rugby_angel
07-25-2005, 06:41 PM
>> Psalm 103:10-12 - God “does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities…”
Remember Romans 6:23? “For the wages of sin is death” – thank God for His grace, because otherwise not one of us would be here today! He gave us “the gift…of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” instead of what we deserve. There’s an acronym to help us remember what grace means – UFOG: Undeserved Favor Of God. Yay!! :D
“…For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Okay, geography lesson part one: the heavens in this verse are referring to all of space and the cosmos – an infinity of galaxies upon galaxies that our human minds will never see or comprehend. God’s love for us is even more infinite and incomprehensible than the heavens, if you can even try to imagine that. Geography lesson part two: the east never meets the west. NEVER. No matter how long you travel east, you will never “find” west like you could the equator or the prime meridian. So as far as God is concerned, if you are in Christ, your sins aren’t just removed from you, rather THEY DON’T EXIST!
>> “All of the sin that man could do, or even conceive of doing, is like one live coal tossed in the ocean of God’s grace” -- Madeleine L’Engle
Ever lit a match then tossed it in some water just to watch it sizzle? Maybe I’m just a pyro, :rolleyes: but the point is, the match only stays hot for about two seconds. As conceited as humans can get, a lot of times we view ourselves as forest fires in terms of sin – “nobody can repair the damage I’ve done!” Really, though, our sins are just little matches or lumps of coal that merely sizzle then disappear in the vast stretches of God’s grace. Sometimes I think we tend to view His grace as more of a fire extinguisher – its there just in case and it only works on small fires. WRONG! It consumes you like a flood and there is NOTHING it can’t wash away, and there is no stain strong enough to withstand the awesome cleansing power of Christ’s blood! (Jesus – the original “Mr. Clean”!)
>> “I’ve got my hands at Redemption’s side / Whose scars are bigger than these doubts of mine.” -- Switchfoot, “Redemption”
God’s hands are big enough to hold all the world’s sins > Jesus is God > Jesus held our sins in His hands > Jesus’ hands were pierced for our sake > Result = scars the size of the world’s sins. Perhaps it is slightly abstract, but think about it. Our sins were shattered when those nails went through His hands. It is only by our twisted human nature that we try to pick up the shards and hurt ourselves in the process. But no matter what, those scarred hands will always be there, ready to carry you, to embrace you, and tell you that you are God’s beloved, you are beautiful, and HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU.
Remember Romans 6:23? “For the wages of sin is death” – thank God for His grace, because otherwise not one of us would be here today! He gave us “the gift…of eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” instead of what we deserve. There’s an acronym to help us remember what grace means – UFOG: Undeserved Favor Of God. Yay!! :D
“…For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”
Okay, geography lesson part one: the heavens in this verse are referring to all of space and the cosmos – an infinity of galaxies upon galaxies that our human minds will never see or comprehend. God’s love for us is even more infinite and incomprehensible than the heavens, if you can even try to imagine that. Geography lesson part two: the east never meets the west. NEVER. No matter how long you travel east, you will never “find” west like you could the equator or the prime meridian. So as far as God is concerned, if you are in Christ, your sins aren’t just removed from you, rather THEY DON’T EXIST!
>> “All of the sin that man could do, or even conceive of doing, is like one live coal tossed in the ocean of God’s grace” -- Madeleine L’Engle
Ever lit a match then tossed it in some water just to watch it sizzle? Maybe I’m just a pyro, :rolleyes: but the point is, the match only stays hot for about two seconds. As conceited as humans can get, a lot of times we view ourselves as forest fires in terms of sin – “nobody can repair the damage I’ve done!” Really, though, our sins are just little matches or lumps of coal that merely sizzle then disappear in the vast stretches of God’s grace. Sometimes I think we tend to view His grace as more of a fire extinguisher – its there just in case and it only works on small fires. WRONG! It consumes you like a flood and there is NOTHING it can’t wash away, and there is no stain strong enough to withstand the awesome cleansing power of Christ’s blood! (Jesus – the original “Mr. Clean”!)
>> “I’ve got my hands at Redemption’s side / Whose scars are bigger than these doubts of mine.” -- Switchfoot, “Redemption”
God’s hands are big enough to hold all the world’s sins > Jesus is God > Jesus held our sins in His hands > Jesus’ hands were pierced for our sake > Result = scars the size of the world’s sins. Perhaps it is slightly abstract, but think about it. Our sins were shattered when those nails went through His hands. It is only by our twisted human nature that we try to pick up the shards and hurt ourselves in the process. But no matter what, those scarred hands will always be there, ready to carry you, to embrace you, and tell you that you are God’s beloved, you are beautiful, and HE WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU.