That Faithful Day

They were all there.  Mary, the mother of our Savior, and Mary Magdalene.  The disciple John.  Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea.  The centurion and the two criminals.  The religions leaders, the soldiers, and the crowd.  Each with different stories and outcomes, yet we share something in common with them – Jesus was bearing the weight of all our sins.  So in a sense, we were there, too.  Jesus’ precious blood was paying the price for our sin debt.  Yes, “God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  That’s how much He loves us.  On that bittersweet day, the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated His love for us by

• His willingness to suffer unimaginable physical agony for us
• His willingness to bear the weight of all sin of all time so that its power over our lives could be destroyed
• His willingness to be separated from the Father for the first time since eternity past because God cannot look upon sin

The One who is blameless, took the penalty of sin in our place.  What a huge price we were purchased with! 

Easter and spring are a pair where many of us live.  The once calloused, bare branches are fringed with tender new leaves and blossoms, tinting the landscape into a joyous sight making us all the more mindful of the new life the Lord offers us.  Scripture tells us that if we are in Christ we are new creatures; old things are passed away and “all things are become new”  (2 Corinthians 5:17).

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”  Romans 6:4

The empty tomb on that first Easter shows us that all who are willing to trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will also be resurrected to new life.  Jesus’ victory can be our victory.  It’s ours for the asking.  

Happy Easter, my friend.  It’s my prayer that you have a beautiful weekend celebrating His great love and the hope that we have in Him.

 

When You Are in Need of Contentment

 

My daughter seems to have been born with a smile.  Her happy-go-lucky spirit keeps those faint dimples on the side of her fair face forevermore present.  Not all of us were born with such a disposition.  Nonetheless, we can navigate our way to contentment.  

Discontentment, if it is the right kind, can lead to Godly ambition and goal setting.  What I am addressing here is the negative type of discontentment that can be a destructive force in our lives. 

It  can hinder our decision making process. 
It can distort our perception of God, and people, and life.   
It can cause us to destroy our relationships.  
It can create financial difficulties.
It can lead us down paths of destruction.      

The culprit of discontentment usually boils down to this:  We experience it when the basis of our inner joy is our outer circumstances.

I’m no expert on being content.  It’s a journey.  But here are some things that God shows me along the way:

1.  Make sure that your eternal future is secure if you haven’t yet done so.  There is nothing more important in life!  If you need help, please click on the key in the sidebar.  There can be no true peace until you have that settled.

2.  Take control of discontentment by taking responsibility for feeling it.

3.  Understand that contentment is cultivated.  The apostle Paul writes in Philippians 4:11 “for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”  

4.  Don’t focus on your troubles; focus on Jesus and trust Him. (2 Cor. 10:5)  Rather than zooming in on the present struggle, realize that He knows what He is doing.  As a child of God, your future is bright.  He plans for good to come from your difficulties, including building your spiritual growth and character.   

5.  Leave tomorrow in God’s capable hands.  Future planning is practical; future fretting is pointless.  

6. Follow and obey Him.  There’s nothing like disobedience to rob us of our peace.  Your job is to go where He leads, and do what He asks.  He'll take care of the rest.

7.  Walk closely with the Lord and lean on Him. There is an indescribable peace that comes from oneness with Him.

8.  With thanksgiving, ask God to help you to be content. (Phil. 4:6) He will, but it won’t magically happen. We have to do our part which may include simply choosing contentment each day, rather than choosing dissatisfaction with our plight.

9.  Don’t play the blame game.  “It’s because of ol’ So and So,” or  “If only I had such and such,” etc.   

10.  Refocus your mind from what you don’t have to what you do have.  “Better is little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble therewith.” Prov. 15:16 

11.  Purge any attitudes of entitlement or comparisons: “But I deserve better than what I have,” or “Why am I without when they have?”  Those kind of thought patterns multiply and can become destructive.          

12. Don’t give up; give in.  Be submissive to His will, which is where you will find great peace.  The Apostle Paul’s infirmity was not removed even though he asked repeatedly.  But, what God did do was give Paul the grace to endure it.  

I leave you with this – a hymn written by blind Fanny Crosby when she was only eight:

 

Do You Believe That, or Believe In?

Sometimes we might call ourselves Christians, but are we, in the true sense of the word?

