Carol J German

To be pardoned, vindicated, or even acquitted is a big deal. In this season of preparation before Easter, let God move your heart. Let God change the way you think and live your life. Jesus on the cross is a very big deal! Why? When you read Romans 3:21-31, you learn the why behind what Jesus did.

“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”²³

You and I and everyone ever born, except Jesus, is guilty of sin. The sentence for it is death.

“Yet, God with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty of our sins. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time…He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus.”^24-26

When you and I choose to believe in Jesus and are willing to follow Him, God pardons you and I. We become God’s children with an eternal inheritance. How we live each day should reflect our faith in God, His Son, the Holy Spirit and the Bible. Your lifestyle should reflect an intimacy of having been with Jesus. You focus on Christ today as you hope in tomorrow knowing that God is preparing it for you.

What a wonderful time to be alive. God could not make it any easier for you to be pardoned from your sins. In the Old Testament, people had to give from their livestock and slaughter a young, innocent animal. They had to watch it die in their place. Livestock was a part of their wealth. They had to be willing to give a part of it up. Only then would God pardon their sins, then Jesus came. He became the last sacrificed lamb needed to pardon the sins of man. While animals didn’t have a choice, Jesus chose to die for you and me.

God is moving the world and everyone in it towards a glorious redemption day where sin will be no more. Until that day, God gives the opportunity for you and I to get right with God and allow Jesus to pardon our sins. May this Easter season be one where God can say about you, “My child, you are vindicated!” If you already are pardoned, may this season of new life take you deeper. Let God continue His work within you. Faith is a continual journey of renewal and maturity until God takes you home.

While Jesus took away the sins of the world, on this side of heaven sin keeps tripping us up. Each day, let me emphasize each day, you must be open to confess any sins lurking within your heart and do business with God for He give new mercies each morning. Each day, you must talk with Him and ask Him to reveal those little sins that keep you from trusting God. Little sins can be as innocent as “I will do it tomorrow,” or expectations, or jealousy, bitterness, anger, hatred, selfishness, etc. Each day, you know you will need help in changing to become like Christ, thus, you take the time to learn how to abide in Him moment-by-moment.

No one can live out their faith in Christ without a dependence on God and letting His Word penetrate your mind, soul, and heart.

While it is still winter, the season of slumber for God’s creation, awaken your soul to what God has done for you. When spring arrives, may your life exhibit new life. God gives abundantly to those who seek, ask, and believe. It is good to be alive at this moment in God’s saving plan of redemption.