For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12

“But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting
On those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children’s children,
To such as keep His covenant,
And to those who remember His commandments to do them.” Psalm 103:17-18

“It is a broken spirit you want—remorse and penitence. A broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not ignore.” Psalm 51:17 

East and West will never meet. This is an illustrative portrait of God’s forgiveness – when He forgives our sin, he separates it from us and will not remember it. We need never wallow in the bygones – God has wiped our record clean, when we have a remorseful and repentant heart – putting our trust and faith in Him.

God is the Lawgiver and Judge. God knows our human condition, but our weakness should not be used as a justification for sin. God is merciful, compassionate and is concerned for us. At the Cross of Calvary – when Jesus died for us, God’s mercy and justice met. We need to repent, trust & believe God – His mercy takes everything into account and He will then deal with us compassionately.

……..

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.” James 3:13

Come now, let us settle the matter,”
    says the Lord.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool.
 If you are willing and obedient,
    you will eat the good things of the land;
but if you resist and rebel,
    you will be devoured by the sword.”
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken. Isaiah 1:18-20

God is the God of the second chance and has condescended to come down to our level and asked us to reason with Him (the all wise God – the Infinite God invited us to reason with Him.) If we are willing and obedient ,  in other words REPENT, He will forgive our sins, if we continue to sin – resist & rebel we will be destroyed. God has spoken, we MUST take heed.

Puffin (Fratercula arctica) have penguin-like colouring but they sport a colourful beak that has led some to dub them the “sea parrot.

.. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mark 8:36-38 #Jesus asked and
said.

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“..Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. “Ecclesiastes 3:10-12

God made us to live eternally, but we can choose WHERE we want to spend eternity – heaven or hell (and it is NOT a joke). Heaven is real and so is hell – God says so and it is so.

All has free will while alive on earth or in outer space (as astronauts or ‘space travelers’) – to choose God’s offer of salvation or reject it – with the consequences to follow. Therefore your eternity destiny is your choice.

 “..Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27

 “..Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end. “ Ecclesiastes 3:11

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,” Hebrews 9:27

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 “..Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” 2 Corinthians 6:2

He is Risen…

 28 Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door,and sat on it. 3 His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.5 But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.6 He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. 7 And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”8 So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.The Women Worship the Risen Lord9 And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” Matthew 28:1-10

Luke 24:13-33

The Road to Emmaus

13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17 And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?”

19 And He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. 21 But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. 22 Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us. 23 When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. 24 And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.”

25 Then He said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?” 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

The Disciples’ Eyes Opened

28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther. 29 But they constrained Him, saying, “Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.” And He went in to stay with them.

30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32 And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?” 33 So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

Luke 23:44-56

Jesus Dies on the Cross

44 Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last.

47 So when the centurion saw what had happened, he glorified God, saying, “Certainly this was a righteous Man!”

48 And the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned.49 But all His acquaintances, and the women who followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb

50 Now behold, there was a man named Joseph, a council member, a good and just man. 51 He had not consented to their decision and deed. He was from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who himself was also waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a tomb that was hewn out of the rock, where no one had ever lain before. 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near.

55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Paid in full…a debt payment of infinite significance had been transacted.

With “It is finished,” Jesus Christ ended the agony of bearing the punishment for the debt of the world on a Roman execution cross – mine and your sins included. “who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24.

“For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. “ 2 Corinthians 5:21

Ben Fredericson (xjrlokix) / Foter / CC BY

At this moment, all God asks is that you acknowledge the debt and accept the payment – that’s “believing in Christ” for salvation.

It’s so simple and yet so difficult for humans to accept. Our debt to God was so great that we could never pay it off. AND God offered to pay for us in FULL if only we will ACCEPT it.

God’s promise for all who believe is that He will declare their debt PAID IN FULL, and He will also credit their account with Christ’s sinless righteousness and give them eternal life. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36

And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household’ Acts 16:30-31

“but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness – for us who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:24,25

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“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:18

Only God can save us from the thing we really must fear – eternal condemnation.