Total Forgiveness

 

It is very difficult to be forgiven.

Ouch.

Why would I say such a thing? 

Because it is difficult to forgive.

Think of how many times that you (or someone that you love) has been wronged. How easy was it to forgive the person who wronged you, whether or not they were aware of what they had done? And, have you ever forgiven them?

Does the sheer mention or sight of the one who did wrong cause anxiety, negative thoughts, or anger? You may not have forgiven that person.

In Matthew 6:12, Jesus said that when we pray, we should ask God to “Forgive us our debts (sin), as we forgive our debtors”. This presents a problem…because many people have never completely forgiven others for wrongdoing. One indicator of unforgiveness is bitterness and resentment. If you are harboring feelings of bitterness and resentment towards others, then has God forgiven you for your sins?

Jesus also told us in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you do not forgive your brother, neither will I forgive you.” 

So what do you expect?

Should we expect God to do something that we are not willing to do ourselves?

At this point, you may be feeling discouraged. You may feel like you will never be able to be forgiven, because you “just can’t get over” something someone has done to you, or you just don’t, won’t, or can’t see yourself forgiving someone.

As humans, we are soulish and selfish. We have emotions, and our woundedness will always remind us that we didn’t deserve what was done to us. We will try to justify our feelings and defensive posture of unforgiveness by saying, “What about me?”

You may have an attitude of (Humph!) “Well, I will just never be able to forgive that person, so I guess I just won’t be forgiven!” If you can say such a thing lightly, then you are in danger. The sin of unforgiveness will place of rift between you and God. Sin is destructive, and will keep you out of fellowship with God. Sin is unholy, and will keep you from having a relationship with God.

Could the sin of unforgiveness actually be one reason for which we see the horrifying scenario in Matthew 7:21-23, where people who thought they were “Christian”, approach God’s throne only to be cast into eternal darkness and damnation, separated from the Light and Life of God’s love?

You could be feeling hopeless right now, knowing that you thought you had forgiven someone, but realize that you have not. You may feel incapable or unable. And, guess what? You can’t do it by yourself. You need help.

What should you do? Ask. Ask God. Ask Him for help. (Matthew 7:7-8)

 If you genuinely want His help, He is willing and able. If we are sincere in our desire to forgive, to obey God, and to preserve our relationship with Him, then there is something that we can do to show how serious we are about wanting His help in this process. Pray.

We are told in Matthew 5:44 to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you”.

So, if you truly want to begin a journey of forgiveness, and to find peace within yourself, with God, and with man, then you pray. Pray for those who have wronged you. Pray for God to help you to do good, and to bless (forgive) those who have done things against you. And finally, pray for God to forgive you.

Did I say “journey”?  Yes…it is sometimes a journey, a process.

In Matthew 18:21-22, Peter asked Jesus, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”

Perhaps, you find yourself needing to forgive one person over and over for different reasons. But perhaps you will also find yourself needing to extend forgiveness for one deed over and over and over. You can find yourself mentally returning to nurse wounds, remembering the pain of that experience. When you return to this painful place, it can be easy to pick up the burden of bitterness.

At this point, you must return to the foot of the cross and lay it down. Forgive again. And again. And again…over and over. You must realize the condition of your heart. Every day, every hour, and every minute, you must examine yourself, having an awareness of how easily you can be drawn into unforgiveness time after time. You must choose to forgive.

When you bless others with forgiveness, you will find yourself blessed, indeed. Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7)

And what about the “four hundred and ninety” times? What does that say about God?

That tells us that He loves and understands us. That tells us that He considers our humanity. That tells us that He knows that healing and forgiveness can take time. That tells us that God is patient, and that He is willing to forgive us time after time.

Thank God for His patience and mercy. Thank God that we can become totally free, walking in wholeness and total forgiveness.

