Turning to God for forgiveness takes humility. Life has many twists and turns, and the Lord often uses our circumstances to get our attention. Often it takes coming to the end of ourselves before we give up and turn to God. Sometimes turning to God becomes our only option.
Perhaps you are there now. You are calling out to God for help and now you are reading a devotion on forgiveness. No matter who we are, we need to turn to God and ask for forgiveness daily because we sin daily. We are not designed to carry the weight of our sin day after day because it overwhelms us. When we confess our sins and ask Jesus to forgive us, He takes our burden from us.
This is the gift of Jesus. He died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. The cross is the bridge between earth and heaven. Only when we place our faith in Jesus as our Savior can we come to the Father on the bridge.
Unbelief Keeps Me from Seeing and Hearing What God is Really Saying
Humbling myself and asking Jesus to forgive me leads to forgiveness and an open heart. But not everyone hears the words of Jesus and humbly takes them in. As Jesus tells the parable of the sower, the seed is God’s Word, and the soil is the condition of people’s hearts. Not all hearts are good soil for the seeds to be planted in.
Jesus quotes Isaiah the prophet when He talks about spiritual understanding. Mark 4: 11 He said to them, “The privilege of intimately knowing the mystery of God’s kingdom realm has been granted to you, but not to the others where everything is revealed in parables.12 “For even when they see what I do, they will not understand, and when they hear what I say, they will learn nothing, otherwise they would repent and be forgiven.”[1] Jesus explains those whose hearts are not open to the Word will not understand what He is teaching them. This results in people not turning to Him for forgiveness.
Forgiveness Changes Everything
Jesus died on the cross so we could be forgiven, which is our greatest need. As we come to Jesus and place our faith in Him, we begin a new life. Ephesians 1:7 Jesus is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. 8 He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding. [2]
What wonderful verses to encourage us as we remember forgiveness through the grace of Jesus. Do you feel the Lord softening your heart? Remember, there is nothing that you have done that Jesus won’t forgive! He is waiting to hear from you with loving and open arms. To hear more about turning to Jesus for forgiveness, listen here:
https://podpoint.com/light-of-christ-church-podcast/mark-why-some-never-come-to-faith
[1] The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018, 2020 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc.
Used by permission. All rights reserved. thePassionTranslation.com
[2] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Eph 1:7–8). Tyndale House Publishers.