Remember these, O Jacob and Israel; for thou art my servant: I have formed thee; thou art my servant: O Israel, thou shalt not be forgotten of me. Ihave blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee. (Isaiah 44:21-22) 

 

Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel) was chosen by God, but not because he was sinless or above reproach from man’s perspective. His descendants were just like us- real people with real problems making real mistakes. But God used this group of people to bring Jesus into the world and to give us a relationship back to God. Even though we have been dealing with the same sin issues since creation, God does not separate Himself from us because of our sin. Jesus made a way for us to be united with God forever.  We do not have the ability to become perfect while on earth but we can be perfected (or conformed) into God’s image because of Christ. 

 

It is because of the cross that all things are made new. We need to cling to the cross because it is there that we have been set free. We are forgiven, reconciled back to God and called out to be used of Him. I need to do nothing else but to accept that my sins have been cleansed and be willing to accept how the debt has been paid. It is of the Lord that we have been called. We are His witnesses established for His glory and sanctified for His purposes. 

 

Nothing we do can separate us from Him but the same is not true of us. We tend to hang on to our sins, which lead us away from the Lord. Jesus has cleansed us from all sin–past, present and future. We need to be thanking Him for how good God is that He made a way for us to be with Him forever. 

 

Relax. Take in a deep breath. Think about how much grace has abounded to you. Talk to the Lord about the sin issues in your life that keep pulling you away from Him. Thank Him for never pulling away from you.

 

When I read this I couldn’t help but think how faithful and real God is. When we commit our lives to Him, He goes before us, makes the crooked paths straight and truly forgives us of all our sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness. It’s up to us to go to Him and allow Him to be present in our lives. He never leaves us nor forsakes us and He never forgets us. Go to Him in prayer today. 

 

Have a beautiful day in The Lord! 

 

Today’s Reading is Proverbs 21:21