Be blessed, In Jesus' Name,

Angie 

God's Will In Ill

 

As children of a loving, Almighty God, we should not expect that it is His will that we suffer.  So, when we have sickness, especially an extended illness, or feared diagnoses, we pray. We pray for physical comfort. We pray for peace. We pray for healing. And sometimes, we ask and we pray, and we pray, and we pray. We ask questions…we ask why. We ask when. We wait.

While we wait, and we wait, and we wait, God gives grace…grace sufficient for each day. We do not often consider or seek the power of His all-sufficient grace. We desire mercy…relief for the pain and the suffering. We desire wholeness and restoration. We pray, we plead, and we wait.

Once, I suffered with a shoulder that I had thought would never get better. I asked God, but had not received healing, nor had I experienced relief. I had tearfully sought the Lord in prayer. I prayed and I prayed. I grew tired in my journey. After a long time, in frustration, I asked God what He wanted me to do.

Finally, I had prayed the right prayer. Jesus taught his disciples how to pray… “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”(Matthew 6:10) We are told to ask and to pray God’s will.

Journeys usually involve plans and purposes, as well as routes and destinations. For instance, when I go into town to buy groceries, I usually plan to go to the post office, the bank, and to take care of various errands. Sometimes, my trip takes longer than I thought it would, but I attempt to accomplish all of my plans and purposes for that day.

When I asked God what He wanted me to do, I essentially asked, “What is Your will in this ill?” Perhaps in the midst of my journey, there were plans and purposes that needed to be fulfilled. Perhaps in what we call “God’s time”, there is actually something for us to do.

“Bless people. See how many people that you can bless during the day.” That was my answer. I had a doctor’s appointment the next day, and I purposed myself to do just what God wanted me to do. Along the way, throughout the day, I said and did things that I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to say and do. It was amazing how many people I came in contact with. And at the end of the day, I realized that it cost me nothing, but to someone it could have meant everything…even eternity. God gave the seed, and I sowed.

With a new focus, I can honestly say that I do not remember the day and hour I began getting better. One day, I realized that I was healed.

Father God does not bring sickness to His children. Sickness occurs due to the human condition, and we are subject to the consequences of living in a fallen world. God can and does heal…sometimes miraculously. Sometimes God heals us “as we go”. Sometimes, God gives grace, power and endurance to bring a mighty testimony of faith. And finally, at some point, those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior and belong to God, realize ultimate wholeness and healing in His Almighty Heavenly Presence.

God can use illness. God can accomplish plans and purposes along the path of a journey to teach, to heal, to bring salvation, and to carry out His will. Finding purpose inside of painful experiences can bring peace, blessing and fruitfulness to situations that seem futile and hopeless.

I guess if there could ever be a “good” ill will, then it belongs to God.

Be blessed, In Jesus' Name,
Angie

True Love Waits

Many people feel that intimacy and living together before marriage are good ideas. The Word of God calls them fornication. It is a sin. God hates sin…one reason is because He loves us. He does not want to see us hurt, and He hates to see suffering…and we must suffer the consequences of our sin.

Intimate premarital relationships and cohabitation are dangerous to the future of relationships. They are not signs of commitment. They are personal "litmus tests" of compatibility. Commitment comes with love. Compatibility is based on a demonstration of someone's ability to make another person happy.  It is often a “self”-ish arrangement, with each party looking to their own personal protection and needs, seeking what the other has to “offer” in the relationship. This is not love, because love is not selfish; love does not seek its own.

There is a level of judgement that comes with intimate premarital relations and cohabitation, which often involves condemnation and damage to self-esteem to the party that may be desperately seeking to fill needs and desires within the relationship because he or she is seeking to be loved. This is not a good foundation for marriage and is a set-up for being used and abused.

Love is not rooted in the ability to please others. It is a mysterious gift of God that is not self-serving, and does not seek self-gratification. It is an extension of God’s precious love towards us and is of great value. His love is committed. His love is true. True love waits.

I share this out of God's love. 

