Expunged Record

Bible Reading: Romans 3:21-26
Author: Thomas Buice (Tennessee, US)
Thursday 18 April 2024 © The Upper Room.
Our state recently passed a law that will expunge certain criminal records. Applicants who are approved may leave court with a clean slate.

As a probation officer, I once went through my files to see which offenders qualified to have some of their rights restored. I was given a checklist of requirements on which to base my judgment. 

Once I came to a disqualifying factor, I put the file back in the drawer. The process was cut and dried.

I am glad that God doesn’t have a list of disqualifying factors before expunging our records. He doesn’t say, ‘Sorry, your sin is too awful’, or ‘Look, you did this more than once. Your whole life is marked with a pattern of wrongdoing.’

There is no record that God cannot expunge. There is no life so messed up that he cannot restore it. And once our record is expunged, we can maintain a clean record with confession and forgiveness.

Prayer: Dear Lord, we are eternally grateful for your forgiveness. We were without hope. Thank you, Jesus. Amen
 
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Fantastic! I’m so thrilled by God’s goodness that He has brought about such a wonderful way of communicating His love and Gospel to Deaf people. I’m convinced God will use it to His glory and that it will be an effective means of nurturing Deaf Christians for whom church and the Bible is often difficult. You can be assured of my prayers in asking our Father to use these means to reach Deaf people who would never dream of entering a church building. KS