10-22-23 Willisburg Bulletin
Forgiveness
Have you ever considered the fact that just saying “please forgive me” may not be enough? Have you ever had the thought “I haven’t committed a sin today”? Have you ever caught yourself asking God to forgive you for your sins and you don’t even really know the sins you’re asking forgiveness for? I feel like this happens more than we realize, and I know I have caught myself doing it. Do you really think God is going to forgive us of our sins if we are just nonchalantly asking? Does God require a detailed list of every single sin we’ve ever committed to be forgiven of them? I don’t think so, but it’s all in the attitude and the approach we take to God. If we are coming before God with an attitude of humility and shame, knowing you’ve done wrong, but wanting to make it right, we are starting off on the right footing (James 4:10). God will be willing to grant us grace if we are coming to Him with a genuine, heart-felt apologize for disobeying (Proverbs 3:34). He wants us to realize when we sin and know we can’t be saved without Him. We must realize, we NEED God, because His grace is the only thing that is sufficient to cover our sins (2 Corinthians 12:9). On the other side, if we are coming to God at the end of the day, saying a quick prayer and just mentioning forgiveness, we need to rethink. Forgiveness is a serious matter and without it, we are eternally lost!
Kneel At The Cross
Go read the song, “Knee at The Cross.” It calls for us to “leave every care” and part of the care is all your worries, doubts, and fears. But I think we need to be careful when praying that we don’t overlook that this “care” includes our sins. When you are praying in private (in your home, before bed, with your spouse, with your brethren), I believe God wants us to acknowledge our sins and not just asking for forgiveness for sins, but specifically asking for forgiveness for this and for that. If you know you have committed a particular sin, admit that, leave that with God, and make a change. I do think by naming the sin individually we will see just how much we need God and how bad sin really is. We tend to generalize sin and it has overlapped into our prayer life. Let’s work on making this a priority. Let’s start talking to God like we would our spouse, our best friend, our parents. He truly is the one who is there no matter what and will show no judgment if you have a penitent heart.
Christ Will Meet You
The chorus ends with Christ will meet you there…” and how blessed are we that He will take the effort and time to find us if we are seeking. It’s not all on God. In fact, it’s all on us to go find Him. Christ came to seek and save the lost. We are the lost, and He has already found us, but we are also called to seek Christ. If He is willing to seek after us so much as to die on the cross for our sins, we ought to have the ability and desire to seek after Christ so much as to die to ourselves and the world (Mark 8:34; Galatians 2:20; Romans 6).
Jesus’ Love Lifts The Weight
With Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, He is able to take the weight of our troubles, thoughts, and trials off our shoulders. The only thing holding Him back from removing them is us not asking. We must ask. Just like our sins. We MUST ask for forgiveness; otherwise, He will not forgive. Jesus has borne our sins already on the cross. The price has been paid so why would you leave the weight on your own shoulders and keep that sin hanging above your head. It could be the cause for you going to Hell.
I know we don’t want that. So let’s take the opportunity to ask God to forgive us and be willing to acknowledge our sins specifically when we are talking to God, especially in our private prayers. Christ loved us so much (John 3:16); He is willing to take the burdens all away, why do we keep carrying them?