Do we consider ourselves Christians because of the traditions that we were taught?  Or assume that we qualify because we assent intellectually to the facts?  Do we think that we are heaven bound because we go to church and live good, moral lives?  All are good, but let’s take a closer look:

There is a difference between believing that and believing in.

Believing that:

Jesus is a historical fact   
Jesus was a great man; a wise man  
Jesus had a following and was crucified
(Hardly anyone would dispute these truths.)

Believing “that”, doesn’t give us eternal life in heaven.  However, believing “in” Jesus does.     

Believing in:

Jesus the Son of God, and although our human minds may not fully understand, Jesus is God
Jesus’ death on the cross as complete payment of our sin debt, thereby removing the barrier between us and God
Jesus’ resurrection on the third day and trusting that through faith in Him, we have eternal life (faith meaning that we believe what He tells us in His Word and that He will do just what He says He will do.  He will keep His promises because God is NOT a liar.)

Those that believe in have made a deliberate decision to trust the Lord and follow His ways.  

Only those that believe in, are in the true sense of the word, Christians.  Will you choose to belong to Jesus and secure your future, today?

Need help?  Follow this scripture roadmap to salvation:

”For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23

Sin separates us from God.  But God made a way to Him by sending His Son Jesus, who took the punishment for our sins, because He loves us so.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

“Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3

The only way to have forgiveness is through God’s only begotten Son, Jesus.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6

God proved Jesus is His Son and that He accepted His death on the cross as the way for us to have eternal life by raising Him from the dead on the third day.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  Romans 10:9-10

Jesus invites us, but He also warns us:

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not on the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36

So we see in the verse above how important this decision is.  Once we make the decision to believe in Him, we must also choose to allow Him to be Lord of of our lives.  It doesn’t mean that we will live perfect lives, but that we will sit in the backseat, so to speak, and let Him do the driving.     

“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”  2 Corinthians 5:15

So what will you choose today? 

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock:  if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”   Revelation 3:20

By believing Jesus as our Savior, turning away from our sins, and making Him Lord of our lives, we can truly call ourselves Christians – true followers of Christ.  Will you pray a simple prayer and open the door of your heart to Jesus by asking Him to save you?  

It’s as simple as A B C – Admit you are a sinner
                                  Believe in Jesus as your Savior
                                  Commit your life to Him     

Need more help to understand the saving power of Jesus? Click the key on the sidebar.

“I’ll Get It!”

 

Oh all the rings and dings in our lives these days... Sometimes I'm glad for them, and then sometimes, well, not so much.

Last night my daughter's tablet sent her its little "fairy ring," alerting her of something or the other. I watched as she responded to it quicker than her knee jumps when the doctor checks her reflexes. But, she was eating her supper.  A casual one, with us all gathered around the TV eating various pickins' from the kitchen, hers being her favorite frozen pizza.

This brief observation of her automatic response got me thinking how all the alert sounds of our gadgets have trained us so well to respond swiftly.

Would that describe how we respond to God when we "hear" His prompts in our hearts?

With further observation, I saw her extinguish her automatic response, because she was enjoying that pizza that was cooked to a crisp, just how she likes it.

Way back when, in my growing up years, if the phone rang, we answered it. Without question. In this day and age of answering machines, voice mail, caller ID, screening calls is definitely an option. If I am in the middle of something, I'm inclined to not so much as check to see who is calling.

It's now so easy to ignore and screen calls. Do we do the same to the Lord?

Like those times when He sends a caution to our hearts to not do a certain thing, but yet our desire to move forward and do it anyway is so strong that we ignore the ring of God's call...

The next time I get a "God ring," alerting me of something or the other, I hope that I respond as quickly as my daughter initially did to her device. And as we all know, screening His calls is definitely not the best plan! Answering every call. Without question. Now that's the way to go!

                                                                  Hugs my friends!

February’s Focus

 

Frigid, single digit temperatures have been in our seven day forecast here and there lately, and right in the same week it is not unusual to see sixty and seventy degree weather.  Southern Februarys are notorious for this.  I’m sure you folks can relate, southerners or not.   

The inconsistency of Fickle February isn’t what we think about the most this month though; we’re more focused on love with Valentine’s Day on the horizon.

