Java & Journaling.

While searching through Pinterest, I saw a lot of journaling ideas-- many having to do with becoming a better person, searching for God, falling in love with God all over again. I feel like my soul needs this. Time spent with my coffee and my Creator-- time with java and journaling.

The first question I found on 'A Journey of Faith and Mental Wellness' that peaked my interest was:

Is it hard to accept God's grace? Write 5 Bible verses about His forgiveness. 

The saying is true. We are our own worst critics- so I do believe that it is extremely hard to accept God's grace. I feel like I've asked for forgiveness about certain sins so many times and I still feel weighed down and burdened by them. I still don't feel like asking for forgiveness is enough. I still don't feel like I've prayed hard enough, weeped long enough....

It's a never ending battle.

I'm grateful for forgiveness. I'm thankful for mercy and grace. But for some reason I still feel a tremendous amount of weight because of these sins.

It's hard to accept God's grace-- because sometimes I just don't understand it. I love it. I cherish it. But I feel like there's a loophole somewhere some days, I think-- 'There's no way it's this simple! Just say sorry and change your ways.. and He just forgives. Just like that.'

Then I think about my children and how they make mistakes. Not huge ones like I've made in my life, but spilling a drink all over the brand new couch or breaking my favorite picture frame. I forgive them immediately. And since God is our Father-- I imagine He probably works in the same fashion.

- Daniel chapter 9 says- " Lord God, You are great and awesome! You are always faithful to the covenant You made with us. Your unfailing love extends to all who love You and keep Your commandments. But we have sinned and wronged You. We have acted wickedly in our rebellion, going so far as to disregard Your commandments and regulations. We have ignored the message given through Your servants, the prophets, who spoke on Your behalf to our kings, princes, ancestors, indeed every last person of the land. O Lord, You always do what is right. It is Your due, but we deserve nothing this day but public and open shame. The people of Judah, Jerusalem—indeed of all Israel, those who are in neighboring regions and those who are in the farthest reaches, driven into exile by You for all the treacherous acts they committed against You—we all deserve nothing but shame. Eternal One, public and open shame is our due, for we have sinned against You, all of us, our kings, princes, and ancestors. But You, O Lord our God, still show us compassion and forgiveness even though we have openly rebelled against You (The Voice) 

We have sinned. We have wronged You.

I've sinned. I've wronged You.

We have acted wickedly. We have been rebellious.
I have acted wickedly. I have been rebellious.

BUT. You Lord still show us compassion and forgiveness.

You Lord still show me compassion and forgiveness.

- Psalms 103:11-14 says, "Measure how high heaven is above the earth; God’s wide, loving, kind heart is greater for those who revere Him.

12 You see, God takes all our crimes—our seemingly inexhaustible sins—and removes them.
    As far as east is from the west, He removes them from us.
13 An earthly father expresses love for his children;
    it is no different with our heavenly Father;
The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.
14 For He knows what we are made of;
    He knows our frame is frail, and He remembers we came from dust." (The Voice)

He knows that we are human. He understands the tugs of sin... and He is so forgiving. As far as the east is from the west, He throws our sins away there.

- 1 John 1:9 says, "But if we own up to our sins, God shows that He is faithful and just by forgiving us of our sins and purifying us from the pollution of all the bad things we have done."

The first step is owning up to our sins. 

Confess them.
Feel sorrow for them.

The Bible says He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE THEM.

All we have to do is own up to it. Admit them. Confess them. Feel true sorrow for them. 

- Colossians 1:13-14 says, "You have rescued us from dark powers and brought us safely into the kingdom of Your Son, whom You love and in whom we are redeemed and forgiven of our sins [through His blood]"

You have rescued us from dark powers. 

This just keeps echoing in my mind.

Through repentance, through forgiveness. He rescued us. We just have to believe it.

- Hebrews 10:17- I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory

    as though they had never existed

He removes them from His memory.

Well, that's all I need to read right there.
He erases them.
Removes them.
Forgets them.

God's grace is hard for me to accept because I don't understand it some days. Sometimes I feel like it's 'too easy...' but I am beyond grateful that He still loves me and sees through all my screw ups. 

"If You can hold the stars in place, You can hold my heart the same/ Whenever I fall away, whenever I start to break... so here I am lifting up my heart to the One who holds the stars."

If He can keep the planets in orbit...
He has the power to give His grace and forgiveness.

We just have to accept it.