forgiven completely…

GOD forgives instantly, repeatedly and freely and number four, HE forgives completely. 

colossians 2.13-14 says this, HE has forgiven all your sins.  HE has utterly wiped out the evidence of the broken commandments which always hung over our heads.  and HE has completely annulled it by nailing it to the cross.  

it’s as if GOD were saying, “i want you to get the message here.  it’s all!”  it’s like one of those super stain removers you see on one of those infomercials.  it just completely wipes it out.  it’s all gone. 

nothing is hung over your head so you don’t have to keep carrying it.  it’s not partial forgiveness.  GOD doesn’t say, “i’m going to keep my eye on you now.”  no, it’s complete forgiveness.  utterly wiped out and completely annulled.  that means JESUS was nailed to the cross so you could stop nailing yourself to the cross.  HE was hung up for your hang ups. 

this is so important because even though you hear it in your head many of you still don’t understand how complete GOD’s forgiveness is.  and if you don’t understand how complete GOD’s forgiveness is the next time you have a problem you’re going to think, “GOD’s getting even with me.”  some illness comes along or some problem or some accident or some financial issue and you’ll think, “yes.  i knew the other shoe was going to drop one of these days.  GOD is getting even with me for what i did.” 

listen, GOD does not get even with you.  if you have given your life to JESUS CHRIST all of the punishment for all of your sins was taken on CHRIST.  and if JESUS took the punishment you don’t.  that’s what’s called the good news.  GOD doesn’t do double jeopardy.  Dones GOD punish JESUS plus you?  no.  it was all taken, all of the punishment was taken for your sin by JESUS CHRIST. 

just a thought from the front porch…

i’ve got good news…

some of you, i believe, are really struggling with this problem of depression. there are so many things happening in your life. some days maybe you don't even feel like getting out of bed. some days you feel like you can't make any decisions; it's just too difficult. you can't decide on anything. some days you just feel trapped in a hopeless situation. it's like you're in a room with no doors and no windows and you're locked inside. you're constantly tired. you don't have any energy. you're fatigued. it's a chore to get out of bed and turn on the tv. some of you may even feel like elijah. you feel like running away. you want to drop it all, leave, split. get out of the situation.

i've got good news for you. JESUS CHRIST wants to answer your depression. HE will help you. HE will change you. you're not alone. GOD cares about you. i care about you. GOD says “you can change.”

i speak from personal experience. i've experienced depression and the deepest despair. there were times i didn't think i would make it another hour. i can tell you that JESUS CHRIST can heal you of depression. you don't have to go through life being manipulated by your emotions. your emotions are controlled by your thoughts. you cannot control your emotions but you can control what you think about. if you choose to change your thoughts and you choose to let GOD change the misconceptions – misconceptions like if somebody criticizes me, that must mean i'm worthless, misconceptions like i have to be loved and accepted by everybody to be fulfilled in life, misconceptions like i cannot admit any area of weakness. i have to be perfect, otherwise i'm a failure. those are the kind of things that cause depression.

just a thought from the front porch…