NOT Beyond The Reach Of God’s Forgiveness
Tuesday evenings are spent training people who are interested in learning how to share their faith with others. One Tuesday evening we met a man and his girlfriend & daughter in the park. The girlfriend had a lot of knowledge about the Bible and said she had a desire to grow closer to God. The man said he didn’t know much about the Bible or God he also shared that he might have an alcohol problem. He was open to letting us share God’s word with him and he was so touched especially when he heard this verse,
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
After we explained the verse to him about how Christ died for us knowing all of the sins we would commit and he still chose to die in our place and take our punishment. We shared that is how much Jesus loves us.
After a time of sharing God’s word with them he had to leave the table, he was in tears and broken and it breaks my heart because he just couldn’t get past his sin, he felt unforgivable. One of the men in our group talked with him for a while but he just couldn’t accept and believe that he could be forgiven. Our hearts were aching as we left them.
Please pray for him, his name is John.
How many people feel this way? I think there are far more than we can imagine.
In 1 Kings 21, it tells of King Ahab, there was never a man like him, he sold himself to the devil in the eye’s of the Lord and behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols that God drove out of Israel. He also committed murder so he could have a mans property he wanted. God was going to bring disaster upon him and Ahab repented in deep humility.
1 Kings 21:29
“Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: “Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humbled himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son.”
God noticed and was merciful to him.
In 2 Chronicles 33, Manasseh ranked near the top of evil kings. He worshiped idols, sacrificed his sons in the fire, practiced witchcraft among other things and he provoked God to anger. The Lord let him be taken as a prisoner by the King of Assyria.
2 Chronicles 33: 12-13 ”
In his distress he sought the favor of the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. And when he prayed to him, the Lord was moved by his entreaty and listened to his plea; so he brought him back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord is God.”
Until death no one is beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness!! |
