If I ask for forgiveness, am I forgiven?
I believe the devil uses two tools to trip us in the journey of forgiveness: failure and guilt. If he can either make us believe that God can't forgive our mistakes or continue to bring our failures to mind then he can keep his hold on us.
God wants us to enjoy the freedom that His sacrifice has brought to you and me. He wants us to experience the privilege of being free from our sins.
Is it really that easy? Yes, it is! Jesus died on the cross and took the punishment for all our sins. However great or small we think they are, He paid the price. But it's not easy for some of us to accept that gift.
Sin, guilt and failure move us away from God. Forgiveness is what brings us back.
In his book The Gospel of Luke, William Barclay relates the following story: President Abraham Lincoln was asked one time how he was going to treat the rebellious Southerners when they had finally been defeated and returned to the Union of the United States. The person asking the question expected that President Lincoln would take a dire vengeance, but he answered, "I will treat them as if they had never been away."
Psalm 103:10-12 (NIV) says, "He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities... As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us."
Jesus' great gift of forgiveness means He treats us as if we had never been away.
God bless you and Keep looking uP!
