Colossians [Day 5]
Redeemed & Forgiven
One of the parables in the Bible that is used to compare the Lord's forgiveness is the one about the master forgiving his servant for a large amount of money; the servant then goes on to refuse to forgive the debt of someone else that owes them significantly less. The parable is demonstrating that Jesus paid the price for our sins; which is God's sight would've and should've resulted in death; which means that we should also forgive those who sin against us, because all sin against us is significantly less than what the Lord has already forgiven us for.
The Lord is good. So good most times most of us can't even comprehend through our limited perspectives and/or through our own pain. Knowing the Lord is the most valuable thing we can ever obtain. It's better than any amount of money, it's better than any career, it's better than any other relationship we'll ever have; knowing the Lord is the ultimate goal, now and for eternity.
Lord God, I pray for our hearts. I pray that our hearts be softened to Your word as we receive what You have for us in today's verse. I pray that we would receive Your love and compassion and grace the way You intended for us to receive it; that our eyes and hears would be opened to hear and see what You have in store for us.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Let's just into today's beautiful verse:
'For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ' Colossians 1:13-14 NIV
'He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ' Colossians 1:13-14 CSB
'For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. ' Colossians 1:13-14 NLT
'He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.' Colossians 1:13-14 NKJV
'For He has rescued us and has drawn us to Himself from the dominion of darkness, and has transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption [because of His sacrifice, resulting in] the forgiveness of our sins [and the cancellation of sins’ penalty]. ' Colossians 1:13-14 AMP
My favorite version among these is the NLT; which states that Jesus purchased our freedom and forgave our sins. He bought our freedom and forgave our sins. This verse is about us being taken out of darkness and placed into the Kingdom of Jesus, in whom we have been redeemed, with the forgiveness of our sins.
When I read this, I hear and see a word about our Heavenly Father and about us. If knowing God is the most valuable thing, than this verse gets a closer to receiving revelation about our Father God.
For one, I see and hear about who we are to our Heavenly Father. That we are so valuable, so loved, so precious, so beautiful, so consecrated that the Lord God sent His only Son to die for our sins. He sent His only Son to purchase our freedom for the darkness, with His blood. He didn't hold back His only Son for us; how much more will He provide us with everything else we need in this life and the life to come?
The Lord is so good, that He set us free, when we didn't deserve it. The Lord is so good that He adopted us into His family, as His children, knowing we can never repay Him. The Lord is so good that He forgave us our debt, forgave us all of our sins, and just asked for simple "pay it forward". The Lord is so good. His love for us cannot be matched by anything we'll ever see on earth or anywhere other than His presence.
This is something that we're being called to share with...everyone. Once we grasp even a fraction of what's been for us, the joy and peace that our hearts get filled with is enough to want to shout it out from the rooftops; and proclaim the goodness of God.
This is the good news! That we are free! No longer slaves to death and sin, but free in the Lord God and free to sin, and free from the darkness and all else that has kept us in bondage. We're free from sickness, we're free from diseases, we're free from mental health disorders and illnesses, we're free from everything holding us back from carrying out the will of God for our lives; this was all purchased for us by the blood Christ. Hallelujah! Praise God!
- Challenge -
Is there someone in your life or heart that you haven't yet forgiven? This includes yourself for past mistakes, and for the things you don't feel worthy of letting go. Have you been holding on to anger or bitterness over something that was done to you?
The challenge for today is to answer: are you ready to let that go and allow Christ's love to overflow in your heart and onto others? Are you ready to heal that wound that's being keeping you from moving forward in your life? Are you done? Are you sick of it, yet? How much time needs to pass before you decide to choose healing instead?
Once you've answered those questions, pray the closing prayer with me:
- Closing Prayer -
Father God, I choose in my heart in this moment to forgive those who have hurt me and sinned against me. Lord God, I choose You, because You forgave me and redeemed me. You snatched me away from the darkness and adopted me into the Kingdom of Jesus, a debt I can't repay. So Lord God, I pray for You to help me absolve the debts I've held against others, so that my heart may be healed.
Lord God, help me to trust You in the healing process, and also to soften my heart to see those who hurt me the way You see them, Lord God. I pray that I would leave justice in Your hands, for You are a just God and will protect Your children and keep our hearts and minds safe. I pray that each time an unforgiving thought comes to mind or heart, that I would be lead to lay it down at Your feet, Lord God, as long as it takes, so that I can walk in the fullness of who You created me to be, Father God.
I pray that we would receive revelation about You, Heavenly Father, that we would come to know You as You have intended us to. So that we would be able to experience the fullness of your love and accept your abundant grace, as we pour out the overflow of your blessings onto those around us, Lord God.
We thank You Lord God, for allowing us to be Your children, as co-heirs to Christ Jesus. We thank You for the precious gift of the Holy Spirit that guides us in the ways of righteousness. We thank You for honoring the above prayer and walking through the path of forgiveness, so that we may also receive the forgiveness of our sins. We thank You for Your unfailing love and abounding grace. We thank You for always being by our side, in all moments even when You feel far away, Lord God. We thank You for holding our hands like a Father would His child, and welcoming us into Your love and comfort for eternal life.
I pray this in Jesus' name.. Amen.