It had been one of those days. Busy, disjointed, and generally out of sorts. So I was less than thrilled when I opened the dryer to discover a red marker without its cap among the load of newly washed clothes. Assessing the damage, I sighed heavily as I realized only a few pieces of the large load had been left untouched by crimson stains. Knowing anger would prove fruitless, I grabbed the stain remover and went to work. Later, when the load had finished rewashing, I was thankful to see that all traces of red ink had disappeared.
When it comes to sin, no amount of manmade stain remover will ever work. Like a marker in the laundry, sin becomes visible, marking everything it touches. Our best efforts to make it go away leave us profoundly soiled and without hope (Isaiah 64:6).
We are desperate for Jesus.
Both the Old and New Testaments tell us there can be no removal of sin without the shedding of blood (Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). While we attest to this truth verbally by confession, do our hearts grasp the enormity of it? We are covered by the precious blood of the spotless Lamb of God (1 Peter 1:18-19). Pure, undefiled—undeserving of our sin—Jesus’ blood was spilled on our behalf. Not a casual marking here and there. It was a saturation, leaving an indelible mark of love and mercy. For the believer, real life flows from a bloodstained Savior.
His sacrifice demands a response, not because He is demanding, but because His gift leaves us without excuse (Ephesians 1:7). When the magnitude of His sacrifice brings our sin and His hope to light, we realize: Repentance is a way of life (1 John 1:7-9) and our hearts should be filled with gratitude to Jesus for His blood-stain on our lives (Colossians 1:12-14).
More:
• Psalm 103:12
• Ephesians 2:13
• Revelation 1:5-6
Next:
What value do you place on Jesus’ sacrifice? Does your life display the enormity of God’s love for you?
Amankweamaka on July 29, 2010 at 4:41 am
I dnt know how to say this but all i knw is that i realy need help. I cant fight sin on my own, ive tried to take a stand against it, ive told God and i feel as im drained,empty and sad. A book said that if we constantly keep asking God to forgive us the same mistakes, is like insulting God. So smtimes i just feel unworthy and uncertain to ask for his forgives. I need answers plz
lindagma on July 29, 2010 at 6:48 am
How my heart goes out to you Amankweamaka… we will always struggle in this world. That’s what makes heaven so attractive… it is without sin, without trials, heartache. There are certain things that we each struggle with and Satan will try to bring us down where we are weak. Prayer, of course, and God says, “without ceasing”, is our stronghold. God never ceases to love to hear from us. Where we spend our time and activities can have a great influence… sometimes we have to give up friendships and relationships because they suck us back into the old ways. Christian friends and activities will help shape our thinking and eventually our ways. But be encouraged… there is not a Christian alive who does not struggle with some kind of sin and the fact that you are concerned tells me that your heart is in the right place. I have added you to my prayer list to bring you encouragement in your walk with God.
Soldier4Christ on July 29, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Amankweamaka, I too will pray for you as I too am going through struggles with sin that I can’t seem to totally shake. But I refuse to give up because I know that greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. I read this devotion and it brought tears to my eyes, God knows your pain and mine over sin. But He loves us all and we aren’t alone. Satan will always try and work to steal from us and get us back into the things we were doing and the way that we were living before coming to Christ but we can’t let Satan win. The true victory is in Jesus and with the help of the Holy Spirit I know that we all will be victorious in the end.
Thank you regina for this timely devotion.
God bless you all.
Amankweamaka on July 29, 2010 at 4:43 am
I dnt know how to say this but all i knw is that i realy need help. I cant fight sin on my own, ive tried to take a stand against it, ive told God and i feel as im drained,empty and sad. A book said that if we constantly keep asking God to forgive us the same mistakes, is like insulting God. So smtimes i just feel unworthy and uncertain to ask for his forgives. I need answers plz. Smtimes i feel worthless and ashamed cos i just repeated what i promisd God i wont do again.
mysavinggrace on July 29, 2010 at 5:04 am
Hi Amankweamaka,
Indeed you can’t fight sin on your own. Nobody can. We all need Jesus because “we have all sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Jesus is our Savior, and if we could fight sin on our own, there wouldn’t be a need for a savior. I think you need to do is to let go and let Jesus sanctify you. Leave your sin at the feet of God. Know that Jesus’ blood and Jesus’ blood alone is sufficient to take away your sins.
