Thank God I'm Forgiven! Praise God for your forgiveness and His love, mercy and grace as you begin your quiet time . Yes rejoice and celebrate God inhabiting your praise too.
Good Morning Forgiven and Redeemed of the Lord! Rejoice!
Check out the Connection Blog below about this and worship as you meditate and pray on our God who saves. Dwell in God's presence as you worship, receive and prepare for the day ahead. Ask for help to live, love like Jesus and even forgive as you have been forgiven. Check out the Upper Room. They end with this statement that had me going very deep for a bit and questioning myself with "Does my life reflect this?", "My life is an example of God's loving grace and redemptive power." Is your life a reflection of the love and mercy you have been shown? Thank God I'm forgiven! Help me to be more like You and to repent of all sin. Help me to reflect and incarnate You, Jesus! Come! Help us to choose well and what is right and glorifies you. Thank You! Help us to find accountability partners and some co-laborers to work through these things with as we seek to follow Jesus together! Unite us in Your love and mission of love. Thank You! May many be drawn to You by our loving relationship with You and each other. Thank You! Come live and love through us. May we glorify You! Amen!
Connection Blog:
- Personal Encounter with Jesus
Scripture states that our chief enemy is Satan. "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, we should recognize that behind our flesh and blood enemies ultimately Satan is at work.
The Apostle Paul probably understood this concept more fully than any of the disciples or other believers. At one time, he persecuted the followers of Jesus, even casting his vote to have many put to death while he watched in approval. A case could certainly be made that Paul considered all believers to be his enemies and vice versa. But when God got Paul’s attention on the road to Damascus, which ultimately led to his salvation through Jesus, he grasped for the first time, the mercy of the Lord. He understood that the followers of Jesus were not his enemies, as God gave him tremendous insight about his real enemy – Satan.
Paul went from being an enemy of God to a child of God through a personal encounter with Jesus. He described the difference, from personal experience, to the Philippian church: "For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven" (Philippians 3:18-20a).
It is also important to remember that, like Paul, each of us was at one time an enemy of God: "Since we now have been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life? Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation" (Romans 5:9-11). Because we have experienced the mercy of God, should we not also extend it to others?
Merciful God, my life is whole and new since I began a relationship with Jesus, even when there are disappointments and struggles. There are so many who believe You to be their enemy, when Satan is the one who is making their lives miserable and dysfunctional. Please use me to bring Your light and mercy into the lives of those around me who are in the midst of difficult circumstances.
I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. - Romans 7:18 (NIV)
After my six-year enlistment in the US Navy, I found it extremely difficult to transition back into civilian life. Before I knew it, I was addicted to various drugs and living on the streets of Baltimore. I was completely lost and spiritually dead. During those times of self-inflicted misery, I would break laws to gain access to drugs. I was incarcerated repeatedly. But with each new incarceration, I gravitated to the Holy Bible, and the readings gave me hope. But then I would be released and before long I was using drugs again.
It wasn’t until I read Romans that things started to become clear to me. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, without prayer, faith, and Jesus, the chances of my finally breaking the cycle of addiction were minimal. I didn’t attend church as a child, but I found the Bible at the darkest times of my life.
, I am once again a homeowner. I have taken college courses and am an author. I read my Bible and seek to grow spiritually. As a way of giving back, I help others who are suffering from addiction. My life is an example of God’s loving grace and redemptive powers.
's Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for coming to save us from sin. Help us to rely on your grace. Amen.
