Monday Morning Encouragement

Good morning! I wanted to talk to you this morning about the depth of God’s mercy and grace.

This past week my family and I went on vacation to the coast of Delaware for a seaside getaway. During one of our visits to the beach I decided to go body surfing. Now for a big guy like me that’s a dangerous thing to do…it’s very embarrassing having people drag you back out to sea yelling something about “free Willy!” During my body surfing endeavor I failed to remove my sunglasses and when I came up out of the water they were gone. Of course I scanned the surf for a moment, but I had to face the reality they were gone for good…never to be seen again.

All of us have a past. Some of it is filled with fond memories, but much of it is filled with pain, disappointment and guilt. Many of us carry around a the luggage of our past failures…the overnight bag of moral failure, the knapsack of broken relationships, the duffle bag of ethical compromise. The fact of the matter is that all of us have done wrong in the eyes of God at some point in our lives. The Bible makes this point painfully clear:

Romans 3:23 (NLT)
For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard.

Of course we know our past mistakes and wrongdoings, but God is all knowing…on His eternal tally board the demerit list must be horrendous right? Not exactly!

God is full of mercy and full of grace. Have you ever had to apologize to someone for wronging them? You may remember the anxiety that went along with making that confession, but do you remember the weight you felt lift when they said “I forgive you?” God has offered each of us His forgiveness. Jesus death on the cross was God’s offer of forgiveness to each one of us for all that we have done or will ever do. Look at what the Bible has to say about the cleansing of the cross:

1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)
He personally carried away our sins in his own body on the cross so we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. You have been healed by his wounds!

Great, so I can be completely forgiven of my past…but God still has his tally board, doesn’t He? Absolutely not! This to me is the most amazing part of God’s grace. When I forgive I still hang on to memories…sometimes very painful memories. God, on the other hand, not only forgives, but He removes the memory of sin. Look at this promise:

Micah 7:19 (NLT)
Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!

Isn’t that exciting! My sins are like my sunglasses…never to be seen or heard from again. When we confess our sins to God and we acknowledge that Jesus paid the price for those sins upon the cross, we don’t have to carry around the guilt of the past. God has given complete forgiveness and the account of your past has been placed in the depths of the sea.

Today if you are carrying around guilt and remorse over choices in your life it’s time to head out to sea. Take that bag of guilt drop it overboard and let it sink to the depths of the sea. God has extended His hand of grace to you…grab hold and let him lift you up.

If you would like to know more about experiencing the grace and mercy of God in your life, please drop me a line.

Until next Monday may God’s richest blessings be yours this week.

Carl