God forgives us...

Paul persecuted Christians. He didn't gossip about them or make fun of them. He didn't just call them names or say he hated them. Instead, he had them arrested. He had stones thrown at them. He had them murdered for their beliefs. 

Too many times as Christians, we look at our past and are thoroughly convinced that God cannot love us or forgive us. Why should He? I mean, lets face it. If He cannot love us, he definitely cannot use us. Not after the lies, the cheating, the stealing, the doubt, the addiction. The list goes on. Not after all of the dirty little things we've done to make Him despise us.  

Here's the truth: God forgives us. It's God's love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that we must focus on. Not ourselves or our past. Also, we are making two big mistakes when we think this way: 

1. We made the decision that God cannot love us or use us based on our past (which by the way, he knew we would do it before we did). We put ourselves in the seat of judgment, put on the robe, grab the gavel and decide our own sentence. Guess what? Not our job, not our duty, not our burden. Unless we are capable of or in a position to trade places with Jesus on the cross, we should never try to take His spot when it comes to judgment. After all, in Christ, we are new creations. Washed. Forgiven. 

2. We are actually showing that we don't trust God and His word. If we cannot be used or be loved because of our sins, we are first accusing the Bible of being inaccurate. Paul. Noah. Moses. David. Peter. Is there a common denominator with these guys? Of course. They were sinners. They were dirty. They were used mightily by God. 

We are no different. We doubt. We struggle. We survive. The thing to remember is that if we are one with Christ, we don't have to worry about this. God has a plan for us; a will for our lives. How about we take our focus off of ourselves and put it where it belongs? On God; on the sacrifice He made by giving His son for our sins. For our ransom. For our life. How dare we belittle that unconditional love and make this life about ourselves. 

Put down the gavel, pick yourself up and thank God for this gift of life and his forgiveness. The love He has for us is undying. The tomb is empty. God can use any of us. He wants to use all of us. 

1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

Psalm 103:12 - As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.