20
Apr '19
Christ’s Sacrifice for my Sins (EASTER)
20
Apr '19
Oh man… can’t we find ourselves in some predicaments in life sometimes?? When fumbles in life happen, when things I do go completely against what God is teaching me in the Bible, it just feels horrible, but admittedly, sometimes I’ll still make those fumbles. Sometimes without meaning to, other times, I screw up completely and fully aware that I’m screwing up. Embarrassing to admit, but it happens. I think how in the world God can still love me after everything I’ve done and how my sins put Him on that cross that day so many years ago.
We’re coming up on the remembrance of Jesus’s death and resurrection, and as I was leaving church today, I was thinking about when God the Father left Jesus on the cross that day to bear my sins. God had forsaken Jesus for 3 hours (from noon until 3pm) while the sins of the world were placed fully on Jesus. God could not be near sin, so He had to leave Jesus to deal with all of it alone. Can you imagine? I think of all the things that I’ve done that put Jesus on that cross and I think about how I feel just knowing that I’ve done those things that put Him there. Can you imagine taking on the SINS OF THE WORLD?? Like, not only your sins, but everyone’s sins that would ever live! Taking that on yourself and feeling it? I can’t even imagine – there is no word in our language that can explain what that must have felt like. My sins, while many and large, are just a drop in the infinite ocean of sins that Jesus paid the price for that day. Wow. Just wow.
I recently went to a Priscilla Shirer event with a few of the ladies from church, and something Priscilla said about this topic was really great. She said “You can’t sin your way out of your salvation”. While I knew and know this to be true, it’s just sometimes good to be reminded. We have to remember to see ourselves through God’s eyes, not our own, imperfect, human eyes. Once we’ve accepted Jesus into our life, we are held blameless in God’s eyes when we ask for forgiveness and repent. Sometimes I want to be held BLAMEFUL for what I do when I screw up, because it doesn’t seem fair to me that Jesus took all of that on Himself for me, but the scriptures tell us that’s not the way it works. He took all of that for me so I wouldn’t be held accountable for it to God our Father.
I’m just so thankful today for the cross and what Jesus did for me. He died for me. Even if I were the only person in the world, He would’ve died for me and for my sins. Even if you were the only person in the world, He would’ve died for you and your sins. Isn’t that humbling? The creator of the universe died for you because He loves you THAT much.
So, don’t for a second think that whatever you did was too much for the Lord to handle. Anything you do doesn’t take Him by surprise, because He knows your every tomorrow even when you don’t. We may actually be surprised ourselves by something we may say or do, but it was not a surprise to Jesus. Know that His forgiveness reaches into the depths that we never think it could, and then remember to forgive yourself and move forward. A good friend recently asked me a great question. He said “Since Jesus forgives you, why can’t you forgive yourself?” Good question. We are commanded to forgive, and that also means forgiving ourselves.
When the woman came to Jesus and people were ready to stone her for her sins, in John 8 Jesus says “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!”. The accusers slipped away one by one and left Jesus and the woman, while Jesus was stooped down writing in the dust.
“Then Jesus stood up and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?” “No, Lord,” she said. And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.” – John 8:10-11 NLT
Life fumbles are going to happen. We need to own up to them, repent, and then move forward knowing that God has us wrapped in His arms and forgives us. We may feel we have disappointed ourselves and God, but we are NOT a disappointment to Him. We are His children and He loves us – fumbles and all.
Please let us use this weekend as a time of remembrance of what Jesus went through, and did for us on that cross.
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*Dena*
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