And guess what! God isn’t insulted, neither is He even close to being angry with you.. in fact, ALL your sins have been forgiven… past, present and future..
“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”(Hebrews 8:12)
“For Christ died for sins ONCE and FOR ALL, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God….” (1 Peter 3:18)
I know how it feels to be condemned. But each time I do, I go to God knowing that although I’m weak and helpless He receives me just as I am and that my sins, no matter how big or how small, have been forgiven. The only way you’re going to be released from the bondage of guilt is only by approaching the throne of grace.
God bless you always!
pastortim on July 29, 2010 at 5:35 am
Amankweamaka, I’ve been in a similae situation. May I suggest you seek christian counseling or a leader in your church to help you. sometimes we fall into a behavior pattern and need to understand ourselves before God can bring deliverance. After I got help I found a trusted friend to be my accountability partner to help me not to fall back into the same things. I hope this helps and I hope you find the help you need.
Tim
cspevacek on July 29, 2010 at 5:15 am
Amankweamka,we are all sinners and most of us are repeat offendrs. God knows what is in your heart and if you are really sincere about not sinning or at least trying not to sin, He knows. I’m not sure what book you are reading but the greatest book ever written{the Bible}, tells me over and over that I am loved so much that God gave His only son for me and for you too! Share your concerns with a friend and pray together is has been a big help to me in the past. I will be praying for you and know that “perseverance alone got the snail on the ark”. God Bless!
tim gustafson on July 29, 2010 at 6:20 am
It’s true that all sin is an insult against God. And that is very serious! But we have to remember what Jesus said to Peter about repentance and forgiveness. If our brother comes to us 70 times 7, and keeps asking us to forgive him for repeated wrongs, we are to forgive him.
So … if that is how we are to forgive each other, imagine how often God will forgive us!
tony rodriguez on July 29, 2010 at 8:20 am
AMANKWEAMAKA AND ALL OTHERS WHO STRUGGLE WITH SIN AND ITS ILL EFFECTS. GOD LOVES YOU SO MUCH AND SO DO WE THE ONES WHO ARE WRITING ALTHOUGH WE DON’T EVEN KNOW YOU WE LOVE YOU BE CAUSE YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD AND THEREFORE A FAMILY MEMBER (SMILE) NOW THE WORD OF GOD SAYS THERE IS THEREFORE NOW NO CONDEMNATION TO THEM THAT ARE IN CHRIST JESUS (ROMANS 8:1) CONVICTION COMES FROM THE LORD CONDEMNATION COMES FROM THE ENEMY. JOHN 10:10 SAYS HE COMES TO STEAL KILL AND DESTROY. HE DOESN’T WANT YOU TO GET CLOSER TO GOD OR AN UNDERSTANDING OF HIM AND HIS WAYS BUT YOU ARE MORE THAN A CONQUEROR THROUGH HIM THAT LOVES YOU (ROMANS 8:37) GET IN YOU BIBLE AND ASK GOT TO FILL YOU WITH HIS WORD THAT YOU WOULD SOAK IT UP LIKE A SPONGE DOES LIQUIDS AND WHEN SQUEEZED WITH THE CARES IF THIS WORLD HIS WORD IS WHAT WILL COME OUT OF YOU. PROVERBS 24:16 SAYS FOR AJUST MAN FALLETH SEVEN TIMES AND RISETH AGAIN. KEEP GETTING UP AND KNOW THAT BECAUSE YOUR FATHER IS THE KING THAT MAKES YOU ROYALTY. GOD BLESS YOU. READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18
fieldlily on July 29, 2010 at 8:53 am
Also remember that we are to approach the throne of God with confidence, believing that our cleansing, forgiveness and salvation are real. Otherwise you are expressing doubt that God has really forgiven you. We are also to have faith by hoping for what we can’t see (Hebrews 11:1).
