I created a blog category called Hope from the Bible because I wanted to share how the Bible has turned my life around and made me optimistic about the future. What a book! It describes the human predicament, the impact of sin on our lives, and the power of Jesus, who rescued us through his death and resurrection. Romans 8:1 says,
There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
No condemnation means God has forgiven me for all the shameful things I’ve ever done or said – my selfishness, rebellion, rudeness, impatience, and the hurt I’ve caused.
Years ago, I was in debt up to my eyeballs because I coped with stress by spending money, plastic money. Eventually, all my credit cards were maxed out. To be precise, they were our credit cards. I knew I had to break the credit-spending habit, so I cut up the cards, put them in an envelope, and gave them to my husband for Christmas. As we paid each one off, we received statements in the mail that said, Paid in Full.
Jesus died to pay the entire sin penalty for us. When I repented and asked him to forgive me, he did. Paid in Full. Instead of condemning me, God sees Jesus’ perfection when he looks at me, and has pronounced the verdict of Not Guilty!
When our grandson was five years old, his teacher’s husband died. It was sad for everyone at the school. Not long afterwards, our grandson and his family came to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. On the way home, he told his mom that Thanksgiving wasn’t what he expected.
Mom: What do you mean?
Five-year-old: I thought we’d get to say what we’re thankful for.
Mom: You can tell me now. What are you thankful for?
Five-year-old: My long life.
I’m thankful for my long life, too. In fact, I don’t want it to ever end: I want to go to heaven someday and continue living! When asked if they think they’re going to heaven, many people answer, “I hope so,” as if God is going to weigh our good deeds against our bad ones.
Fortunately, we can be sure we’re going to heaven based on what Jesus said in John 5:24.
Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”
I thank God there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Happy Thanksgiving!
November 18, 2014
Norma Nill 
Great Post! I really like the analogy with credit card debt… I don’t think we really truly realize how much in debt we are because of sin. Praise God for his grace through Jesus Christ!
I agree with you about our view of our sin debt. Thanks for reading and for your uplifting comment, Laurie!