Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Devotional Text
Guilt does not simply go away. The modern method of denying guilt just postpones it until a later day. Repressed and denied guilt will always resurface in the form of anger, bitterness, rejection, and failure. God knows how unforgiven sin will destroy you and your relationship with Him and others. In the Old Testament, He gave instructions for the guilt offering that related to any situation, whether it was the high priest, a leader, an individual, or the entire community that had sinned. The only way to be forgiven in the Old Testament system was to bring an individual sacrifice. Worshipers brought a bull, a goat, a lamb, two pigeons, or a handful of fine flour, depending upon their status and means. No sin or negligence was swept under the rug by God but was paid for by something. Sinners are Jesus’ specialty. The Bible tells us that not only is God precise with sin, but He is also merciful toward sinners. Take Levi, for example. Jesus accepted Levi’s invitation to dine with him and his friends, who were notorious sinners. When the Pharisees discovered this, they criticized the Lord. Jesus responded, “I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough” (Mark 2:17). Jesus is your “guilt offering.” Release your guilt to the cross and praise Him, knowing that you were once a sinner but now have been forgiven.