It’s exciting to hear about people getting their relationships cleaned up after me sharing about Jesus’ teaching on a life of forgiveness (if you didn’t hear it, I recommend you listen to it! Here’s the link). To have our heart right with others is to have our heart in the right place with God! 🙂

One facet I wasn’t really able to cover in the talk was that we actually have to FORGIVE OURSELVES in the same way that God does!!!  Shocking, I know! Or, maybe it should be a no-brainer. But, many times, we don’t!  When we know we have sinned, we may feel convicted in our hearts and go to the Lord in genuine repentance to receive forgiveness.  Yet, we hold that sin against ourselves… living in ongoing guilt and shame, thinking we have to take a “time out” to pay for what we’ve done wrong. It’s a lie!  Because when we’ve gone to the Lord in genuine repentance, He actually says He “remembers your sins NO MORE” (Hebrews 8:12). Don’t you know that when you are living in Christ there is actually NO CONDEMNATION (Romans 8:1). That’s the Truth!

So, when we try to think differently, we’re actually trying to play God!

Do you think you know better how to deal with your life and your situation than He does? If He has decided that His best plan is to remember your sin no more, then, that’s the right way to go! Do you think dwelling on your sin will help you get free?? Or, would it be more effective to move on and actually put your eyes on JESUS, who HE is and what HE has done? THAT is how we throw off sin — fix your eyes on Jesus and keep running after Him (Hebrews 12:1-2).

I know you aren’t really trying to play the part of God. But, if you find yourself often unforgiving toward yourself, you may actually be agreeing with the devil! The devil is a liar. All he does is lie. Don’t believe the lies! He is called the “accuser of the bretheren”, and he is constantly trying to accuse you of your sin before God. But, get this: Even when he accuses you before the Father, talking about your sins (which are covered by Jesus’ blood), he’s lying! Because the Father looks at him and says, “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”. And when the devil comes to you talking about your past sins (and you’ve repented), just say, “You’re a liar! I don’t even know what you’re talking about! That doesn’t even exist! [again, Hebrews 8:12]

I’d actually like to share this journal entry my friend Megan Smith shared with me concerning this very idea:

I need to liberally apply grace to myself, because it comes down to either saying Christ’s blood is enough or that it somehow wasn’t enough to set me all the way free. That punishing myself is in a way disobedience, and that to forgive myself is the highest form of obedience in this area because I know God has forgiven me. God doesn’t have a calendar, he doesn’t care about the anniversaries of our mistakes and he doesn’t want us to either. Do not be haunted by the mirror the devil tries to hold up to remind you of the fact shackles used to be there. Really get a hold of the fact that it IS finished, that He’s done with it and that God will turn this shackle around as a sword on the devil and his schemes. What was meant to destroy me, God will use for one of my greatest triumphs.

Let’s agree to let God be God.  Repent of your sins. Ask for forgiveness. Then forget about it. Jesus does. Just keep your eyes on Him. He is beautiful, dazzling and excellent in every way! 🙂

This is the FREE LIFE! We are made to be free. So be free, and FLY today in the Lord!