This week we learn that repentance and forgiveness are gifts from Jesus. Sin separates us from God, but through the work of the Holy Spirit we are convicted of sin and drawn back to Christ. Jesus not only forgives repentant sinners but also clothes them with His robe of righteousness. As we stay close to Him, our hearts are changed and our relationship with God grows stronger.

- SATURDAY – Introduction

- Memory Text

1 John 1:9

KJV ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. CEV ⁹ But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.

- Lesson

While Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving God's law, the Israelites became impatient and restless. Believing Moses might never return, they persuaded Aaron to make a golden calf for them to worship – Exod. 32-34

KJV ¹ And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. ² And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. ³ And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. ⁴ And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. ⁵ And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the Lord. ⁶ And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. ⁷ And the Lord said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: ⁸ They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. ⁹ And the Lord said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: ¹⁰ Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. ¹¹ And Moses besought the Lord his God, and said, Lord, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? ¹² Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. ¹³ Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. ¹⁴ And the Lord repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people. ¹⁵ And Moses turned, and went down from the mount, and the two tables of the testimony were in his hand: the tables were written on both their sides; on the one side and on the other were they written. ¹⁶ And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables. ¹⁷ And when Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said unto Moses, There is a noise of war in the camp. ¹⁸ And he said, It is not the voice of them that shout for mastery, neither is it the voice of them that cry for being overcome: but the noise of them that sing do I hear. ¹⁹ And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount. ²⁰ And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it. ²¹ And Moses said unto Aaron, What did this people unto thee, that thou hast brought so great a sin upon them? ²² And Aaron said, Let not the anger of my lord wax hot: thou knowest the people, that they are set on mischief. ²³ For they said unto me, Make us gods, which shall go before us: for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. ²⁴ And I said unto them, Whosoever hath any gold, let them break it off. So they gave it me: then I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf. ²⁵ And when Moses saw that the people were naked; (for Aaron had made them naked unto their shame among their enemies: ) ²⁶ Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. ²⁷ And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. ²⁸ And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men. ²⁹ For Moses had said, Consecrate yourselves today to the Lord, even every man upon his son, and upon his brother; that he may bestow upon you a blessing this day. ³⁰ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. ³¹ And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. ³² Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written. ³³ And the Lord said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book. ³⁴ Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them. ³⁵ And the Lord plagued the people, because they made the calf, which Aaron made. ¹ And the Lord said unto Moses, Depart, and go up hence, thou and the people which thou hast brought up out of the land of Egypt, unto the land which I sware unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy seed will I give it: ² And I will send an angel before thee; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: ³ Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way. ⁴ And when the people heard these evil tidings, they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments. ⁵ For the Lord had said unto Moses, Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee. ⁶ And the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by the mount Horeb. ⁷ And Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp, afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the congregation. And it came to pass, that every one which sought the Lord went out unto the tabernacle of the congregation, which was without the camp. ⁸ And it came to pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. ⁹ And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. ¹⁰ And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. ¹¹ And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle. ¹² And Moses said unto the Lord, See, thou sayest unto me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name, and thou hast also found grace in my sight. ¹³ Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people. ¹⁴ And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. ¹⁵ And he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not up hence. ¹⁶ For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth. ¹⁷ And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee by name. ¹⁸ And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. ¹⁹ And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. ²⁰ And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. ²¹ And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: ²² And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: ²³ And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. ¹ And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest. ² And be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto mount Sinai, and present thyself there to me in the top of the mount. ³ And no man shall come up with thee, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount; neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. ⁴ And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first; and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto mount Sinai, as the Lord had commanded him, and took in his hand the two tables of stone. ⁵ And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. ⁶ And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, ⁷ Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. ⁸ And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped. ⁹ And he said, If now I have found grace in thy sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray thee, go among us; for it is a stiffnecked people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for thine inheritance. ¹⁰ And he said, Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do marvels, such as have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou art shall see the work of the Lord: for it is a terrible thing that I will do with thee. ¹¹ Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. ¹² Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: ¹³ But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: ¹⁴ For thou shalt worship no other god: for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: ¹⁵ Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; ¹⁶ And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their gods, and make thy sons go a whoring after their gods. ¹⁷ Thou shalt make thee no molten gods. ¹⁸ The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep. Seven days thou shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, in the time of the month Abib: for in the month Abib thou camest out from Egypt. ¹⁹ All that openeth the matrix is mine; and every firstling among thy cattle, whether ox or sheep, that is male. ²⁰ But the firstling of an ass thou shalt redeem with a lamb: and if thou redeem him not, then shalt thou break his neck. All the firstborn of thy sons thou shalt redeem. And none shall appear before me empty. ²¹ Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. ²² And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end. ²³ Thrice in the year shall all your menchildren appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. ²⁴ For I will cast out the nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders: neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year. ²⁵ Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the passover be left unto the morning. ²⁶ The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring unto the house of the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. ²⁷ And the Lord said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. ²⁸ And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments. ²⁹ And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses' hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. ³⁰ And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. ³¹ And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. ³² And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in mount Sinai. ³³ And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face. ³⁴ But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded. ³⁵ And the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses' face shone: and Moses put the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with him. CEV (Deuteronomy 9.
6-29) ¹ After the people saw that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, they went to Aaron and said, “Make us an image of a god who will lead and protect us. Moses brought us out of Egypt, but nobody knows what has happened to him.” ² Aaron told them, “Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing.” ³ Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, ⁴ then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull. All the people said to one another, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!” ⁵ When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord.” ⁶ The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people. ⁷ The Lord said to Moses: Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. ⁸ They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. ⁹ Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, ¹⁰ and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation. ¹¹ Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind: Our Lord, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. ¹² If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them! ¹³ Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land. ¹⁴ So even though the Lord had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live. ^15-16 Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, using both sides of the stones. ¹⁷ When Joshua heard the noisy shouts of the people, he said to Moses, “A battle must be going on down in the camp.” ¹⁸ But Moses replied, “It doesn't sound like they are shouting because they have won or lost a battle. It sounds more like a wild party!” ¹⁹ As Moses got closer to the camp, he saw the idol, and he also saw the people dancing around. This made him so angry that he threw down the stones and broke them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. ²⁰ He melted the idol the people had made, and he ground it into powder. He scattered it in their water and made them drink it. ²¹ Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?” ²² Aaron answered: Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil. ²³ They even told me, “That man Moses led us out of Egypt, but now we don't know what has happened to him. Make us a god to lead us.” ²⁴ Then I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and gave them to me. I threw the gold into a fire, and out came this bull. ²⁵ Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron's fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies. ²⁶ So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the Lord's side come over here!”Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses, ²⁷ and he said to them, “The Lord God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbors.” ²⁸ The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about 3,000 men. ²⁹ Moses said to them, “You obeyed the Lord and did what was right, and so you will serve as his priests for the people of Israel. It was hard for you to kill your own sons and brothers, but the Lord has blessed you and made you his priests today.” ³⁰ The next day Moses told the people, “This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the Lord to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.” ³¹ Moses returned to the Lord and said, “The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god. ³² But I beg you to forgive them. If you don't, please wipe my name out of your book.” ³³ The Lord replied, “I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me. ³⁴ Now take my people to the place I told you about, and my angel will lead you. But when the time comes, I will punish them for this sin.” ³⁵ So the Lord punished the people of Israel with a terrible disease for talking Aaron into making the gold idol. ¹ The Lord said to Moses: You led the people of Israel out of Egypt. Now get ready to lead them to the land I promised their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. ^2-3 It is a land rich with milk and honey, and I will send an angel to force out those people who live there — the Canaanites, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. But I will not go with my people. They are so rebellious that I would destroy them before they get there. ^4-5 Even before the Lord said these harsh things, he had told Moses, “These people really are rebellious, and I would kill them at once, if I went with them. But tell them to take off their fancy jewelry, then I'll decide what to do with them.” So the people started mourning, ⁶ and after leaving Mount Sinai, they stopped wearing fancy jewelry. ⁷ Moses used to set up a tent far from camp. He called it the “meeting tent,” and whoever needed some message from the Lord would go there. ⁸ Each time Moses went out to this tent, everyone would stand at the entrance to their own tents and watch him enter. ^9-11 Then they would bow down because a thick cloud would come down in front of the tent, and the Lord would speak to Moses face to face, just like a friend. Afterwards, Moses would return to camp, but his young assistant Joshua would stay at the tent. ¹² Moses said to the Lord, “I know that you have told me to lead these people to the land you promised them. But you have not said who will go along to help me. You have said that you are my friend and that you are pleased with me. ¹³ If this is true, let me know what your plans are, then I can