Isaiah 55:7
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his
thoughts. Let him return unto the Lord and He will have mercy
upon him. Let him return to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon.
Micah 7:19
Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives
transgressions? You do not stay angry forever but delight to
show mercy. You will again have compassion on us. You will
tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the
depths of the sea.
Psalm 103:8-13
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and
abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will He
harbor His anger forever. He does not treat us as our sins
deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high
as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for
those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so
far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has
compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on
those who fear Him.
I John
1:8-10, 2:1
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all
unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him
out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives. If
anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our
defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
Jeremiah
31:34
I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sin no
more.
Hosea 14:4
I will heal their backsliding. I will love them freely.
The other day in
my second grade classroom Sam came to me and told me that a
prize he won earlier in the day was missing. We asked the
class but no one seemed to know where it went. When the class
went to Art class, I did a quick search and there it was in
Jessie's desk. As I walked down the hall I thought how I would
handle this. I could "call her on it" and then
discipline her. But as I walked, I thought how gracious Jesus
has been to me through the years. How many times I had failed
to do right and yet He was patient with me.. What wonderful
grace and love He has shown. When the children came back to
the room, I told them how everyone makes mistakes including
myself and their friends. What matters is how we handle the
mistakes. Do we try to hide or do we make it right. Hiding
makes us guilty and there is a dark cloud over us. But making
it right lifts the cloud of guilt and we can go on. I knew
that Jessie would have to make her own decision. Sure enough,
Jessie went up to Sam a few moments later and gave him the
prize back and told him she was sorry. Jessie had made a good
decision. We all sin. We can choose to hide our sin and be
miserable with condemnation looming over us or we can make it
right by confessing our sin and turning away from our wrongs.
I have made so many errors in life yet there has never been a
time when Jesus would not listen to my struggle and cleanse my
heart. There are no sins too great for Jesus to forgive. And
no sin is too difficult for the power of the Holy Spirit to
help us overcome.
Psalm 32
Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against
him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
When I kept
silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was
sapped as in the heat of summer.
Then I
acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I
said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"
and you forgave the guilt of my sin.