Both the erratic weather and Valentine’s Day have set my mind thinking about and evaluating the love that I have for the Lord.  Is it warm?  Cold?  Lukewarm (see Rev. 3:16)?  Inconsistent and all three?

Consider Romans 8:28 - “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.”  Our minds tend to stop with the word “good” in this verse, and not notice that it applies only to those that love God.  Are we one of “them”?

Jesus gives us three simple words that will help us evaluate how we’re doing with loving Him in John 14:15 when He says “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”  In John 14, Jesus tell us three times that love is equivalent to obedience.

Jesus not only gives us those three words, but He instructs us to love God in three ways:  with all our heart (our emotions), and with all our soul (the center of our personality), and with all our mind (our thoughts) ( see Matt 22:37).  A similar verse is in Deut. 6:5 – “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might (all that is in us).

In John 21, Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him three times.  How would you and I respond to our Savior’s question?

Adversity 101

Here’s a timely verse that came to my attention that I want to share, but first, the backstory.  You may know, I just had surgery.  Let me tell you a little secret: I am SERIOUSLY not brave when it comes to any kind of medical anything!  My fear was so ENORMOUS that I don’t believe the Grand Canyon could contain it!

But God is bigger, and so is His love for us!

As I recently read the first chapter of 2 Corinthians, the simple truth of this verse rang:

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 

A beloved friend suggested that I email her mom because her mom had the same surgery years ago.  So I did.  Her mom answered any questions I had, and went a long way in helping me make a decision that needed to be made about my surgery. 

But what was more, her mom set out on a mission to fortify me with encouragement.  She calmed me.  She reminded me to keep my focus centered on the Lord, not the surgery. 

Each day, she sent me scripture.  Each day, she sent me support.  She hardly knows me, but yet, she poured herself out for me!

My friend’s mom is not just someone that has been through the same surgery, but someone that is GIVEN to the Lord. 

Straight away, I could see that she knows God’s comfort.  That her heart is finely attuned with the Lord’s.  That she daily seeks wisdom through His Word. 

As a result - just as the verse says - she is able to comfort them which are in trouble, by the comfort that she has experienced from God.

He chose one of His beloved children, a faithful one, to hold me up when I struggled to stand.

As I made a feeble attempt to tell her how grateful that I am, she writes back that not just the surgery, but

“…other sorts of trials I've faced over the years, have all helped me to get to know God better and to trust Him more.” 

Just like the verse says, her trials, have helped her to get to know God better. 

Her trials have helped her to trust Him more. 

Her trials, not the easy times.

Yep, Adversity 101.  We’re all familiar with that class.  The scope and sequence of His adversity course includes not only helping us to draw near to Him and realize at a deeper level His love for us and His trustworthiness, but also to prepare us so that we can comfort others.  And let me tell you from firsthand experience, she was prepared.  

Well, no doubt about it, I don’t much care for Adversity 101, and I might would skip class if I could get away with it.  I’m not so sure that I pass His course with flying colors either, because I seem to have to repeat it.  But, if that’s what it takes to be all that God wants me to be, then so be it.  After all, I just saw firsthand what good it might do for others, as my friend’s mom so willingly did for me.  Through her, God showed His love and faithfulness.  WOW!  I hope that He will use me that way too.  Maybe I won’t try to skip class after all.

If Only I…

 

“If only I looked like that!” 
                                   
                                    “If only I had her position in life!”

                                                                                  “If only I had her skills, her talents…”

Sound familiar?

If you were to be like her, who would be like you?   

God designed you uniquely, and NO ONE CAN TAKE YOUR PLACE.  No one.

God never meant for you to be like anyone else.  So why compare yourself?  He has fashioned you to fulfill His purpose and plans in a way that none other will or can do.

Do you not know how God sees you?

He sees you as His masterpiece. 

He sees you as having immense worth and promise!
 
If someone has made you feel insignificant, well, let me just say, they’ve got problems.  You are of great value to the Lord.  He has plans for you, today, tomorrow, and in the future. 

You are God’s workmanship.  Every trial, every victory, every tear, every joy, has a purpose in your life.  Allow Him to mold and shape you into just what He designed you to be.  

Almighty God, Creator of all, treasures you!  Don’t you think it is about time that you treasure you too?

From Doubting to Believing

“And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”  Mark 9:24

This man believed.  He had doubts too.

Do you ever feel that way? 

Faith is necessary for salvation. 

Faith in the blood of Jesus – yes – that is just what is needed.  In Romans, scripture tells us that faith will count as righteousness.    

“…the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe…  Romans 3:22

Unto all, and upon all, that believe.  That means me.  That means you.  

God did not turn his back on this desperate father that we read about in the Gospel of Mark who believed, yet struggled with doubts.  Crying out, this man asked for help not only for his possessed son, but also with his own unbelief, & Jesus did just that as He changed this family’s lives that day.

I needed faith, & God changed my life too.  I was young, & not very armed with God’s truth, but my salvation began with a choice.

I chose to believe.

Limited in knowledge & understanding, with inborn & life given fears mixed with a dash of cynicism, I decided to follow Jesus.   

Before too long, I found myself asking Him to help me with doubts and unbelief that cropped up, as Satan enjoyed toying with my frailties.    

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:”  Matt. 7:7

In time, many an experience would increase my faith in the Savior whom I know is trustworthy.

Here are a few things that I’m hoping will help to increase your confidence in Christ, or help you to be armed when you come across someone that is struggling with fears & doubts about trusting Jesus as their Savior.  

1.  Obviously, Jesus is a historical fact.  For the Bible skeptic, there is other historical documentation that tells of Jesus’ healings, followers, death, & resurrection.  An example is this excerpt from The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XVIII by Flavius Josephus:

“Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was the Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.” 

                                        
Seeing that even some secular history testifies to Jesus can be helpful. 

However, God’s Word is our most reliable source.
 
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.”  1 John 5:9 
                                                                              
 
2.  The old testament is full of prophecy that gave Israel the ability to rule out any imposters & validate the genuine credentials of the Messiah.   

“Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”  Isaiah 7:14  (See also Isaiah 9:6; 45:21-22; and 53, just to name a few…)

These scriptures were written hundreds of years prior to the birth of Christ!  The prophecies of the Old Testament confirm with certainty the identity of Jesus Christ.  The odds of someone matching up to these prophecies were astronomical, yet He was a perfect match.  

“But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman,” Gal. 4:4

The fullness of time did come, and God loves us so much that He sent forth His Son.  Not just a prophet, not just a teacher, not just a man of God.  The Son of God.  The Savior of the world… 

“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9

3.  When we get down to it, skepticism is doubting the truthfulness of God. 
 
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”  1 John 5:10

God does not deceive.  He tells us in His Word that His Son Jesus is the only way to eternal life. 

4.  I’ll set the scene here on my fourth and favorite point.  The disciples were terrified.  Their intimate friend, the one that called them to be fishers of men,

the one that they saw heal the sick, that turned little into plenty, that walked on water…had been apprehended and was to be crucified.


Imagine the panic they must have felt!  They deserted Him… 

Cowards!  …? 

(Did I grab your attention?  Truth is, had I been in their sandals, I may’ve done the same, but I really don’t want you to miss this point…)

They deserted Jesus.  Why do you suppose they did?  Out of fear?  Doubts?    

But they were anything but cowardly after the resurrection… Why do you think that is…?  

These same men BOLDLY preached Christ, in spite of knowing that they too would likely suffer death for doing so…(And all did with the exception of John).  Yet they courageously preached the gospel!

There is only one logical conclusion.  All doubt was erased and fear paled as these men saw with their own eyes that Jesus was alive.  

In the words of John: 

“And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.  Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.” 
1 John 4: 14-15        

5.  The disciples weren’t the only ones that would risk life & limb to spread the gospel. 

Because of his Roman citizenship, mixed with his background of a Jewish education, Paul was afforded a life full of opportunity & worldly comforts.  Yet once he experienced Jesus on the road to Damascus, Paul traded in living the good life for spreading the gospel, which resulted in being chased, shipwrecked, stoned, beaten, & imprisoned.  Yet that was okay by him.  He was a man on a mission!

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” he writes, in Phil. 1:21.

Within weeks of the resurrection, thousands more abandoned their religious & social practices, becoming convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, in spite of facing the possibility of brutal Roman persecution.  

Ah, my friend, these few evidences that I’ve mentioned here are just the tip of the iceberg.  There is so much to say on this subject that I could fill a book!  But I won’t.  God did that already.           

