Isaiah 43:25 - "Forgiven"

I woke up during the night and again this morning with this song...

God, I fall down to my knees
with a hammer in my hand
You look at me, arms open

Forgiven, Forgiven
Child, there is freedom
From all of it
Say goodbye to every sin
You are forgiven

Amen! There is so much freedom when we repent of our sins. They are gone, never to be brought up again by God. Unfortunately, as humans we can be hard on ourselves. We can not be as forgiving of ourselves as God is. They can continue to cause issues in our life. This can lead to additional sins. We must do as God does and forget them. The only thing that will happen when we don't forget them is the enemy will have an open door into our life. I have talked with people who live in fear of not being good enough for God. They have doubts of whether or not they will go to heaven even though they have repented and live a life for Christ. Those doubts cause issues in their daily life. In their situation they are doubting God. It is good to question God but it is dangerous to doubt Him. When we doubt Him, it is like we have an anchor keeping us down. That anchor stunts one's growth in the Lord. The longer the anchor stays in place, the more it is cemented into the ground. It can feel like there is no way to get it to come up. But God can pull it out in no time when one calls on Him. His desire is to be our Anchor. We do not have to doubt Him but instead all it takes is to trust Him. Trust Him in knowing He not only forgets but forgives our sins. When we take the step toward living a sanctified life, we become Christ-like. One of the greatest parts of living a sanctified life is having His peace. Forgiving ourselves from the past and forgetting may be one of the hardest things we will ever do. When we allow the Lord to, He will enable us to do it.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You not only dying on the cross for my sins but for allowing me to forgive myself. Thank You for Your love, mercy and grace that is shown to me every day. Thank You for the blessings of yesterday and the ones ahead in this day. Father, I continue to pray for all who have lost loved ones as they go through the holidays. Whether their loss is fresh or whether it was from years ago the loss is still felt. I pray for people who are experiencing the loneliness, hurt, etc. to be in Your arms and feeling Your love in a mighty way. Thank You for the friends who came to our home yesterday to be together for Thanksgiving. I pray for those who did not have an opportunity to be with people yesterday to know You love them. When I found out last night of a few different ones in such situations, my heart broke for them. Oh how I pray they cried out to You in their time of loneliness. I think of the police and fire personnel, service men and women, doctors, nurses and all those who had to work yesterday. I pray they were showed appreciation by those they served. Lord, You are such a loving God and I pray for more people to come to know that love in the days ahead. May You be greater than me and be my words, action and attitude in this day so people will see/hear You instead of me. May I be cleansed of anything that may keep You away today. Thank You Jesus for being My Anchor. Amen.