Go and Sin No More

School is just around the corner for most.  This is the first year I'm sending a child to school.  She's been to preschool, but this is different!  And I'm so nervous.  It means my little girl is growing up.  She will go through new experiences and go through growing pains.  She will make good choices and probably some not so great ones.  One of my prayers for her is that when she does make a mistake, God will expose it to her and she will ask for forgiveness.  
But I also pray that she won't feel guilt for what she does.  I don't want her to hold on to her sins; I want her to feel the freedom the Christ has given us.  
There are times when we sin, we end up feeling condemnation.  We hear the accusations from the jury that we are guilty.  And so many times we think it is God.  Yet this does not add up to the character of God.  
God is love.  Condemnation is not apart of God.  When you hear the voice of condemnation, you need to realize its the voice of the enemy...not God.  God will convict us, allowing the sin we commited to come to life; not make us feel bad.  Priscilla Shirer says in her book 'Discerning the Voice of God' "When God speaks to us, He doesn't point out our sin sin to condemn us or burden us with guilt.  His desire is to lovingly reveal our sin and encourage us to confess it, so He can cleanse and change us."  God's voice is not one of guilt but of freedom.  
There are times our past sins haunt us, sneaking up on us, causing us to focus on guilt instead of the forgiver.  If you have already asked for forgivness of a sin, don't hang on to it.  Guess what, the One who is able to forgive has already forgotten it.  Isaiah 43:25 tells us so.
 “But I, yes I, am the one
    who takes care of your sins—that’s what I do.    I don’t keep a list of your sins."
If God doesn't keep a record of our sins, why should we?  
Only one person has the right to accuse us; Jesus.  He was perfect and blameless, yet He didn't condemn others.  With the woman accused of adultery, Jesus was the only one who would be able to cast a stone because He was without sin.  He didn't though.  He forgave her and sent her on her way saying  "Sin no more."  

As you start school, are you nervous?  Are the nerves due to wondering what others might try to remind you of?  Maybe you've had an encounter with God this past summer that has changed you, but you're worried about others bringing up the past...the old you.  Remember this though: it has been paid for and is forgotten.  The only One who has a right to judge has given you forgivness and freedom.   So don't allow the voice of the enemy pull you further away from God; allow the voice of love to press you further into Christ.