April 04, 2016

Move On

Devotion for the Week...

Nathan has developed the habit of saying sorry A LOT. Now, normally I would not consider this to be a problem since apologizing when you've done wrong is a good character trait. But Nathan is saying he's sorry at times when he hasn't done anything wrong, like when he asks me to get him something he can't reach and says, "I'm sorry for making you get up," or when he wants me to read to him and he apologizes for that. The thing that really get me, though, is when he does do some little thing wrong and he apologizes for it over and over and over. Even when he knows we're not upset with him, and he knows we've heard and accepted the first apology, sometimes he just can't seem to move on and be okay with what happened. He keeps feeling bad about it. Sometimes it's even weeks or months later when he apologizes again.

Do you do that with God? Do you keep feeling guilty and apologizing over and over for the things in your past? I know I've done it with things before. And yet, God isn't upset with us over those things anymore because He heard the first apology. Not only that, but once He forgives us for our sins, He doesn't remember them anymore!

Don't get me wrong, God isn't some forgetful old man whose memory has holes in it. No. He's still omniscient and knows everything, but He chooses not to remember our sins once we have repented of them.

Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." They're gone. Not to be dragged back into view again and again to remind us of how we've failed in the past. Gone. As far away as we can possibly imagine, that's how far away our sins are once we've been forgiven.

Romans 8:1,2  says, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." Read that again. No condemnation.

Do you truly believe that? Or do you feel like God has a list somewhere of all the times you've sinned, a list that He checks frequently to keep his memory fresh? God tells us in these verses that there is no list because we are in Christ Jesus. Once we have repented and accepted Jesus' sacrifice for our sins, there is no record kept of them. God no longer condemns us because those sins are forgiven and He chooses not to remember them.

But what about you? Have you chosen not to remember your past sins? Or are you like Nathan, bringing them up again months later, or even years later, and feeling the need to apologize for them all over again? If that's you, then let this thought settle into your heart and mind...God doesn't want you to apologize for that sin again. It's already been forgiven and now He chooses not to think of it anymore. Now it's time for you to forgive yourself and give yourself the freedom to move on with no condemnation, from God or from yourself.

2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading this. Yes, sometimes I'm like Nathan, but other times I can't wait to forget!
    Blessings on you,

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  2. Great food for thought Leanne and a wonderful reminder of how complete God's forgiveness is. And yes I do sometimes forget to move on. I hope Nathan learns to move on too.

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