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, it not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails."  I Corinthians 13:4-8 

Be blessed in Jesus' Name,
Angie  

God On Sin And Obedience

One of the greatest reasons why God hates sin so much is because He loves us. It grieves His heart to know the consequences that sin brings to those He loves, and He hates to see His children suffer. He also despises sin because He understands how damaging it is to relationships, and the pain that it brings to others that He loves.

God loves obedience because He loves us. He loves to see us benefit from the goodness and blessing that come as a result of following Him. Our obedience pleases God because He knows that it will bring prosperity and growth spiritually, personally and relationally…and that is what He desires for those He loves.

So many people have never seen God for the loving God that He is. They do not understand His motives, and never come to know His true character. They are more concerned with pleasing the "One In Charge", because He is the God Who gives them everything. This sometimes causes people to adopt a works-based theology, never experiencing a true, loving relationship with God. Unfortunately, through a works-based theology, people will take credit for what has been accomplished through their goodness and obedience. That is another reason why the works-based theology has never worked...pride slips into the heart of man.

God wants people to see Him with their hearts. When they understand that it is God's love that is the catalyst for everything that He says to do or not to do, then it will deepen their love for Him. His love humbles and changes mankind. That transforming, relational love fuels the desire in man's heart to please God.

Be blessed, In Jesus' Name,
Angie

What Can I Bring?

 

What Can I Bring?

I was thinking today about how when someone asks us to come to dinner, I will ask, "What can I bring?" I want to participate in some way. I want to show my appreciation for the invitation, and offer to help.

Out of love, I sometimes want to give or to share something with someone I care about. What does he or she like? What can he or she use?

Jesus has extended an invitation of salvation and an opportunity to spend eternity with God and in His Love and Presence to all people. One day, each of us will stand before our Creator, God. How many times have I thought about what I will bring?

When I stand before God, what will I have of worth? Money, houses, land, jewels, treasured collectibles are things that I will leave behind. I will stand before Him with only a life spent. When I reflect on my life, I wonder if I shall stand full of sorrow… Did the things that I pursued in my life on matter to Him? Did these things reflect His nature? How was my time on Earth spent? Did I leave a legacy that reflected God’s love?

How often do I think about what do I want to give God? What does He like? What can He use?

The Bible tells us that God’s desire is for a life that is pleasing unto Him. What is pleasing to God?

Colossians 1:10-12 says…  “That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;  Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light…”

Good works…Not the works that bring attention to one’s self, but works that reflect God’s love and share in His provision according to His will. These good works come straight from the heart, bypassing the head. These good works are fruitful in building God’s kingdom.

Increasing in the knowledge of God…seeking the LORD, learning and growing in His Word, then applying God’s Word to our lives. Knowledge also implies relationship… growing closer to God, knowing His heart, hearing His voice, and walking in obedience. Knowledge of God helps us to become more Christ-like. Increasing in our knowledge of God increases our love for Him. As we grow in the knowledge of God, faith abounds, strength increases, and gratitude grows in the heart.

Strength.  Strength that is not in and of ourselves, but in the power of God. Strength that defies logic… It is that strength that makes people say, “I don’t know how she is doing it!”, “How in the world is she keeping it all together?” It is the strength that reflects the power of God to help us in all situations and circumstances, through which He imparts patience and ability to withstand suffering. Composure, a good attitude, and even joy, comes as a result of knowing that God, Who loves you, is in control.  It is faith in God, His love, and hope that gives us this strength, in which we may testify of His glorious power. This strength is fruitful in the sense that it points others to the power of God in us that makes us an “overcomer”...it is tangible proof of the living God, Christ in us!

Gratitude. Sincere thanks to our Creator for life, all that has been created for us, and generously provided for us. Our heartfelt thanks for life, God's love and forgiveness, redemption and salvation through Jesus Christ, pleases Him.

Father, help us to live lives more pleasing to You...

