Chapter Six

Imagine the gifts you received in the past...a pretty package with bows, but rather than open it you decided to give it back. Unimaginable, right? But that's exactly what we do if we don't accept God's grace. He offers us this wonderful gift of undeserved love and favor that is limitless. We read about Saul (Paul) who hated and persecuted christians and how God's grace even extended to him. God's grace extends to us as well. We may know this in our heads now, but we must learn to feel this in our hearts too. We must learn to see with our hearts God's abiding love he has for us. To do otherwise is a playground for the enemy.

We talked about asking for forgiveness for our abortion and read scripture Isaiah 38:17 and Psalm 103:12 supporting that God puts our sins behind your back and puts our sins as far as east to west, which can never meet. Why does God so eagerly forget our sins? Not for our own sake, he loves to hear our praise and glory. We talked about not only our sins of abortion, but other sins in our lives and I can speak for myself when I say God knows my human heart and my propensity for sin, particularly from when I was younger. He knows how desperately sorry I have grieved Him. He is a loving God who wants to forgive a repentant heart and remember the sins no more. Through His Son's all encompassing sacrifice I can approach God on judgment day with a clean slate and a receiving heart. And as the book says you may not feel instantly forgiven, but over time you will. Know in your heart you are forgiven.

Please take some time to actually meditate on God's gift of grace and take more time to praise him for it each day.

Some additional scriptures to read are: Hebrews 8:8-13: God saw where Israel could not obey the old covenant so he sent his son to die as the perfect sacrifice for sins once and for all calling this the new covenant. How wonderful God's grace is that he saw how weak and sinful we were and are, yet planned a new covenant to give us every opportunity to revel in His awesome grace.

Jeremiah 29:4-14: Despite year after year of being warned by God through the different prophets Israel continued to sin by the making and worshipping of false idols. God disciplined (because they were still in their sin) the people of Jerusalem by leading them into captivity to Babylon. The people of Jerusalem were exiled for 70 years and during that time God encouraged them and did not forget them. The Lord told them that when the 70 years were up " ' I will come for you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you', declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' " God granted grace and forgiveness again and again in the Old Testament and He grants it to us again and again. He loves us.
Isaiah 44:22: "I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you." God not only forgives our sins, He wants us, in facts, commands we return to Him.