When Life Makes You Say…

“But I just don’t know what on earth to do in this situation!”  God is your Counselor.
(Ps. 119:24; Is. 48:17)

“But I am afraid!”  God is your Protector. (Joshua 1:9; Ps. 91:1; John 14:27)

“But I’m so lonely!” God is your Unfailing Friend; your All-time Companion that has your back 24/7. (Deut. 31:6; Is. 49: 15-16)

“But I feel so weary and weak.”  God is your Strength, and His Power is more evident in times of weakness. (Is. 40:31; 2 Cor. 12:9-10)

“But my life is overwhelming.”  He is your Firm Foundation.  Allow Him to keep you steady, by walking closely to Him. (Ps. 40:2; Ps. 46:1; Rom. 8:37)

“But my life is full of chaos and confusion.”  The Holy Spirit’s continuous presence is with you to guide you. (Is. 54:10; Ps. 32:8; Prov. 3:5-6)

“But my world is upside down and I feel uneasy and fearful of the present and future!”  God is your Hope. (Deut. 31:6; Ps. 31:24; Ps. 43:5)

“But I need…” God is your Provider. (2 Cor. 9:8; Phil. 4:19)

“But I’m just not content with the way my life is.”  Contentment and joy come from our relationship with Jesus, not our circumstances. (Is. 26:3-4; Ps. 107:9; Phil. 4:11-12) 

“But I am physically sick, and emotionally drained.”  God is your Great Physician, your Healer, and although we may not always understand His ways, we can trust Him, because He always has our best interest at heart. (2 Cor. 12:9; Ps. 103:3)

“But I feel so sad and rejected.”  Rest in His arms.  He is your Comforter.  He will never reject you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. (2 Corinthians 1:3-4; Gal 6:17)

“But I feel shattered and broken hearted.”  Allow the Lord to use this, my friend.  He will heal your broken heart. (Ps. 34:17; Ps. 147:3; Is. 61:3)

“But my life seems hopeless!”  Hopelessness, to a person that is saved by grace, may be a matter of not understanding.  Peril can cloud our thinking.  If we only knew what He has in store for us, though! Look beyond the raging storms in your life and allow God to enlighten you.  He will provide you with much reason to hope and rejoice! (Eph. 1:18-20; Jer. 29:11)  

“But I feel so unloved.”  Jesus loves you so much that He died for you so that He can be with you forever. (Rom. 8:38-39; John 15:9; Eph. 3:17-19) 

“But I am facing a terrible battle!”  God is your Victorious Warrior and He is committed to winning the battle for you if you will follow Him. (Deut. 33:27; Ps. 34:7; 2 Thess. 3:3)

“But I’ve messed up.”  God is full of forgiveness, and mercy, and grace if you have trusted Jesus as your Savior. (Ps. 86:5; Rom. 10:9) (If you would like to know more about trusting Jesus as your Savior, click here.)

“But you don’t know how terrible my circumstances are!”  That is true, but God does.  He will be with you.  Seek Him wholeheartedly. (Jer. 29:13) Allow Him to guide and instruct you.  Don’t focus on your troubles, my friend, focus on Jesus.  Be consumed by His call; trust and understand that “all things work together for good.” (Rom. 8:28)  When you do that, life will take on a new significance and meaning, and you will discover and experience joy, regardless of the challenges that you face. (Ps.32:8; 1 Peter 4:12-13; Phil. 1:6)

Graphic designed by my friend Abby @ http://littlebirdieblessings.blogspot.com/

Now that Fellow Had Forgiveness Issues!

You know the one - the servant that we read about in Matt. 18:23-34 - the one that was forgiven yet he refused to give forgiveness himself?  Of all the nerve!  I sure don’t want to be like that guy, and I’m sure that you don’t either!  So let’s take a closer look together at forgiveness to be certain that all our i’s are dotted and our t’s are crossed.      

        We’ll begin with being forgiven…

Do we accept the Lord’s forgiveness through His shed blood, and take Him up on His offer of a restored relationship with Him?
If so,
then what right do we have to be unforgiving to someone that has wronged us?

If you are currently dealing with someone that is on your mind with this, and are thinking to yourself, "But this isn't something that they have just done in the past -  now is also an issue,"
you’re not alone. 

