May 26, Ask Forgiveness

Today’s reading: Psalms 126-130

“If you, Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you” - Psalm 130:3-4.

God is in the sin-forgiveness business, which is of course good news for all mankind. Today’s verses imply several things. First, the Lord does not keep a record of sins. Once He forgives, He forgets as well, and does not keep a cumulative record. Second, if that is how the Lord keeps records, then you should do the same for your own mistakes and sins. Third, you should keep the same kind of records for others, which means once they ask forgiveness, you should let it go and not keep it fresh. Fourth, there is an aspect of forgiveness that is tied to asking, so you need to ask others and the Lord to forgive you when you sin. Paul instructed believers to examine themselves before they ate of the Lord’s table to see if there were any sins they needed to deal with before eating: “So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup” (1 Corinthians 11:27-28). Do you need to take care of any sin business with the Lord or with others to obtain forgiveness? Are you keeping sin records on yourself or others? Is it time to destroy the files and start fresh? Yes, it is time to destroy my memory files on all those who have hurt or offended me. I choose to forgive anyone who has done me wrong, and I extend them mercy because I need mercy as well.