Devotion for April 1--No Do-overs, Just Forgiveness

1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Psalm 32:2 
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile



There are some things in my life that I wish I could take back or do over.  Decisions that I made without fully thinking through the longterm consequences. Things I did knowing I should not, yet I did anyway.  Hurt, retaliation, lies and deciet. I try not to dwell on those things but sometimes life situations (or Satan himself) will bring them back to memory.  Again I tell myself that was a stupid decision.  But no matter how awful I feel, how much I wish certain things had been different, I can't go back and do life over.

The good news is....there is forgiveness.  Jesus promised if we would confess our sins and admit our need for Him that He would forgive us.  Forever.  Done.  Finished.  Never to be spoken of from His point of view.

Sometimes, though, it seems like it is hard for us to accept that forgiveness.  We go to the Lord over and over again with the same sin, the same bad decision, the same regret.  We are living in our feelings--not in the faith and trust we have in Christ Jesus and what He has done for us.  We have a desire to be loved unconditionally---regardless of our mistakes.  Jesus does that for us.  His love is unconditional and everlasting.

We must be willing to accept that Jesus has forgiven us.  We must allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with peace and hope.  God will not condemn us and once we have been made free through Jesus, we are free.  I want to allow myself to feel this forgiveness and to forgive myself.  I want to live my life so full of Jesus that He radiates out of me. I want to let Him wash all that shame and guilt out of my heart and out of my mind.  And I want to be able to counsel with others and say "Yes, Yes God can forgive you for THAT!  I assure you He has forgiven me for much more!"

As we go through today, let us remember that there are no do-overs in life but there is forgiveness in Christ.