Jesus Offers Mercy, Not Condemnation

In summary of Romans 8:1-2 it says, "There is no condemnation or guilty judgement for those who follow and belong to Christ Jesus because through him the law of the Spirit of life sets you free from the law of sin and death.  

Bottom Line:
When you follow and actually belong to Christ Jesus you are no longer subject to a guilty verdict.  Through Him the law of the Spirit of life sets you free from the law of sin and death.  Free to live the life he wants me to live.

What this means to me:
God began the work to bring me back into his presence long before I was even born.  He knew I couldn’t make it on my own, so while I was still helpless, he provided a means that saved me from the end effects of my sins (past and future) with Christ dying for me.  It is through His Son, and my now belonging to him (by following him and making him the leader of my life,) that now provides this protection from the law of sin and death / eternal separation from him.  No matter what I had done, making Christ the boss and leader of my life keeps me from ultimate condemnation.  Christ sits at God’s right hand, not as an accuser but rather as my advocate - he gave his life for me.  Jesus wants to bring me back into an intimacy with the Father, he’s not interested in making me jump through hoops to prove myself worthy or in any attempt to earn my way.  It is God’s gift and Jesus’ sacrifices that have washed me clean.  Given this, I can now approach God with confidence, knowing that I will find mercy and grace to help me in my time of needs and difficulty.  I need to remind myself today that I don’t need to earn God’s approval or provide some type of sacrifice or offering in order to make up for my wrong doings.  I need to just walk today in the confidence that I have God’s mercy and Jesus as my advocate.  I won’t get caught up in things of the world today, instead I want to concentrate on loving God and loving those he has put around me.