Psalm 103:10-11 “he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him.”

Regardless of how long we have walked with Jesus, you and I constantly need to check our hearts and remove any obstacles that can trip us on the path to our God-given destiny. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to, “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles” (Hebrews 12:1).

Part of God’s invitation through John the Baptist was for people to “prepare the way for the Lord” (Matthew 3:3). If you and I choose to conceal our sin we willingly shut the door of our hearts on God and block ourselves off from His mercy. It is only the key of repentance that can open this door and make a way for the Lord to enter in.

This key is portrayed so beautifully in the famous parable of the Prodigal Son where Jesus tells the story of a young man who squanders his father’s inheritance, but eventually comes to his senses and decides to return to his father’s house. To our surprise and his, the son did not receive a cold shoulder, but a warm embrace from his father. No differently will we find God’s warm embrace when we repent of our sinful ways.

Remember, perspective is what allows us to see the same thing from different angles. Repentance doesn’t need to be seen as a terrifying threat of “turn or burn”, but rather as God’s loving invitation for us to step away from our sinful ways and into the abundant life that is made available through Jesus Christ. God’s invitation still stands; will you turn the key?

Romans 5:20 “Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.”

There is no sin so great that God’s grace can’t forgive it.

Believers do not desire to sin, we do not practice sin, and we wage war against sin. With these things taken into consideration that does not mean that we won’t have severe battles against sin or that we can’t backslide. There is a difference between genuinely struggling with sin and having a hunger for righteousness and being dead in sin. There are many believers who are fighting an intense battle. The struggle is real but never forget that God is real as well.

Some of you have confessed your sins and you said you would never do it again, but you sinned that same sin and you are wondering, “is there hope for me?” Yes, there is hope for you! Don’t go back to those chains. All you have is Jesus. Believe Him, trust in Him, fall upon Him. Don’t you ever doubt the love that God has for you. I’ve been there before. I know how it feels when you sin the same sin over again. I know how it feels when you backslide and Satan says, “you’ve gone too far this time! He’s not going to take you back. You messed up His plan for you.” Remind Satan that there is nothing stronger than God’s grace. It was grace that brought the prodigal son back.

“Most laws condemn the soul and pronounce sentence. The result of the law of my God is perfect. It condemns but forgives. It restores – more than abundantly – what it takes away.” Jim Elliot