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forgiveness

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ephesians 4:32

Posted on March 13, 2024

And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ – Eph 4:32

I had a job once working at a restaurant. My boss decided it was his job to go out of his way to be mean to me. He’d try to get me to drop plates of food and mess up. Each day, I dreaded going to work because of him. He was never friendly to me, and always seemed to have a grudge against me, for no reason that I could understand.

Every day at work, I challenged myself to do what this verse said. I didn’t react, or respond to him in anger. I wasn’t mean back to him. I was always kind even though he was so mean to me. It didn’t happen immediately, but eventually, my boss stopped giving me such a hard time.

Sometimes the best response to someone who isn’t nice is to do what this verse says. Be kind to those who aren’t nice to you, forgive them when they don’t treat you right. You can do this because God did the same thing to you. He forgave you even when you didn’t deserve it. So even when it’s hard to treat others with kindness, it’s the right thing to do in light of what God did for you.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – November 6

Posted on November 1, 2023

“Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” – Romans 3:24

Have you ever thought about the fact that there is a penalty to sin? Our sin keeps us from God. God can’t have sin around Him, so if you sin, even in the smallest way, that sin keeps you from God.

Our sin demands that we are separated from God. That’s not what God wanted for us, however. So He sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin. Jesus’ sacrifice allows us to be with God.

This is great news for anyone who accepts Jesus into their heart. This means they are freed from what they deserved for sin. To God you’re righteous. What Jesus did was payment for our sins. When God looks at you, He doesn’t see your failures and your sin. Instead, He sees us righteous, made holy by the blood of Jesus.

Daily Devotional and Bible Verse – Hebrews 8:12

Posted on March 8, 2023

And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. – Hebrews 8:12 (NLT)

God has done something truly remarkable. Not only has He forgiven us of the sins that we have done, but He also states that He will not remember them ever again. God is so amazing that not only can He forgive sin, He can completely forget that we ever even sinned at all.

This fact is very freeing. You might believe God has forgiven you, but you feel like you need to keep bringing it back up to Him. You don’t. He’s forgiven you. You can move on.

If sin is still plaguing you with guilt realize that through Jesus, you are forgiven. There is no sin out there that God cannot and has not forgiven you of. In Jesus, you are completely forgiven and made new. Thank God for His forgiveness today! When those feelings of guilt come up today, speak out this scripture and remind yourself that you are forgiven.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Ephesians 4:32

Posted on September 29, 2021

Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

One of the hardest things to do is to be kind and forgiving to people. Especially when those people have done you wrong. When someone mistreats you, the normal response is to get back at them. To hurt them like they’ve hurt you, to give them the silent treatment, or just do something to teach them a lesson. That’s what is considered normal. That’s how most people live their lives.

The Bible stands that on its head and tells us as Christians to be different. We’re challenged to not get back at someone, but to forgive them, just like God forgave us. Doing this isn’t normal, and it isn’t easy, but its what’s right.

And we can do it because God forgave us. We didn’t deserve God’s forgiveness, yet He gave it to us anyway. That means that it’s not too hard for us to forgive those who have mistreated us too.

However, that doesn’t mean that you have to be best friends with someone that hurt you or was unkind to you. It means that instead of spreading rumors about that person, or trashing their locker at school, you choose to drop it and let it go. Forgiveness isn’t saying that what they did or how they treated you was right, it’s simply choosing to stop the cycle of unforgiveness and hurt.

Forgiveness is letting the love of Jesus shine through you even when it’s hard. So challenge yourself today to push past what’s easy and choose to be kind and forgive others.

Pray: God, today I determine to forgive those around me who have hurt me. I choose to not get back or get even with them but to simply love them with your love. With your help, I know I can do it. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Matthew 18:21

Posted on August 5, 2021

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! – Matthew 18:21-22 (NLT)

There is nothing more difficult than dealing with someone who has treated you wrongly. Perhaps someone laughed at what you said, or what you wore to school. Maybe someone didn’t do what you wanted them to do. The normal thing to do in situations like this is to get back at them. You might want to teach them a lesson or treat them like they treated you.

