Easter! It conjurs up all sorts of images from most peoples twice a year trip to Church, to Jesus’ suffering on the cross. But when you really think about it, the only image we should really focus on is His sacrifice so we can be forgiven.
Yes, Jesus died a horrific death on the cross so we could be forgiven of our sins. Yes, He took a step down from the heavens to the lowly earthly realm so He could be the sacrifice for us. But most importantly, He left the tomb and showed us that even though He was hurt and maimed by so many, He forgave and died for them.
This is such a great day to celebrate an act that so many of us have forgotten about, or considered to be so unimportant…the act of forgiveness. It’s so easy to say, “I can forgive, but not forget,” but I thank God He never says that. What our Lord DOES say, and what we should practice more of is, “Isaiah 43:25 I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” Notice He says that He will not remember our sins. Then why do we remember and record all the sins that have been committed against us? So why shouldn’t we?
The first reason is that God doesn’t remember ours, so why do we think we’re better than God by remebering all the sins that others have committed against us? Another reason is that it just makes our lives miserable by remembering all the bad things in our lives and not focusing on one of the greatest fruits of the Spirit, which is joy. And finally, one of the biggest ones in my book, is that when we constantly remind someone of what they’ve done wrong, you’re a stumbling block between them and Jesus. You cause them to think that if a person of God cannot forgive (the accuser will always say remember), then certainly God will not. So you’ve now gone from being a Christ-like example to an example of what Christ would not do.
OK, so now you know what’s on my mind today. We need to take this time of year that we celebrate forgiveness and honor the act that Jesus so graciously performed for us. We need to walk out of the tomb of an unforgiving heart and into the freedom of a heart that no longer holds grudges and refuses to forgive others while we ourselves continue to sin. We need to forgive ourselves and others, and to give thanks to the greatest act of kindness ever given….the act of a loving God who chose to die on the cross for those who hurt Him the most. Now if we all did that, then His sacrifice will be truly honored. Will you honor Him today?
Some verse to help you towards the goal of forgiveness.
Philippians 3:13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
Philippians 3:13-14 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Isaiah 43:18-19 “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. …
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.
Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Isaiah 43:25 “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
Pastor Mike Says 