Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore, let us go forth to him outside the camp, bearing his reproach. For we have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come.
Select a thought to read by choosing a collection, the month, and then the day:
“How long will they not attain to purity?”
Hosea 8:5b
In prisons around the world, there are many poor souls sitting on death row who wish they could undo the crimes they committed. And there are even more people, not in prison, who live a life of regret, wishing they had not done some of the things they did in their lives. These are in another kind of prison, the prison of conscience, because once a deed is done, they know it cannot be undone. But because of Jesus, there is hope, for “if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and He understands everything” (1Jn. 3:20).
God can make a virgin out of a harlot. And God can make a guilty soul as innocent as a child. He begged Israel to take advantage of His offer of innocence: “Come now, and let us reason together. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). This reversal of guilt is not possible with men, “but with God, all things are possible.”
God is willing to make us clean and innocent, regardless of our past. That is the wonder of the love and power of God. What more could any of us ask of Him? Through Jesus, God has provided a way to make us all pure and innocent, and worthy to live forever in His presence.