Nougat 10

Today’s Holy Nougat offers us a clear path to restoration from sinfulness.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. (‭‭‭1 John‬ ‭1‬‬:‭9‬ ‭AMPC‬‬)

Step 1. Honesty

Accept responsibility for our sinful ways and avoid the temptation of justifying our actions, blaming others or making excuses. All have sinned, not some. God listens to all of us, not only the righteous.

Step 2. Repentance

When we accept responsibility for our sins we are recognizing that there are also consequences for sin. From as early as Genesis 3, we see that sin brings death – spiritual and literal. But God’s grace offers us an exit. In repentance we admit that we have no desire to revisit the offending actions.

Step 3. Acceptance

We’ve got to believe that God is true to God’s Word. For it is only when we believe that we truly receive God’s forgiveness. Remember Judas? – He wasn’t wholly convinced that his sin could be forgiven. Next thing, he’d committed suicide! We can argue whether he’d have received grace or not; his actions suggest that he had given up.

Our Nougat reassures us of forgiveness, total and absolute. Let’s not give up on ourselves when God hasn’t given up on us. Acceptance shifts our sentence and restores right relationships.

Step 4. Restoration

It’s one thing to read about God’s faithfulness, but another to experience God’s forgiveness firsthand. It’s truly life changing. Zacchaeus received forgiveness and was fully restored to the household of faith. So much so he sought to restore to others what he had taken. Redemption that nature will propel us to do likewise. To forgive others. To restore as we have been rest

Step 5. Share

Not only do we also forgive those who hurt us, but we also testify of God’s redeeming grace. Highways, byways, home and abroad … there’s someone waiting for the reassurance that God’s grace doesn’t preclude them. As the restored, we have the joy of helping others find their way. Every single one, every single time, every single day. Always

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May all we seek be found in Christ