgiveness is one of the most incredible things in the world. I read an article earlier this week about
relationships that thrive. One of the
main points of strong relationships is that both parties know how to give and
receive forgiveness. The same is true
with our connection to God. He has
forgiven our sin because He knows that our freedom from the weight of sin makes
a huge difference. Have you accepted the
full forgiveness of God? Is there
someone in your life that you need to forgive or offer forgiveness to?
CLEARED OF
GUILT --- the feeling of getting clean is pretty amazing. This doesn’t always happen with soap and
water. Something being cleared of guilt
is the thing that lifts a huge weight off of our lives. Maybe you deal, like many people do, with
self-condemnation. This is where you
know about God’s forgiveness and have interacted with it, but it seems
impossible to allow your conscious to be cleared. Apply the truth of a guilt free life by
believing what God says. Or maybe you
have an issue with giving up a certain sin.
Not until you give it up will you be cleared of the guilt.
REFUSED TO
CONFESS --- sin will stick about and the consequences of sin will stick around
as long as you allow it to. Satan wants
to pervert and twist our thinking that our issues are too small to really
matter or that we are not worthy of God’s forgiveness. Yet there are others who simply enjoy the
wrong they are involved in too much to let it go. By staying in sin, by refusing to confess and
leave our bad habits, we forfeit the blessings of God. It is our choice to choose positive or
negative consequences. When we refuse to
confess our sin, we miss the best things God has for us.
CONFESS MY
REBELLION…MY GUILT IS GONE --- this is the light bulb coming on over our
head. This is when we finally put out
the trash or realize that we have found the best things of life. God is offering second chances to any one who
will walk His direction and leave the old stuff behind.
It’s a great
feeling to apply the truth of forgiveness to our lives. God is willing to forgive. God is ready to lift us up. God wants to embrace you and I and help us
see the best possible days and blessings.
And all that keeps that from happening is to let the forgiveness of God
fill us from head to toe and throughout life.
God really is good.
Acts 13:38 NLT
Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim
that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness
for your sins.
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