Forgiven

God loves you. Right where you are, regardless of what you've done or even what you're doing that you KNOW you should not be doing, he still loves you. He hates sin and can have no part with it because he is God and HOLY (hence why Jesus came and died on the cross, now we can be right with God and approach him humbly and boldly at the same time, whew! praise him!) This post is for the person who is walking with Christ now and trying to live right now, but your past keeps creeping back. This could be in the form of others "reminding" you of how you used to be or maybe the guilt of your past behaviors and mistakes  are still controlling you. You've asked for forgiveness, you are no longer doing the same mistakes or things you used to, you've accepted Jesus as your Savior, you're reading the bible and going to church etc. You are doing all this and growing in your relationship with him, but you still carry baggage and not good enough feelings with you on a daily basis. We are told to guard our hearts for a reason. You can't afford to entertain EVERY thought that enters your mind or every feeling that may come your way. Living a life based on pure emotions is dangerous and so draining. I wore myself out when I lived that way. Seriously. You have to live life based on truth. 

What is truth? Truth is knowing that yes, I may feel like crap right now, or this person really made me mad over this situation, but I KNOW that I will get over it and it's not a big deal so i refuse to stress myself over this. Truth is KNOWING and BELIEVING that when Christ enters your life (for real, for real) and you start living like it and you ask him for forgiveness, your sins are forgiven and God remembers them no more. He's not saying, " Well, Nto on x,y, z date you did this and it was wrong, I did not forget about that" I am blameless in his sight. Those past sins have no power over me anymore. I am forgiven. 

We live our lives not simply according to what we know, but rather what we believe. 

Do you believe that God has forgiven you? I love Psalms 103. Take some time and read the entire psalm. It's so beautiful, so comforting, a must read for everyone. Verses 8 through 13 says this (according to new living translation version): 

" The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. He does not punish us for all our sins deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him." 

Such perfect love. You won't ever find this type of love anywhere. You know how HARD it is to forgive someone who has hurt you, truly forgive them? You may still keep them in your life and you may genuinely love them, but ever so often what they did may creep in your thoughts, you feel the hurt all over again and when they do something else, you find yourself bringing up what they did in the PAST in their face. Yup, you haven't truly forgiven if you did. I still have a few people in my life that I need to really forgive. I pray about this daily (with a host of other things :) ) However, this post is for those who need to forgive themselves. Let it go. God loves you. He has forgiven you. His love for you runs so deep. His compassion is like nothing you will ever find. You won't find that in no man or no woman for sure. I can tell you that much. I honestly believe only when you have completely surrendered your life to God, yearn for him with a never ending passion and allow his love to mold you, allow him to teach you his ways including how to TRULY LOVE, will you be capable of loving another human being with a love that is so incredible and passionate. You will learn how to love yourself and others better. Don't dwell on the past, what you did, what you did not do. Start anew today. You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. 

Say this prayer,

"Dear Heavenly Father,

Your word says you love me and when I honestly ask for forgiveness you remember my sins no more. When I feel guilty and begin to dwell on my past, help me to let it go and give it to you Lord. I need your help to forgive others and myself. Thank you for forgiving me and loving me regardless of the heartbreak I caused you when I sinned. You are so worthy, so faithful, filled with mercy and compassion. I want to live for you and love you with all my heart. Help me to obey your word, because that pleases you and shows that I really love you. Guide me in all truth Father. In Jesus, precious name I pray. 

Amen

I love you all :) 

Nto