True Forgiveness

But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.
1 John 1:9

God demands one thing from us when we sin.

Genuine repentance.

He wants us to recognize what we've done…how we've hurt our relationship with him and with anyone else who was affected by our sin. God wants us to feel genuine sorrow (not guilt!), and he wants us to come to him in prayer to make things right.

If we do that, we are forgiven.

But God doesn't just forgive us. He also purifies us.

Before you roll your eyes and say "there you go again with some blah blah blah," here me out on this…

He also purifies us…all that means is that God washes away the sins we confess. He scrubs our hearts clean. And he forgets the sin forever. F-O-R-E-V-E-R. That's his incredible promise to us.

Now here's a tip – If God forgets about a sin, you should forget about it too! Don't keep beating yourself up over something you have been forgiven for. Do what you need to do in order to make things right. Apologize to anyone who might have been hurt as a result of your actions. Ask people for forgiveness. Fix the situation the best you can. And when you're all done, put the whole messy incident behind you – for good – and move on with your life.

Keep one thing in mind though – "moving on" also means not allowing other people to keep you down because of something you have done in the past. What I am trying to say is that if someone refuses to forgive and forget and you've sincerely tried to make things right, that is now THEIR problem. That person who refuses to forgive will have to answer to God for their hardened heart. Moving on also means rejecting unfair reputations that people try to give you. Don't allow yourself to be defined by a past mistake!

Remember, if it comes down to a choice of believing what people say about you versus believing what God's Word says about you, always go with God's Word.

Who can you forgive today? Each one of us has something that has happened to us recently that really hurts inside. All of us. Who can you forgive today, as God has forgiven you?