Thought for the day – Thursday 4th June2020
Romans 8: 1, 12 – 14: So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus…So, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation whatsoever to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you keep on following it you will perish. But if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it its evil deeds you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
Charles Wesley had a similar heart-warming experience to his brother John, only slightly earlier. Like his brother, he was assured that there was total forgiveness for those who become a child of God by accepting Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. They both realised, however, there was another step – acceptance of God’s forgiveness. When Charles wrote “my chains fell off, my heart was free…” that is what he was thinking of.
We can rejoice in the loving forgiveness of God. But we need to accept it fully too. So often we find it hard to accept the freedom that forgiveness should bring but instead choose to keep carrying the burden of guilt. Charles Wesley also wrote:
“No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in him, is mine!
Alive in him, my living Head,
and clothed in righteousness divine,
bold I approach the eternal throne
and claim the crown, through Christ my own.”
Our job is to leave the past behind and go forward, determined to share the joy and the freedom we can claim through Jesus with others who need that same freedom and joy. There is no such thing as partial salvation – all people can be saved COMPLETELY!
Today consider – have I really left my burden completely at Calvary with Jesus, or did I bring the wrapping paper back with me?
Prayer:
Today, Lord Jesus, I’m asking you to take all the sin from my past. To take the burden completely away. Give me a certainty that I am forgiven and the courage to leave the past behind me. Today we pray for those who have been hurt and damaged in the past and ask that you will enter into their lives, through your Holy Spirit, to bring healing and wholeness and a knowledge of your love.
In Jesus’ name.
Amen.