Pastor's Corner: The power of being forgiven

One of the Bible concepts that some people have a hard time comprehending is the concept of forgiving. Because of events that have happened in our lives or the things that were modeled to us growing up, many of us were not taught to forgive. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ and acknowledge that he shed his blood for our sins, we receive the free gift of salvation. This salvation is by faith in Christ and by grace as we see in Ephesians 2:8-9. Because of the grace of God, we also receive forgiveness from every sin we have committed. In Ephesians 1:7 it says: “In Him (Jesus Christ) we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. This is repeated again in Colossians 1:14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. In Psalm 103:3-4 we find that we enter into a new relationship with God because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. This is what it says: “Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, (4) who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.” What this means is Jesus paid the price for our sins, “Who forgives all your iniquities”, took (39) whippings by a whip with nine slices of leather, each holding a sharp rock on His body so our bodies are healed, “who heals all your diseases,” “who redeems your life from destruction” means we are no longer destined to spend eternity separated from God in hell, and then the alternative of the new life in Christ is stated: “who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.”

We have so much to give thanks to God for. As we read the scriptures above and meditate on all that was accomplished for us, we are also admonished by God to forgive those who have sinned against us. Peter, as he was being stoned to death spoke these last words in Acts 7:59-60 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” (60) Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep. Now that’s real forgiveness! By the way, the one who ordered Stephen to be stoned to death was a man known as Saul of Tarsus. God eventually honored the prayer Stephen prayed when Saul surrendered his life to Christ, was forgiven for persecuting the Christians, and became Paul, the writer of 13 books of the New Testament.

If you’ve never surrendered your life to Christ and want to be forgiven for your sins, simply pray this prayer out loud: Jesus I open the door to my heart and invite you in to be my personal savior. I confess that I have sinned. I also confess that you shed your blood on the cross so that my sins are forgiven, and I forgive myself. I receive you now as my Lord and savior and I forgive those who have sinned against me. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen. You can now start a new life in Jesus Christ. Begin the new life by reading your Bible every morning. Start in the Gospel of John and the book of Romans to find out more about what Jesus did for you. Find a Bible teaching church and get into fellowship with other Christians. Pray to God every day. Declare that Jesus Christ is now your Shephard and He will guide you.