December 11, 2024 - Titus‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬-‭7

“When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.” Titus 3:4-7 NLT

Jesus, it can be so hard to accept the gift of your forgiveness. Maybe because sometimes it seems impossible for us to forgive ourselves. If we can’t extend grace to ourselves for the things we have done, how can we expect you to do so? It is ingrained in us that justice must be paid, so we punish ourselves. To overcome we try to earn love and forgiveness, but we fail and find ourselves even more buried in self-punishment and unforgiveness. It is a hopeless cycle that we can’t escape without your help. Oh, our Lord, open our hearts and minds to understand how your forgiveness works. It doesn’t matter what we have done, you have already paid the price for justice. It is done. You stand there with open arms waiting for us to accept your love and forgiveness. You want to lift the weight off us. You don’t want us to feel guilty. You desire us to live in freedom.

Lord, we praise you that you have set us free from sin, guilt, condemnation…all of it gone, forgiven. When the devil tells us something different, help us to stand on your truth and decide to step into your forgiveness yet again...and again, as many times as it takes for us to be free. We declare that we don’t have to earn your grace, and we freely accept it. We have been washed clean. We are wholly loved by you. We praise you for the price you paid for us. We are so grateful, and we will walk in the freedom that you bought for us. Thank you.

In Jesus name, amen.