This past Sunday after church, we went to a restaurant for lunch with our friends and my husbands brother. My son Abel was wearing a brand new outfit that particular day. He is only 2 years old, and as you may have already guessed, He is a very sloppy eater. By the time we were done eating he had orange juice and ketchup all over his shirt. Of course we were not very happy about that since he had only worn that shirt just once and now it was ruined, But there is not much you can do about such hard to remove stains, and sloppy eating 2 year old’s, who don’t like to wear a bib. When we got home, my husband soaked that shirt in the sink with some Oxi Clean laundry stain remover, In hopes of making the stains less noticeable when we would wash it later on. Soon enough when he took the shirt out of the sink, to hang it to dry before throwing it into the laundry, the spots were completely gone. Not just less noticeable but completely gone and no trace of them! And looking at that shirt and Oxi Clean, it reminded me of the sermon that was preached by Pastor Mike Whitson that Sunday morning at church, about the forgiveness of sins. I was reminded yet again about how great and loving our God is and how truly merciful He is to us. Just as those dirty stains were washed off of my sons shirt, Jesus washed away all my dirty stains, all my sins are gone without a trace and once He forgives us our sins, no matter how big and bad they are, he does not remember them. Hebrews 10:17 “Then he adds, “I will no longer hold their sins and their disobedience against them.” So if God has showed his grace and mercy to us, and has forgiven us our sins, we need to remember that those sins are gone and He has forgotten them forever. Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” This means that we ourselves need to get over our past. If God no longer holds our past sins against us then we should not hold them against ourselves. No matter how bad, big, dark or embarrassing our past was, we are made clean through the power of His blood. Matthews 26:28 “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. We need to learn to forgive ourselves. Yes, forgive ourselves, and let go of the past, that comes back to haunt us every now and then. 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We need to stop looking back, and stop thinking about our past because none of us had a perfect past, we were all sinners before we came to God in our brokenness with repentance. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” I find it amazing how God speaks to me through the simplest most random things, like a bottle of Oxi Clean to remind me that I am forgiven and made clean. Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” …Thank you Jesus for dying on the cross for such a sinner as I am and for shedding your precious, precious blood for me, as unworthy as I am. Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;” and For loving me even when I was a sinner. For washing away my sins with the power of your blood. For having mercy on me. For making me new again, and for opening up the door of Salvation for me. I am humbled and forever grateful Lord. Thank You…