From:
Date: April 9, 2021
Subject: It's April 9; Good Morning Union

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The second “absolute” that I gleaned from my dad’s texts was “The Absolute Forgiveness of Jesus.”

 

“Come now let us reason together says the Lord…”              Isaiah 1: 18,19

 

For asking me to be reasonable and to “come reason” with Him, God’s reasonableness seems actually quite unreasonable! It seems like the “reasonable” conclusion would be, “your sins are like scarlet, red like blood. You caused them, now you deal with the results.” Yet even in this Old Testament verse we have the promise and the assurance of absolute forgiveness guaranteed hundreds of years later by Jesus’ death on the cross through the shedding of His blood as “the Lamb of God, which takes away the sins of the world.” I think they understood the “blood” motif because of the daily sacrifices of animals in the temple. And Old Testament connects with New Testament as they looked forward in faith to that “Lamb of God,” the ultimate and only sacrifice worth anything and the only blood that could make my life white as snow.

“OK, let’s think about this,” says Isaiah. “Even though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow, even though they are like crimson they will be like wool.” Absolute unfairness, but absolute forgiveness, whether it’s fair or not! A common struggle that I have experienced in the Christian journey is the idea that at least some of the time my sin must be bad enough that this guarantee does not apply to me. There must be something I need to do to justify my forgiveness, or earn that cleansing. That’s the devil not the Deliverer! Isaiah clearly prophesied the promise—absolute forgiveness from the Lamb of God. I don’t care how bad the sin, or what color it is- red, crimson, or whatever, it becomes as white as snow, or as clean as wool, not by me but because of Him.

“Let’s reason this out,” says Isaiah. Is there a better way to have absolute forgiveness than to trust fully in the Lamb? I don’t think so.

 

Have a great day trusting the Lamb for absolute forgiveness,

Pastor Rich

 

Quote for the day:      “Some people could be given an entire field of roses and only see the thorns in it. Others could be given a single weed and only see the wildflower on it. Perception is a key component to gratitude. And gratitude is a key component to joy.”            Amy Weatherly

 

PS        Family Worship- 7:30pm in the church with J-Fiah Reeves.

PPS      Afterglo-In Woods Auditorium after Family Worship. Bring your blanket and pillow for a night of food and a movie!