It usually begins with regret, the uncanny ability to recall—and cringe at—taunting words we said on playgrounds 40 years ago. And then, in night’s small hours when the clock is our companion and our jury, the list of sins remembered grows unbearably long. There is no prosecutor so cutting and so close as a human mind turned inward on itself. Cheating on a test or cheating on a spouse; angry words or angry deeds; vengeance taken or vengeance fervently desired—the catalog of all the things for which we’ve asked forgiveness a hundred, hundred times seems endless and unreconciled. Can God forgive what we remember with such terrible exactness? Is He more kind to us than we are to ourselves? The gospel couldn’t be clearer: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). “As far as the east is from the west, so far He removes our transgressions from us” (Ps 103:12). “And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before Him whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything” (1 Jn 3:19-20). Grace is God’s answer to regret—His way of helping us forget what He has chosen to forget. When we trust His forgiving words more than our own accusing words, we find the quiet love provides. Believe His kind, redeeming promise. And stay in grace.
-Bill Knott
Note: If you are blessed by GraceNotes, we invite you to subscribe.
RAGS TO RICHES (May 10, 2024)
NOWHERE ELSE (May 03, 2024)
BETTER NEWS (April 26, 2024)
THE GREATEST MYSTERY (April 19, 2024)
ANOTHER KIND OF PRODIGAL (April 12, 2024)
UNMERITED (April 05, 2024)
MORNING HAS BROKEN (March 29, 2024)
ALWAYS AMAZING March 22, 2024)
NEVER WALK ALONE March 15, 2024)
ALL ARE GIFTED (March 08, 2024)
BEYOND BELIEF (March 01, 2024)
DOES GOD HEAR ME? (February 23, 2024)
AND THERE WAS HOPE (February 16, 2024)
HE ALWAYS WAS HUMBLE AND KIND (February 09, 2024)
REHEARSING THE GOSPEL (February 02, 2024)
THE HONEST TRUTH (January 26, 2024)
THE SONG OF THE REDEEMED (January 19, 2024)
UNWEARIED LOVE (January 12, 2024)
A COVENANT FOR WANDERERS (January 05, 2024)
GRACE TO FORGET (December 29, 2023)
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Cast The Word
Let Me Be Frank | Bishop Frank Caggiano’s Podcast | Diocese of Bridgeport, CT
The Kingdom Power Fellowship Podcast
The Bible Recap
The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)