We carry condemnation as a dead carcass in the trunk of our car. We haul around our old sin and guilt like a rotting corpse. The stench of it lingers with us wherever we go because we fail to bury the dead body and be rid of it. We live in fear that someone will open the trunk and see the rottenness. It remains a part of us with the odor seeping into our lives when it should have been properly disposed of long ago. The death of sin requires a burial to make it just as final as the death of a loved one.
It is not only undesirable and unnecessary to keep peeking into the trunk, but also a failure to accept the forgiveness of God. And until the grave has been dug and the past sin laid to rest, the odor permeates all of our life.
“Therefore He is able also to save to the uttermost—completely, perfectly, finally and for all time and eternity—those who come to God through Him, since He is always living to make petition to God and intercede with Him and intervene for them.” Hebrews 7:25 (Amplified)
“With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ's being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.” Romans 8:1-2 (The Message)
“Let us come forward and draw near with true (honest and sincere) hearts in unqualified assurance and absolute conviction engendered by faith, (that is, by that leaning of the entire human personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom and goodness,) having our hearts sprinkled and purified from a guilty (evil) conscience and with our bodies cleansed with pure water. Hebrews 10:22 (Amplified)
“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever.” Isaiah 32:17 (NIV)
Thank you, heavenly Father, for your outpouring of grace in my life, for the gift of your son, Jesus, for my sin. His death paid the penalty I owed and I now can have utter confidence in Your promise of salvation. My “trunk” has been cleansed by His death. May the fragrance of Your love, mercy, and forgiveness replace the rottenness and odor of sin and condemnation in my life. Remind me when I am tempted to “peek into my trunk”, that the enemy wants to weigh me down with guilt so I cannot be a conduit of Your grace and peace.
If you died today, are you absolutely certain that you would go to heaven? You can be! TRUST JESUS NOW
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