complete forgiveness

God Is Not Punishing You For Some Sin 

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Some Christians believe that although you have forgiveness of sins, you are not free from the penalties of your sins. In other words, you can still expect punishment from God. For example, some married Christian couples have been told that they are childless because God is punishing them for having had pre-marital sex. So although God has forgiven them of that sin, He still has to punish them for it.

I am certainly not for pre-marital sex, but I want you to know that God, who is the only one who can fully appreciate the full value of His Son’s blood and who is completely satisfied by His Son’s sacrifice, is at rest in His heart today concerning your sins! That is why He is not against you even when you fail. Neither is He out to punish you when you sin. No, He still loves you, is for you and wants to help you overcome that sin.

In the Old Testament, the blood of bulls and goats could only “cover” sins and not take them away. (Hebrews 10:4) But the blood of Jesus is not like the blood of animals! For by one sacrifice, the eternal blood of the Son of God has forever removed your sins (Psalm 103:12) and cleansed you of all unrighteousness! (1 John 1:9) In fact, God is so satisfied with His Son’s perfect work that He says to you today, “Your sins and lawless deeds I will by no means remember!” (Hebrews 10:17) And if God does not remember them, why would He punish you for them?

Beloved, you have “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”. Because Jesus’ work is complete, all your sins have been completely forgiven. And complete forgiveness means that the penalties for your sins can no longer fall on you because they had already fallen on Jesus at the cross. (Isaiah 53:5)

So don’t think for one moment that God is punishing you for some sin just because something bad happened to you. Look to the cross and know that all your sins have already been punished fully in the body of Christ. Believe that God is for you and expect victory!

Thought For The Day
Because Jesus’ work is complete, all your sins have been completely forgiven.

why God rescue us?

Have you ever wondered why God rescued us? 

But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:20‭-‬24 NKJV

You know why you needed rescuing (because of sin), and you know why God wanted to rescue you (out of love). But is there an ongoing, purposeful side to it, something He wants us to do after being rescued?

Yes! But let’s back up to the Garden of Eden for a minute. Remember how Genesis says we were made in God’s image? What does that mean? 

We as humans were created to reflect key characteristics of God, which were perfectly evident in us in the beginning. We were given reason and intellect, giving us the ability to be creative, artistic, and logical. 

We were created with moral values, a reflection of God’s holiness. We were also created as social beings, craving fellowship with others and intimacy in marriage. 

Another part of our created nature was the ability to choose freely. This, of course, led to our downfall because we chose to rebel. We decided we wanted to be God. 

As a result, we ended up in the situation that we’ve been talking about this week: in need of rescue. And it also resulted in us no longer reflecting the true image of God. It was forever marred by sin.

That’s when God executed His plan to rescue us, and offered us the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ as our Saviour. To accept His free gift of salvation. 

So how does that apply to the original question? Well, God’s redemption of us through Christ results in the gradual restoration of the original image of God in us. We are transformed into new creations!

That’s what so much of the New Testament is about: the Holy Spirit at work in us, changing us from the inside out. Gradually restoring us to be more and more in the image of God, by His grace. 

We’ll see signs of the restoration by the fruit in our lives. Our thought patterns will change and our priorities will be adjusted.

Others will see the fruit of the transformation, too, and in this way, God will be glorified, not us. 

And that’s why God rescued us – so we would bring Him, God of the universe, glory and honour and praise.

Christ - Messiah has you covered

Jesus Has You Covered 

Leviticus 1:4 Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

Imagine the perfection of Jesus covering you from head to toe in the sight of God every moment of the day. Does that sound like a dream? My friend, that is your reality today because Jesus became your burnt offering at the cross.

In the case of the burnt offering, when the offerer lays his hand on the animal sacrifice (Leviticus 1:3–4), the perfection and beauty of the unblemished sacrifice is transferred to him, and God sees and accepts him in the perfection of the animal.

In Hebrew, the word “accepted” implies being treated with favor, delight and acceptance. This means that you, for whom Jesus became a burnt offering, are treated by God with favor, delight and acceptance because the beauty and perfection of Jesus have been transferred to you. As your burnt offering, Jesus has made atonement for you on your behalf.

Jesus is your atonement or covering for sin. How precious Jesus is to the Father is how precious you are to the Father because when the Father sees you, He sees Jesus, your atonement, your covering.