In Jesus' Name...

Angie

Who?

 

New York City…a city that never sleeps. Yet, it is marked by those who sleep on sidewalks, stand with signs in subways, sit and wait as busy people and tourists pass by all times of the day and night…

There are those who prey on the emotions and compassionate hearts of total strangers. There are also those who genuinely pray for God to send someone to help them…and I believe God answers.

Throughout days of exploring New York City, I saw countless individuals on the sidewalks and subways who displayed an advertisement of their plight, panhandled for their pups, mechanically repeated a ‘bad luck’ list of events leading up to that moment, and there were others. Some of them may have chosen to live on the streets...perfectly content with that lifestyle. And then, there were others who would have never chosen homelessness… but which ones? It is impossible to help every single person that has the appearance of homelessness or need, yet the heart yearns to ease the suffering of others. 

Off and on all during the week, I caught myself wondering, “How do you know who to help?” I know that God’s desire is for us to be His hands and feet. We are called to be stewards of what He has given, and to give. However, we are not called to sponsor the slothful or service sin, nor should we enable a lifestyle that does not magnify God.

Sometimes, it was easy to discern the ones who were there to “make a living” at it. Sometimes, it was easy to see that what someone was asking for was not what was needed. Then, there were the times when I questioned my judgement.  Sometimes, I wondered if I had “missed the mark”, not helping the ones who were truly in need.

 God knew my heart…it sometimes cried out, “Who?”

One evening, my daughters and I stopped in at a famous hotdog restaurant and ordered dinner. As I stood waiting on the total, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart, “Pay for the next person.” At that moment, there was no “next person”.  I reached in my purse to pay the gruff cashier.

At the same moment, an elderly lady with a walker came up and stood beside me. She reached out to hand the cashier a one-dollar bill while stating, “The boy outside is hungry. I want to buy him a hotdog.”

“Hotdogs are two dollars,” said the frowning cashier as he walked away.

My heart leaped. God never ceases to amaze me. I had heard the clear instruction of the Holy Spirit, so handed the lady another dollar.

“The nice lady just gave me a dollar. I want to buy a hotdog!” she called out to the cashier. Then, she thanked me. In my opinion, she deserved the thanks.

During some quiet moments later that evening, I could not help but reflect on the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and the affirmation of His leading.  It filled me with such joy to know that God would speak to me in a still, small voice in preparation to answer my question, “Who?”.

As I sat there, once again, I heard the Holy Spirit softly speak to my heart, “Help those who help others.”

I had not really focused on the details of the event, but I certainly remembered what the elderly lady had said. She had sought to help the boy outside of the restaurant. I know that God will bless her generosity with an overflow…the Bible describes it in Luke 6:38:

^“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Today, I can’t remember what the elderly lady looked like. I don’t know where she lives. I don’t know her name…but I do know who she is. She is one of those…those who who help others. She is who God put in my path to teach me something about how He answers questions, as well as the prayers of others.

 

Be blessed, In Jesus' Name,

Angie

  God Texts 

     Two of the youth that attend our youth fellowship at church were at the river this afternoon.  Earlier in the day, they had discussed the fact that it was Wednesday…”Maybe we will get back in time from the river to go to church tonight,” one said to the other.

     Anytime the boys are at the river, their phones have no reception. Today was no exception. There were no calls. However, there was one text message from my daughter that came through… “Hey!  Are y’all coming to church tonight?” That was the only communication that the boys received, until they came back into an area where the phone began to receive all of the other texts that were sent to them while they were at the river.

      “It was unusual that one text came through,” said one of the boys. “We are never able to get calls or texts down there. There were about five other texts that were sent during the time that we were at the river, but none of them came through…only the one that your daughter sent about church.”

       I told him that is the power of our God…there is nothing that He cannot do. He calls each of us. Some of us, God even texts.

 

Be blessed In Jesus' Name,

Angie