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Jan 31, 2025 06:00am

From Guilt to Grace

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A friend suggestion popped up on Facebook. For those who don’t know, the app tells you, “You may know this person,” based on your other friends.

Yes, I know that person. But…

Guilt flooded my heart. Shame filled my mind as memories of the past came rushing back. I recalled how they had once been and then who they ended up becoming, and it was because of me.

I know, I know. They made their own choices. We all do. But, I encouraged them towards things that were no good, wrong, and foolish.

Sure, I’ve changed. Maybe they have, too. But that guilt still remains.

Romans 1:28-32

“Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip.
30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.
31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy.
32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.”

Do you think this world is as bad as it’s ever been? Just by reading this, we can see that times were just as evil during Paul’s days as in ours. Paul’s description here is like looking at the “old” me in a mirror. Days that I’d rather forget. The former life that was filled with seeking after fulfillment but in all the wrong ways.

And knowing it was wrong.

There’s a world full of people who have no clue about God, what His Word says, or that what they do is against Him. But, many people know about God, know what His Word says, and choose their own way, one that’s against God.

Is that you? Are you running from the Lord, choosing your way over His? Are you constantly trying to justify your actions? Or are you past that point, and now you couldn’t care less?

So, what then? Paul continues in chapter 2 of Romans, sharing the result of rebellion against God. Whether we want to accept it or not, there are always consequences for our actions. We were created by God to be set apart and holy for Him. We were designed on purpose for a purpose. But if we stray away from that intended purpose, there are consequences.

What are they? We will continue studying about those in the coming days. But I want you to know this. As we will continue to discover, there is hope. God doesn’t just leave us in our foolishness. He doesn’t just abandon us. He has offered us help. He has orchestrated a massive rescue operation to save YOU. And it’s been in the plans since the beginning.

God can and will rescue you no matter what you’ve done, how far you’ve gone, or how deep you are in the ocean of sin. His hand is already extended, ready to pull you to safety. Will you take His hand?

If He can forgive, change, and use me, He can forgive anyone.

Let me show you.

Go to follow.lifeword.org and let me show you who Jesus is and what it means to walk with Him every day. You won’t regret it.