Once the original sin had been forgiven, there was nothing to stand in the way of man being reconciled back to God. Only the sacrifice of Jesus could accomplish this. As he hung between two thieves on the cross, one reviles him and the other asks that Jesus remember him in paradise. Jesus, then turns to the thief and makes his second statement, "Verily, I say unto thee, Today, thou shalt be with me in paradise." Once the law of God was satisfied by the righteous Christ, the mercy of God could then be given, and we are seated with Christ in heavenly places.

Many of us probably have a room in our house where we keep all our junk—an office, the garage, etc. Since we already see that room as dirty, we let it continue being dirty and even add more junk to it. A lot of us, if we are are honest, think we are dirty. It's easier to believe we are unclean, than it is to believe we are righteous. We aren't partially righteous in Jesus and then we complete it through our own righteousness. We are fully righteous through our faith in Christ's finished work on the cross. When you truly see how clean you are in Christ, you won't so easily add sin to your life. Don't call unclean what Jesus calls clean.

Can you believe that Jesus can do something in your life outside of the realm of impossibilities? Don’t stand in the doorway of unbelief with the promises of God buried in the grave. There is a groaning in the heart of God for you to simply come into agreement with His plan for your life.

The benefits of God's love are not earned by our performance. Many of us have been taught that God is angry at us and we have to love him before he will love us, but scripture tells us clearly that he first loved us. If he didn't, why would he send his son Jesus to die for us? When we understand that God loves us it casts out all fear and gives us peace.