So every day, take Jesus as your burnt offering. Come to God and say, “Father, I thank You that Jesus is my burnt offering. He covers me from head to toe with His righteousness. I thank you Father, that You see me without spot or wrinkle. You see me covered in all the value and perfection of the work of Your Son. What He is to You, I am. Who He is to You, I am. As He is now, so am I. I am in Him!” (1 John 4:17)

Jesus has you covered. You don’t appear before the Father with all your faults and shortcomings. Jesus proclaims to you what is right with you in spite of what is wrong with you because He has covered you with His perfection. Today, hear Him telling you, “Go, girl! I have you covered. There is nothing for you to worry about!” Hear Him saying to you, “Go for it, son! I am covering you. There is nothing for you to fear!”

Thought For The Day
You are treated by God with favor, delight and acceptance because the beauty and perfection of Jesus have been transferred to you.

But God clearly shows and proves His own love for us, by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified [declared free of the guilt of sin] by His blood, [how much more certain is it that] we will be saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, it is much more certain, having been reconciled, that we will be saved [from the consequences of sin] by His life [that is, we will be saved because Christ lives today].
ROMANS 5:8‭-‬10 AMP
do heroes rescue? 

YouTube is stocked with videos of heroic acts of courage. People going above and beyond to pull helpless animals out of danger. Medics saving lives in the midst of personal peril. Firefighters jumping into flames, policemen risking their lives to save the innocent. Soldiers sacrificing themselves for their country.

What’s the motivation? 

If you’re a professional rescuer, your motivation is likely duty. You live by a code to honour and protect, and rescue is hardwired into you. You get paid to make sure people see another day.

If you’re not one of those professionals, your motivation in high-risk rescuing situations will probably boil down to either instinct or emotion. You’ll either respond without thinking about it because it’s who you are. Or you’ll feel moved to help out of pity, compassion, or love. 

When you look at the great rescue that God undertook to save us from our sins, it all comes down to love. We deserve to die for the rebellion that rises in our hearts every single day. His pure holiness is in stark contrast to our spiritual filth.

So you’d think His natural “instinct” would have been to let justice be served and to condemn us to the death we deserved. 

But God, choosing to be a merciful judge, placed our punishment on His Son instead. Why? Because He loved us! 

What a gift! There’s no taking credit for that one. Only a God who has an indescribable depth of love for us would be willing to go to that extent to rescue us. 

Returning that kind of love is impossible. We can never do anything remotely close to it. All we can do is live our new lives filled with gratitude for being rescued. 

It’s this sense of gratitude you so often see in people whose lives have dramatically changed after they surrender to Christ. They have a keen sense of just how precious their rescue was. 

Can you imagine the joy God feels when one of His creations stops rebelling and accepts the rescue that He initiated so long ago? 

Reflect today on how far you would go to rescue someone you loved deeply. How passionate and unrelenting you’d be in doing whatever you could to ensure your loved one would be safe from danger. 

Now multiply it many times over to understand how much God loves you! ShareWord

Why do heroes rescue? 

YouTube is stocked with videos of heroic acts of ge. People going above and beyond to pull helpless animals out of danger. Medics saving lives in the midst of personal peril. Firefighters jumping into flames, policemen risking their lives to save the innocent. Soldiers sacrificing themselves for their country.

What’s the motivation? 

If you’re a professional rescuer, your motivation is likely duty. You live by a code to honour and protect, and rescue is hardwired into you. You get paid to make sure people see another day.

If you’re not one of those professionals, your motivation in high-risk rescuing situations will probably boil down to either instinct or emotion. You’ll either respond without thinking about it because it’s who you are. Or you’ll feel moved to help out of pity, compassion, or love. 

When you look at the great rescue that God undertook to save us from our sins, it all comes down to love. We deserve to die for the rebellion that rises in our hearts every single day. His pure holiness is in stark contrast to our spiritual filth.

So you’d think His natural “instinct” would have been to let justice be served and to condemn us to the death we deserved. 

But God, choosing to be a merciful judge, placed our punishment on His Son instead. Why? Because He loved us! 

What a gift! There’s no taking credit for that one. Only a God who has an indescribable depth of love for us would be willing to go to that extent to rescue us. 

Returning that kind of love is impossible. We can never do anything remotely close to it. All we can do is live our new lives filled with gratitude for being rescued. 

It’s this sense of gratitude you so often see in people whose lives have dramatically changed after they surrender to Christ. They have a keen sense of just how precious their rescue was. 

Can you imagine the joy God feels when one of His creations stops rebelling and accepts the rescue that He initiated so long ago? 

Reflect today on how far you would go to rescue someone you loved deeply. How passionate and unrelenting you’d be in doing whatever you could to ensure your loved one would be safe from danger. 

Now multiply it many times over to understand how much God loves yo