Faith-bearing Seed for the Soul
"While the earth remaineth,
Seedtime and harvest
....shall not cease"

Genesis 8:22

Triumphant Over Sin!

One time an evangelist said to a congregation, "If you knew ALL ABOUT ME, you wouldn't allow me to speak at this church." An obvious uncomfortable hush came over the group as the preacher paused for a few groping seconds. Looking right into their eyes, he continued, "But, if I knew ALL ABOUT YOU, I probably wouldn't want to associate with you either." Everyone laughed and he proceeded to preach about how the Lord knows everything there is to know about us, and yet, how when we repent, He forgives us and will use our lives to glorify the Kingdom of God.

Colossians 2:14,15 L/B

"He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.  In this way God took away Satan's power to accuse you of sin, and God openly displayed to the whole world Christ's triumph at the cross where your sins were all taken away."

When God said that he destroyed ALL of our sins...that He removed them as far as the East is from the West, does He mean that, as He says in Hebrews, Chapters 8 & 10, that "our sins and lawless deeds, He will remember no more"...does he really FORGET ABOUT THEM after we repent?

Isaiah 43:25

I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Numbers 23:19

God is not a man, that he should lie, Nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Yes, I believe that when we genuinely repent of our sins, that the Lord does forget about them. When I say "repent" I mean that we have turned our back on that particular offense, turned away from it and have trusted Jesus to keep us from repeating it again and again. Unfortunately, our fellow man is not as gracious as God is in forgetting our sins, nor are we as forgiving of ourselves as He is sometimes.  

For years I fretted over a sin in my life that I had repented of. Every so often I would go back to God and ask Him again to PLEASE forgive me! One day, while on my knees pleading with God to forgive me of that sin,  I felt that He asked me, "What sin are you talking about, Marlene?" There was a silence, and then I heard, "I don't remember that sin...I have no record of it. You must have ALREADY repented of that." That set me free from all of man's, and the devil's condemnation. I don't ever think about it any more because God doesn't either. In addition to what I believe the Lord said to me, there is another way that I can tell that I truly repented of that sin. I've never repeated the offense after repenting. Through His shed blood, the price He has paid erased it and I have triumphed over sin! There are still those who would hold it over me, but, just as He forgave me, I forgive them.

Romans 14:1 (Emphasis mine)

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.

He wants to use those He has forgiven, to bring glory to His Kingdom. However, we must realize that He is faithful and just to forgive us of all our sin, and that He purifies us from all unrighteousness. Without this realization the devil will heap condemnation on us, telling us that we aren't good enough...that we just don't measure up, and this will hinder our effectiveness.

There may be many reasons why others may think that God shouldn't have called you or me to serve Him, but don't worry, we're in good company:

Paul was a murderer. So was Moses and David.

David had an affair.

Moses stuttered.

David's armor didn't fit.

John Mark was rejected by Paul.

Timothy had stomach trouble.

Hosea's wife and David's great-great-grandmother were prostitutes.

Amos' only training was in the school of fig-tree pruning.

Jacob, Abraham and Isaac were liars.

Solomon was too rich.

Jesus was too poor.

Abraham was too old.

David was too young.

Peter was afraid of death.

John was self-righteous.

Gideon had low self-esteem.

Jonah ran from God.

Miriam was a gossip.

Thomas doubted.

Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal.

Elijah was burned out.

John the Baptist was a loudmouth, ate locusts and dressed weird.

Martha was a worrywart.

Mary was lazy.

Samson had long hair and married a heathen.

Noah got drunk, and Jesus was called a wine bibber.

Moses, Peter, Paul and many others had short fuses.

But, they ALL did something right...they called upon the Lord in their time of trouble and He heard them and delivered them from all of their unrighteousness, just like He will do for you and me. As it has been said...the next time the devil brings up your past... just remind him of his future!

Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ Jesus,

Marlene JuHaros,

Texas Sower

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"Keep on sowing your seed, for you never know

which will grow--perhaps it all will."

Eccl. 11:6

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