Friday – God extends forgiveness and mercy
Read: Psalm 130:1-6
SOAP: Psalm 130:4-5
“But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” – Psalm 130:4-5
“If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3). Can you imagine if the Lord had a notebook for each of us and He wrote down all our sins, iniquities, and shortcomings? I feel embarrassed for the many pages God would have written about me!
The good news is that He doesn´t make lists like that. In God, there is forgiveness. In God, there is redemption. In God, our sins are forgiven over and over again.
However, we need to be very careful. God´s forgiveness doesn´t mean that we have a free pass to live as we please and stray from God. It means that we have the opportunity to start over when we sin and repent. Peter warns us about this in 1 Peter 2:16: “Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.” Our freedom in Christ must lead us to live holy lives and to serve God wholeheartedly.
How are you using the freedom you have in Jesus? How are you using God´s forgiveness? As a “free pass” or as an opportunity to change and do things right? Take a minute to think about this today as you read today´s verses.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the forgiveness I have in You. I thank You because You always extend forgiveness and mercy to this sinner. Help me always remember the price Jesus paid so that my sins could be forgiven. Amen.