However, today’s Bible verse challenges us to do something different. It challenges us to not only forgive someone, but to keep forgiving them. That means they might keep doing the same thing to you and you are to keep forgiving them. Forgiving someone like that might seem impossible to do. That’s why Jesus gave us what we needed to love and forgive others.

The Bible talks about how God’s love has been placed in our hearts by the Holy Ghost (Romans 5:5). So when Jesus tells us in this verse that we are to forgive and keep forgiving, it’s not something that is impossible for us to do. We can do this because He gave us the love we need to do it. We just have to choose to let that love flow out of us.

Daily Bible Verse and Devotion – Psalm 103:3

Posted on June 12, 2020

Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases – Psalm 103:3 (NIV)

How great is it to know that God has forgiven all our sins? And not just a couple sins, but all of them are forgiven. You’ve been completely forgiven. There is not a single sin that is too big or too small that God hasn’t forgiven. And now because you’re free from sin, you have access to God the father. That’s a freeing thought!

God didn’t just forgive sins, He went the extra mile. The end of the verse also says that He heals all your diseases. It’s great to know that God not only forgives you but He heals you too!

Don’t become too busy today to take some time out to thank God for all He’s done in your life. Be thankful that your sins have been forgiven. You have been given access to God!

Why Jesus Is Like Snapchat

Posted on April 18, 2016

Snapchat is a great way to connect with your friends. You can send them a photo, video, add a caption, and send the snap off to a friend. Snapchat is a great app to use and a lot of fun.

Have you ever thought about the fact that Jesus is a lot like Snapchat? No, Jesus isn’t an app or a way to communicate with your friends, but we can learn about Jesus from Snapchat.

Once a snap is sent, it can be viewed for a limited amount of time. Then the snap deletes. Its never seen again. This is a lot like what Jesus did for us on the cross. Our sin was a barrier to get to God. We couldn’t come to God on the basis of our works, because any sin, no matter how small keeps us from knowing God. What we needed was a solution to our sin. The solution was Jesus.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. – Romans 3:23 (HSCB)

Jesus Fixed The Problem

Jesus was able to delete sin, permanently. Once we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins, they’re gone, deleted once and for all. Just like the snaps in snapchat. They can’t be viewed again once they’re deleted. And that’s what Jesus did for us. He deleted the sin out of our lives by dying on the cross. His death and resurrection caused the sin problem to be destroyed. When we accept Jesus in our lives, all our sins are deleted. They’re gone. We can go to God as if sin never existed in our lives.

Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. – Romans 8:2 (NIV)

So the next time you use snapchat, let it be a reminder to you of how Jesus was and is the solution to sin.

If you’re a youth leader and liked this devotion, we’ve got a great youth leader lesson download based on this devotion.

Why Jesus Is Like Snapchat – Youth Group Lesson
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How to Deal With Guilt

Posted on May 20, 2015

Have you ever messed up? Maybe it was a big thing, or it could be as simple as feeling bad because you told a lie to your sister. It doesn’t really matter what you did, but usually after you do something wrong, you feel bad. You have guilt. Guilt is a real thing. Lots of times, we know to do right, but do wrong instead.

God has said in 1 Jn 1:9 “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”.

This means that when you say “God I’m sorry I did wrong- please forgive me” that God hears you. But the next step we must also do is believe the second part of that verse. “to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” means to take away the guilt associated with sin. He not only cleanses the sin and He remembers it no more, He also removes the guilt. This is the part of sin that stays in our minds- we see ourselves having done wrong. But when God removes the sin, He removes the memory from His mind- so you are back in right standing again with God. Our part is to forgive ourselves as well and then see ourselves right with God again- because that what God sees.
Guilt is satan’s way of keeping the effects of sin continually bombarding your mind and feelings.  “I don’t feel forgiven” you may say. But you must believe you are forgiven and every time the thought or feeling comes, you must speak to it and say, “regardless of how I feel, I know God has forgiven me, I have forgiven myself and I am now righteous (in right standing) with God.”

Think about it: You’re either forgiven and not guilty or guilty and not forgiven

Prayer: Father, I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I see myself forgiven and I believe you erased it from Your memory. I choose to erase it from mine as well. You said I am righteous and forgiven so I say I am and think the way you think. Thank you for freeing me from all sin and guilt so I happily serve you today free!