Forgiven?

Have you ever done something in your life that you regret now, and you
wish that it had never happened and that you could start all over again?
I know I have, and not only once, but a few times. It must be
devastating for people to live their lives with the guilt that comes
from believing that they *can’t* be forgiven, and to keep on living in
that lie.

Jeffrey Dahmer, who was indicted on fifteen murder charges, near the
end, ultimately declared himself a born-again Christian. This conversion
occurred after Jeffrey read some evangelical material that his father
sent him, and a Christian minister visited him in prison and studied the
Bible with him. Jeffrey was later immersed in water for the remission of
his sins. He believed that God had forgiven him.

1 Corinthians 6:9a,11 – Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God ? Such were some of you. But you were
washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (NASB)

In our eyes, some sins and mistakes, like murder, seem unforgivable. But
in God’s eyes, any mistakes that His children make have already been
forgiven by His Son’s death on a cross. Jesus’ resurrection brings us a
second chance at a new, forgiven life! No one is beyond Christ’s
forgiveness.

Colossians 2:13-14 – And when you were dead in your transgressions
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with
Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having cancelled out the
certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was
hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to
the cross. (NASB)

So, in the same way that God has forgiven us, we must also forgive each
other.

Ephesians 4:32 – And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving
each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (NASB)

Prayer: Father in heaven, we give You thanks that You have sacrificed
Your Son, Jesus, so that we can live as a forgiven people and start all
over again. Amen.