When we ask anything of God, we need to believe and not doubt that we will receive it (Mark 11:22, 24) (James 1:1-8).
I also struggle with the same sins over and over, but I have to remind myself that I have to believe in God’s promises of forgiveness because He is faithful even if I am not.
I pray that you will find His peace and rest in His promises.
Lamont on July 29, 2010 at 8:54 am
Amankweamaka
God reads your heart and knows of your anguish. You are sincere. Keep returning to the well and seek forgiveness. We are all a work in progress. Discouragement is a tool of the evil one.
Please don’t isolate. Dive into the Scriptures. Look up Christian websites that talk about forgiveness. Fellowship with other Believers.
jcam74 on July 29, 2010 at 10:16 am
Amankweamaka,
These people who have responded to you have given you great advice. Seek a fellow believer in Christ and seek Jesus. Surrender to his will and and God will give you assurance of peace, joy, hope, comfort and forgiveness that you desparately are desiring. Please do not go into hiding because when you do, Satan has the advantage. I say all this to you out of experience. I’m 36 years old and knew the Bible but never had a personal relationship. Once I completely surrendered everything to him the power of God begin to flow in me. I began to experience His love, His grace, His forgiveness, His peace, His Joy and so much more. My journey has only begun but my newfound love for Christ is an inspiration to keep coming back to him. I still struggle but I now have more victory than defeat because of my new relationship. I have prayed for you and will keep you in my prayers. God loves you and nothing can take you away from Him. One more thing, there is power when you are on your knees in prayer.
fd on July 29, 2010 at 10:55 am
Amankweamaka, I add you in my prayer list and let me tell you what I have done to help me in my struggle. I gave up friendships and relationships, I only listen christian musics and I make sure that I start my day by putting aside time for devotion (prayer and reading of a text that lifts up my spirit). Those tips work for me and may work or may not work for you but you can try others. Only one thing I am sure about is that, by keeping asking the Lord for help with a broken heart, the Holy Spirit will take you through in your struggle as you truly desire. God bless you!
Amankweamaka on July 29, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I want to thank Everyone for your love, concern, prayers and encouragement. May God bless you all real good. Thanks so much!
driftsmoker on July 30, 2010 at 12:39 am
Amankweamaka, you are not alone. We’re on the same boat. In fact many people are on the same boat. I also feel lousy and disappointed when i failed what i said to never do again. I keep repeating the same sin over and over again. But i just wanna say, God will never test us beyond our capabilities, it will always be within what we are capable of. And there will always be and exit, just that we have to look out for it. The only reason why we keep repeating our sins is because we make things harder for ourselves by having doubts that we will be abstained from it.
I always have this problem of waiting for a perfect time to confidently say that i cannot be doing this anymore. But i never did succeed. The best time to start is any moment, there is no better time to start than now.
Whenever u start to feel that u might be getting back into the same sin, don’t ignore it and say everything will be fine. But be cautious and quickly ask God and rebuke those words of temptation. The devil always attacks our thoughts, and it just takes for something small and to be ignorant to spark off something.
To be concerned abt this problem shows that we are on the right track. But we have to walk further. Surrender to God and ask him to drive out those Evil things that may have dwell inside of you or your family or your ancestors. So that it may all be stopped from passing down. RMB DO NOT DOUBT, BUT TRUST IN HIM WHOLEHEARTEDLY
As for me, im still working my way. And i will win, so will you ! One last thing, pursue love always. Because love never fails, for Faith and hope without love is nothing. If u had been depending on a reason to stay away from that sin, it is time to change that. Because your reason can easily be crushed by another reason that the devil had made. But God’s love is perfect, no flaws and no thing can crush it. Let God’s love be the fire to keep you going. God Bless you !