Blog Archive

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Easy

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.



Forgiveness is easy to obtain. Too easy? Confess and trust. Lay down your sin and be cleansed; walk on. It is easy for us. It was not easy for Jesus to purchase for us. With respect to power and ability, nothing is difficult for God. But the purchase of our forgiveness cost Christ his blood and that cost pain and anguish and heartache. It cost excruciating and unfathomable pain.

Forgiveness and grace are free to us. They were very expensive for God. It is the very fact that it is so easy that causes us to lay down the flesh – to die. When we believe how easily we are forgiven because of the very expensive blood of Christ, we come to a point that we can’t stand it anymore. We see that we love Him because he loved us first. We cannot stand to continue to so easily lay down the same sin any longer. We come to be ready to die because we hate that it is so easy for us – when it should not be. As long as we try to fight our sin ourselves, we make it hard for ourselves. When we feel it is hard for ourselves, we are self justified. Regretting the consequences of sin may bring us to hate the sin. But it is the ease with which we are granted forgiveness that causes us to hate our own flesh. It is not enough that we hate what a particular sin produces. We have to hate our own flesh enough to carry it on our "cross" as we follow Jesus. As long as we are convinced that it is a burden for us; that it is difficult for us to be rid of sin and that it is our fight, we miss the immensity of the gift of grace. We miss the reality of the price Jesus paid so that we could be free. What makes sin so heartbreaking is that to be free of it is cost Christ His blood and it cost us nothing.

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About Me

I met Jesus in March 1997 and soon after I began the practice of writing things down that were happening in my life with the Lord. Over the years, in the rare times that I have looked back into older journals, I have found that the things the Lord was showing me then are the same things He is showing me now. This does not make them less helpful, on the contrary, it makes them more helpful. God is exactly who He says He is and is doing all that He said He would. We need to be reminded of God and His faithfulness. The intention of this blog is to encourage God's people to continue and to grow in their confidence in Jesus Christ. The things posted here are from my journal and are meant to be an example of God's love and help as He loves and helps me. I would expect that you would have reason to trust Jesus Christ with your life (and death) if you haven't heard about Him so I invite you to go to my page "About Jesus" to see why you can and should have every confidence in Jesus and Jesus only for all things.