By Kingsley Baehr

September 8 has been designated “Pardon Day” since 1974 when President Gerald Ford granted a presidential pardon to Richard Nixon.
So since we are now in September, 2015, let me ask you, “Have you ever received a pardon for some wrong thing you have done?”
Another word for “pardon” is “forgiveness.” So, have you ever received forgiveness for some wrong thing you have done?
I’m sure you have, many times. As an example, when you were a child and you wrote with black marker on the wall, and you told Mommy and Daddy that you were sorry, they forgave or pardoned you.
As a teen-ager, when you came home after your curfew, and you said you were sorry, Mom and Dad pardoned you.
Countless times you have asked others to forgive you, and most of the time, it has happened.
But have you ever been pardoned and forgiven for all your sins all at once? 1
Have you ever asked God to forgive you, once and for all, for all the sins you have ever committed against Him? 2
Let’s face it. Every time we sin, we sin against God.
Yet the amazing thing is that God is waiting and wanting to forgive all of your sins,3 and He has already provided the payment for them all! 4
But in order for that payment to be credited to your account, 1. you have to be willing to accept it,
2. by admitting that you need it, and
3. that you can’t pay it yourself, and
4. that you are sorry
5. that your sins caused Jesus
to have to pay your death penalty on the cross at Calvary. 5
So how about it?
Do you want God’s forgiveness or not?
If so, you now know what you have to do [outlined in the paragraph above].
The choice is yours?
Accept or reject.
Accept, and eternal life with this loving God is guaranteed. 6
Reject, and be separated from this loving God forever, guaranteed. 7
So please, please,
humble yourself before God
and ask Him,
“Please, will You pardon me?”.
1 Isaiah 55:7; Jeremiah 33:8
2 1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13; Psalm 51:3
3 John 3:16; Psalm 86:5
4 1 John 5:11
5 Romans 10:9,10
6 John 1:12
7 Isaiah 59:2