It's easy in the world in which we live to either minimize sin or elevate sin: to think it's not a big deal or a really big deal. Or perhaps certain categories of sin are a big deal but others are not.

Here's the truth. Sin, no matter what type or how "big" you think it is, is a very big deal. God hates all that is wicked; therefore, He hates sin.

At the same time, God loves the entire created world. Heaven will be a full restoration of this world, but His most prized possession is you and me. Look at what James, Jesus' brother, had to say about how we fit into God's full creation:

"Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us His true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession." James 1:17-19

Jesus reminds us that God created all things, but we are the apple of His eye.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Matthew 16:13-19  When Jesus came to the Caesarea Philippi, he asks his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Peter gets it so right in this exchange! He declares, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Then Jesus assures Peter that the church will be founded on this confession. What's more, Peter is given a special position reserved for only one person. Jesus anoints him to take the perennial leadership role in the establishment of the church. He will be the very first pastor of God's church.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Even after receiving grace and a new identity in Jesus, there are still times we fail to live up to the name that God places on us. And yet, He still calls us by our new name.

This is what God does. He comes into our stories and invites us into a new calling. He gives us a new identity. He declares that who you are and who you've been doesn't have to follow you into the future. When God changes someone's name, it's because He's calling him or her to live out a new mission or new identity in this world. Jesus saw some great potential in Peter. Everyone else saw Simon the snub-nosed, but Jesus saw Peter the rock. Through this name, He gave Peter a vision of what God sees in Him.

Just as God saw something in Peter, He sees something in you too. Jesus sees in you what you can be - regardless of what you've done or what other people have said about you. God loves you for who you are, but His love doesn't leave you just as you are. He desires you to step into the identity that He's won for you by His grace.
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

Sanctification, by definition, is the process of being freed from sin, or being purified or made holy. Sanctification is, by the way, a lifelong process. While absolution and restoration will never be things that we can do, sanctification is a process that we work on, in conjunction with God, for the rest of our lives. It's never perfect and never complete, but when we participate with God in this process, freedom truly is experienced.

While each one of us is called and restored back into a life of purpose through God's grace, the path of sanctification often gives us a second chance in an area in which we previously failed. From an eternal perspective, we'll never right our wrongs because Jesus did that for us, but isn't it fascinating how God oftentimes will bring meaning and purpose into our lives from some of the worst parts of our story.
 

Our greatest stumbles produce our greatest stories.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

As great as it is to be freed from the consequences of our sin through the absolution of God, His forgiveness extends further than that. Many don't get to experience complete freedom because they stop at absolution. They know that they have been freed from the punishment of their sins and that they are good eternally with God, but many refuse to enter into the next freedom phase.

The freedom that God gives you is not only freedom from sin, but freedom to a life of purpose. God's freedom is greater than simply a pardon and release from punishment. He also wants to release you to be a world-changer working alongside Him.

Absolution takes away the guilt. Restoration takes away the shame.

Pastor Timothy Keller writes, "Jesus' salvation is not only like receiving a pardon and release from death row and prison. Then we'd be free, but on our own, left to make our own way in the world, thrown back on our own efforts if we're to make anything of ourselves. But in the Gospel, we discover that Jesus has taken us off death row and then has hung around our neck the Congressional Medal of Honor. We are received and welcomed as heroes, as if we had accomplished extraordinary deeds."

Your past doesn't keep God from using your life in a powerful way. In fact, until you walk in the full restoration that God makes available to you, you will not fully experience the freedom that God has for you.
 

You don't just have a just judge, but you have a loving Father as well.

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,

There are two common definitions of the word forgive: 

     1. To cancel debt

     2. to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense, flaw, or mistake

When we receive the total forgiveness of God, our debt is canceled and the Lord's righteous anger is gone. God's forgiveness is not either/or. It is both/and.

Romans 3:24 ...and all are justified by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Justification is to be made right with God. If sin separates us from being in a right relationship with God, His justification, offered to us in a gift of grace, brings us back into a right relationship with Him.

But how is this possible? Because, again, we're not righteous. If God is truly all-knowing, and He is everywhere at once, then how can we be righteous? Did we somehow get into His blind spot? Is God so busy with other stuff going on in the world that as long as He sees us in church every now and then, we're okay? No, it's bigger than this.

Absolution is the declaration that you have been forgiven. You have been formally released from any guilt, obligation, or punishment. It is the announcement that your sins have been paid for. The debt has been canceled.

We owed a debt we could never pay. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe!
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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,
 

Brent Parrish	6:17 AM (1 hour ago)
to bcc: me

Guilt = I did something wrong

Shame = I am something wrong

Guilt brings conviction. God can use guilt to bring us to our knees in confession - and confession is the key that unlocks our prison cell. It brings freedom.

Shame, on the other hand, brings condemnation. Satan uses shame to imprison us, to condemn us to death. Shame hits at your core identity and leaves you with constant feelings of inadequacy. The devil wants you to carry that shame with you wherever you go.

1 Peter 5:8  Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

There is another option. You can bring your sorrow, your guilt, and whatever level of shame you are experiencing to Jesus. In Jesus you will experience His total forgiveness. Instead of elevating your guilt into shame, Jesus will remove your guilt by His grace. And it all starts with a wonderful practice called confession.

Repentance is the process of changing, or turning, from a particular sin. Until we truly turn from our sin, we will not experience the full freedom that God wants for us. But remember, it is not our power, grit, hard work, and perfection, but rather, it is through God's kindness that we will ultimately experience His freedom.

What truly changes us from the inside out is that God has been kind toward us, in spite of our sin. Through His forgiveness, He offers a free gift that you absolutely do not deserve - grace!

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Helping people live life with Jesus everyday,