Lord, please help me to change - Judith Couchman

LORD. PI.EAS f. HEL P M E T O CHANG Edoor t o remarkable change . H e crie d bitterl y after denying Jesusthree time s t o protect himsel f from punishment (Matthe w 26:69 -75). Then whe n Jesus forgav e hi m an d said , "Fee d m y lambs, "Peter rallie d int o a great spiritua l leade r (Joh n 21:15) .At some point , Pete r mus t hav e forgive n himself . H ebelieved an d fulfille d the prophec y tha t h e woul d becom e th erock o n whic h Chris t coul d buil d th e Churc h (Matthe w 16:18) .After Christ's ascension, Pete r performed miracle s and stoo d stal -wart throug h persecution . Bu t he couldn't hav e wielde d suc hspiritual powe r while wallowing in unforgiveness .Self-forgiveness needs exercise i n man y areas. It' s necessar yfor absolving everyda y mistake s and fo r life-changing failures. Yetif we trul y repent, Go d wil l forgive any si n we'v e committed. S owhy shouldn't w e forgive ourselves ?Each o f us must probe tha t question. Bu t really, there's onl yone answer . Just a s we love Him becaus e H e ttrst love d us , we als ocan forgiv e ourselves because H e first forgave us. 1 7•PERSONAL CHECKPOIN T1. Hav e yo u forgive n yoursel f fo r th e behavio r yo u wan t t ochange?2. Wha t can b e difficult about forgivin g yourself?GOD'S VIEWPOIN TThe Lord's promise t o His people :"Look, the time is coming, " says the LORD,"when I will make a new agreementwith the people. . . .It will not be like the agreementI made with their ancestorsivhen I took them by the handto bring them out of Egypt.46'