Guiding Light!
Forgiveness!
The act of excusing or pardoning another in spite of his slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God's pardon of the sins of human beings.
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
John 3:16, the entire gospel comes to a focus in this one verse. God's love is not just to a certain group of individuals, it is offered to the world. God's love is not self-centered; it reaches out and draws others in. Here God's actions defined the pattern of true love, the basis for all love relationships. When you love someone, you are willing to sacrifice dearly for that person. Sacrificial love expresses itself without assurance that the love will be returned in kind. The timing of that love was highlighted by Paul's words, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
Rom 5:8.
Sacrificial love is also practical in seeking ways to meet the needs of those who are loved. In God's case, that love was infinitely practical, since it set out to rescue those who had no hope of rescuing themselves. God paid dearly to save us; He gave His only begotten Son, the highest price he could pay. The term translated "only begotten" expresses Jesus' unique value and position as God's only Son. The salvation God offers freely was costly to him.
This offer is made to whoever believes. To "believe" is more than intellectual agreement that Jesus is God. It means putting our trust and confidence in him that he alone can save us. It is to put Christ in charge of our present plans and eternal destiny. Believing is both trusting his words as reliable and relying on him for the power to change.
Jesus accepted our punishment and paid the price for our sins so that we would not perish. Perish does not mean physical death, for we all will eventually die a physical death. Here it refers to eternity apart from God. Those who believe will receive the alternative, the new life that Jesus bought for us, everlasting life with God.
The gospel truly is good news! It is not always seen as good news because people are often afraid it is too good to be true. Moments of honest reflection usually confront us with the hopelessness of our lives. We know we are far from perfect. The bad news is so bad that we can hardly stand it. So we try to protect ourselves from our fears by putting our faith in something we do or have: good deeds, skill, intelligence, money, possessions.
Since perfection is far out of reach, we are tempted to settle for effort. We end up living barely a step ahead of despair. To those who can see their predicament, the gospel is welcomed good news. Only God can save us from the one thing that we really need to fear, eternal condemnation. We believe in God by recognizing the insufficiency of our own efforts to find salvation and by asking him to do his work in us.
If you haven't accepted God's forgiveness, now is the time to do it. It is a simple act of submission to His authority. Confess your sins to God, repent of your sins to God and ask for His forgiveness and it will be granted to you. God alone will know if this request if coming from your heart and soul and He is just and faithful to grant your request and you will have assurance of eternal life in Heaven.
If you have any doubts or questions feel free to email me at anytime and I will share with you the saving grace of Jesus Christ. May today be your spiritual birthday, the day you accept Christ Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. What are you waiting for? Go to Him now!
Heavenly Father, we acknowledge your son, His death on the cross, His resurrection and His saving grace for our eternal lives. We humbly thank you for this gift to us so that we may spend eternal life with you. We will do everything in our power to continue to learn and grow in our faith so that we may become a faithful servant for your Kingdom. We thank you in advance for all that you are doing and all that you will do in our life. Praises, honor and glory to You on most high. It is in the name of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ we pray today........amen
In Christ's Service,
Kenny Millhouse
kenny@guidinglightministry.com
Guiding Light Ministry - an evangelistic outreach!
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