obey and continue to please you. And don't forget that you have chosen this nation to be your own.” ¹⁴ The Lord said, “I will go with you and give you peace.” ¹⁵ Then Moses replied, “If you aren't going with us, please don't make us leave this place. ¹⁶ But if you do go with us, everyone will know that you are pleased with your people and with me. That way, we will be different from the rest of the people on earth.” ¹⁷ So the Lord told him, “I will do what you have asked, because I am your friend and I am pleased with you.” ¹⁸ Then Moses said, “I pray that you will let me see you in all of your glory.” ¹⁹ The Lord answered: All right. I am the Lord, and I show mercy and kindness to anyone I choose. I will let you see my glory and hear my holy name, ²⁰ but I won't let you see my face, because anyone who sees my face will die. ²¹ There is a rock not far from me. Stand beside it, ²² and before I pass by in all of my shining glory, I will put you in a large crack in the rock. I will cover your eyes with my hand until I have passed by. ²³ Then I will take my hand away, and you will see my back. You will not see my face. (Deuteronomy 10.
1-5) ¹ One day the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two flat stones like the first ones I made, and I will write on them the same commandments that were on the two you broke. ² Be ready tomorrow morning to come up Mount Sinai and meet me at the top. ³ No one is to come with you or to be on the mountain at all. Don't even let the sheep and cattle graze at the foot of the mountain.” ⁴ So Moses cut two flat stones like the first ones, and early the next morning he carried them to the top of Mount Sinai, just as the Lord had commanded. ⁵ The Lord God came down in a cloud and stood beside Moses there on the mountain. God spoke his holy name, “the Lord.” ⁶ Then he passed in front of Moses and called out, “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted. ⁷ I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.” ⁸ Moses quickly bowed down to the ground and worshiped the Lord. ⁹ He prayed, “Lord, if you really are pleased with me, I pray that you will go with us. It is true that these people are sinful and rebellious, but forgive our sin and let us be your people.” (Exodus 23.
14-19; Deuteronomy 7.
1-5; 16.
1-17) ¹⁰ The Lord said: I promise to perform miracles for you that have never been seen anywhere on earth. Neighboring nations will stand in fear and know that I was the one who did these marvelous things. ¹¹ I will force out the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, but you must do what I command you today. ¹² Don't make treaties with any of those people. If you do, it will be like falling into a trap. ¹³ Instead, you must destroy their altars and tear down the sacred poles they use in the worship of the goddess Asherah. ¹⁴ I demand your complete loyalty — you must not worship any other god! ¹⁵ Don't make treaties with the people there, or you will soon find yourselves worshiping their gods and taking part in their sacrificial meals. ¹⁶ Your men will even marry their women and be influenced to worship their gods. ¹⁷ Don't make metal images of gods. ¹⁸ Don't fail to observe the Festival of Thin Bread in the month of Abib. Obey me and eat bread without yeast for seven days during Abib, because that is the month you left Egypt. ¹⁹ The first-born males of your families and of your flocks and herds belong to me. ²⁰ You can save the life of a first-born donkey by sacrificing a lamb; if you don't, you must break the donkey's neck. You must save every first-born son. Bring an offering every time you come to worship. ²¹ Work for six days and rest on the seventh day, even during the seasons for plowing and harvesting. ²² Celebrate the Harvest Festival each spring when you start harvesting your wheat, and celebrate the Festival of Shelters each autumn when you pick your fruit. ²³ Your men must come to worship me three times a year, because I am the Lord God of Israel. ²⁴ As you advance, I will force the nations out of your land and enlarge your borders. Then no one will try to take your property when you come to worship me these three times each year. ²⁵ When you sacrifice an animal on the altar, don't offer bread made with yeast. And don't save any part of the Passover meal for the next day. ²⁶ I am the Lord your God, and you must bring the first part of your harvest to the place of worship. Don't boil a young goat in its mother's milk. ²⁷ The Lord told Moses to put these laws in writing, as part of his agreement with Israel. ²⁸ Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord for 40 days and nights, without eating or drinking. And he wrote down the Ten Commandments, the most important part of God's agreement with his people. ²⁹ Moses came down from Mount Sinai, carrying the Ten Commandments. His face was shining brightly because the Lord had been speaking to him. But Moses did not know at first that his face was shining. ³⁰ When Aaron and the others looked at Moses, they saw this, and they were afraid to go near him. ³¹ Moses called out for Aaron and the leaders to come to him, and he spoke with them. ³² Then the rest of the people of Israel gathered around Moses, and he gave them the laws that the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai. ³³ The face of Moses kept shining, and after he had spoken with the people, he covered his face with a veil. ³⁴ Moses would always remove the veil when he went into the sacred tent to speak with the Lord. And when he came out, he would tell the people everything the Lord had told him to say. ³⁵ They could see that his face was still shining. So after he had spoken with them, he would put the veil back on and leave it on until the next time he went to speak with the Lord.
..Only a short time earlier they had promised to obey God, yet they quickly turned away from Him.

This story reveals both the weakness of human nature and the greatness of God's mercy. The people sinned seriously, but God was willing to forgive those who sincerely repented and returned to Him.

The Bible repeatedly teaches that repentance and forgiveness go together. We all fall short, but because Jesus died for us, forgiveness is available to every sinner who genuinely confesses and turns back to God – 1 John 1:9

KJV ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. CEV ⁹ But if we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away.
..No one is beyond the reach of His grace.

- EGW Notes (Paraphrased)

Ellen White explains that many people mistakenly think they must first make themselves repentant before coming to Jesus. The opposite is true. We come to Jesus so that He can give us repentance.

Repentance is a gift from Christ just as surely as forgiveness is a gift from Christ – Acts 5:31

KJV ³¹ Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. CEV ³¹ and made him our Leader and Savior. Then God gave him a place at his right side, so that the people of Israel would turn back to him and be forgiven.
..The Holy Spirit works on the heart, showing us our need and drawing us toward the Saviour.

When we look to Jesus and see His love revealed at the cross, our hearts are softened. God first makes sinners penitent and then He forgives them.

- Conclusion

No matter how far we have fallen, God is ready to forgive and restore us through Jesus.

- Reflection

What does the story of the golden calf teach us about human nature?