Forgiven by God

I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more," says the Lord. - Hebrews 8:12

One of the greatest blessings that God has given us is the promise of forgiveness. Though we fail time and time again, God is faithful to forgive us when we confess our sins. This confession, however, is not merely a recitation of our obvious mistakes, but also a recognition of our willful choices and OUR disobedience to God's ways.

When we bring these failings to the light of God's LOVE, the Bible tells us that God not only forgives those sins, but He also FORGETS them. It is our own inability to forget our own sins, that is holding us back and often causes a lot of us to deter off God's righteous path.

Until we understand that God forgives us for our sins, and we realize the grace, and compassion He has shown us, will we realize that through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we are made holy and blameless in His sight. As Ephesians 1:7 says, "In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us".

So we should not only receive the gift of forgiveness that God blesses us with, but also rejoice in God's loving forgetfulness with regards to our sins.

What a blessing it is to be forgiven by God!

God's Plan

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

Everything that comes your way this year forms part of God’s plan for your life. God is omniscient and He therefore already knows what is going to happen to you. He is also omnipotent and He can therefore use everything in your life in a positive way. For that reason, you can rely on God totally, instead of making your own little plans.

God has a plan for each of our lives. We have to consider 3 words into our plan this year: initiative, timing and surrender. Swop your own plan for God’s initiative which He sets out in His Word. Work out your carefully and see to it that you do the right thing at the right time. Also, be prepared to accept God’s timing if you are uncertain. 

Finally, surrender your WHOLE life and ALL of your dreams to the Holy Spirit. If He is the pilot of your life, all things will work together for your good.

-         Derived from Living in God’s Love, by Nina Smit

I give myself to you

"My life is not my own, to you I belong, I give myself to you. I give myself away, so you can use me.”

God made the ultimate sacrifice for our sake, by sending His Son to die on our behalf. To die. Imagine losing the one thing that is most precious to you. Imagine losing your child, your mother, your father, your brother, your sister, for the sake of some one else.

I struggle to comprehend the idea that someone would do that, for me, a sinner, unworthy of this sacrifice. I use the term sacrifice very lightly, as Jesus voluntarily bore our sins on the Cross so that we may be saved from an eternity in hell. Despite the countless times that we have sinned and wronged God, He finds each one of us worthy of His love, and worthy of His gift to us. Therefore, personally, I think the LEAST that we can do to show our gratitude (not that He expects any reward for what He has done for us), is to give our lives to Him, and completely and utterly surrender to His Will for our lives. He took the time to formulate a plan and purpose for EACH of our lives before we were even in our mother’s womb! How awesome is it to know that God has given each one of us our own, unique destiny?? 

As His children, He has set us apart from all of those who belong to the world, so that we may rise above all the enemies attempts to take control of our lives.

Jesus is our Saviour, who gave His LIFE, so that we may be saved. There’s no greater love than that.