Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "The Gift of Forgiveness" for Saturday, 5 July 2014 - Read Ephesians 1:3-10

Nashville, Tennessee, United States - The Upper Room Daily Devotional "The Gift of Forgiveness" for Saturday, 5 July 2014 - Read Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ; 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and without defect before him in love; 5 having predestined us for adoption as children through Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his desire, 6 to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he freely gave us favor in the Beloved, 7 in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him 10 to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, in him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far has [God] removed our transgressions from us.(Psalm 103:12 (NIV))
Recently I lost quite a huge sum of money to a con artist who pretended to be a Christian. I was deeply hurt, and I went through the various stages of grief to get over my profound loss. What surprised me was how difficult it was for me to forgive myself for failing to ask for God’s direction when investing my money. I had been a poor steward of the gifts God had blessed me with. But I realized that in order for me to accept God’s forgiveness, I had to forgive myself and realize that God still loves me! A gift is beneficial only when it is accepted, and God is willing to draw us to himself. Our God is a gracious God, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in love. God forgives us when we fall into sin if we sincerely repent. Psalm 51:17 says, “A broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” When I let go of my guilt and let God work in my life, revealing that divine love for me, I felt an overwhelming sense of God’s presence. After all, God loves me not because I do good things but because I am his child, someone for whom Christ died. And God’s love is for all of us.
The Author: Veronica Kamidi (Nairobi, Kenya)
Thought for the Day: Forgive yourself — and allow God to work his forgiveness in your heart.
Prayer: O loving Father, help us to realize that you love us dearly and that your grace has no end. Amen.

Prayer focus: Those struggling to forgive
-------