In the Old Covenant, the priests offered sacrifices daily for the sins of the people. This culminated on the day of atonement when the priest sacrificed first for himself and then for the sins of the people. This was all well and good, except for this critical reality. The blood of bulls and goats could never take away the sins of the people. For the Israelites, these sacrifices were daily and annual reminders of their sins.

But that was the Old Covenant. You and I live in the New Covenant, the covenant Jesus ushered in through his death. In this New Covenant, God remembers your sins no more. There are no more daily or annual sacrifices. There are no more reminders of sin. Jesus took it away once and for all. My life changed the moment I understood this truth.

For the longest time, guilt was always with me, haunting me, and toying with my mind. I knew my sins deserved to be punished. I didn't know when but I lived in expectation that somehow, some way, God was going to punish me. This constant reminder of my guilt kept pushing me to do more, to plead, beg and promise, to try harder, anything I could think of to remove my sin once and for all. Forgiveness was not a reality to me.

Until Hebrews 10. There, I found out exactly what Jesus' sacrifice did for me. His work on the cross cleansed me, took away my sins, made me holy and perfect in God's sight, and fulfilled the old covenant on my behalf.

And this just blows my mind: Jesus' death erased my sins from God's memory. Oh, the relief I felt knowing my sins had been forgiven once and for all. I was unshackled from guilt and shame. Forgiveness was mine.