It’s really difficult, isn’t it?  But it can help us to think of it this way:  
     

Are all of our sins just in the past?

 
Will Jesus forgive us for our present and future misdeeds?

Isn't His mercy wonderful?!  He doesn't have a “three strikes you’re out” attitude.
No! Nothing could be further from the truth.

So what is our attitude in light of His forgiveness, since we know that He is waiting with arms stretched out wide ready to forgive us, anxiously desiring to bring us back into fellowship with Him, no matter how reprobate we have been? 

Doesn’t His love, mercy, and grace make us want to please Him?  And we know that He called us to forgive (Matt. 18:22) and love others as He has loved us (John 13:34), and to top it off, we have the power of His Spirit living inside of us to help us accomplish what we need to do.
  Now, 
Yes, we should hold others accountable;
&
yes we should set boundaries.
Because 
iron sharpens iron (Prov. 27:17).
Forgiving and condoning are not synonyms.

Also,

• Forgiveness doesn’t remove consequences.   It’s a given that when one sows sinful seeds, eventually they will reap costly consequences.
• Forgiveness doesn’t remove our memory.
• Forgiveness doesn’t erase painful emotions, although it goes a long way towards aiding the healing process.
• Forgiveness doesn’t rebuild trust.
• Forgiveness doesn’t always put a relationship back in tact.  Sometimes it is necessary to shield our families and ourselves.   
  
  People often don’t seem to realize these points, but when we define what forgiveness is and isn’t, it helps us to be more willing and capable. 
  
  To forgive is to pardon, to take away.  When we truly forgive, we release the one that has wronged us from any debt.    

In Gen. 50, Joseph gives us a picture of forgiveness.
In spite of all that his brothers did to him, he didn't hold a grudge; he wasn’t resentful, bitter, or angry.  On the contrary.  Scripture tells us that Joseph fed them, comforted them, and spoke kindly to them.  What a disparity between him and the servant in Matthew!  I want to follow Joseph’s example, how about you?  
 
On a personal note,

I am finding that the more intensely my heart gets broken, the more I discover the depth of God's love and forgiveness toward us.

As I struggle with the pain of another’s actions that causes me to feel shattered,

the more I realize how much our sins breaks the Lord's heart. 

When I wonder "how could _______ do such awfulness…”

my awareness sharpens in understanding the sacrifice God made for us
in spite of how we treat Him.   

And aren't those realizations a good thing?

With that said, could it be that God is using these trials to help me more fully comprehend the depth of His amazing love?

Anything that catapults us to the Lord's loving arms works for our good, no matter how painful it may be. 
Right?

As Joseph said in Genesis chapter 50, "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive." 

Forgiveness requires an act of our will.
It is a decision. 

It isn't necessarily a one time thing, either. 

The reality is, we may have to apply additional forgiveness, over and over again,
just as Hosea did with Gomer. 

When that is the case,

it is key to
avoid linking new wrongs to past offences that we have already forgiven.

God knows, that one is difficult for me.  
So I will remember:

When It’s Time to Say I’m Sorry

Have you ever received an apology only to discover that it wasn’t really remorse that was the motivator, rather a desire to rehash? 

That is a pet peeve that I have, yet I’ve certainly been guilty of it too.

As fallen human beings, sometimes our tendency is to add attachments to apologies…

I’m sorry, but…    

         While we proceed to 

       justifying wrong actions
                       or 
     put the blame on someone else.

The next time you have occasion to express that you are sorry, make a point to evaluate your attitudes and motives first. 

If you need to talk it out, do so, but apologies that we don’t really mean aren’t the wisest means to open up a discussion. 

Save your apology for when you are ready to say I’m sorry, asking for forgiveness, and ending with a period.   

With some effort, you will be more able to give a true apology with a genuine commitment to restore and set things right.

(graphic from http://littlebirdieblessings.blogspot.com)

                  

My Cousin Had a Pet Alligator

I’m not big on reptiles, but we were big buddies, my cousin and I, and since he was into that sort of thing, I joined in.  It wasn’t unusual for us kids to have a collection of frogs and lizards, sometimes turtles, and even one time, a snake.  Now, snakes is where I drew the line, and boy was I glad I wasn’t with him when he caught the thing in the woods that we played in by my grandmother’s house.

But, back to the alligator.  It was little, and cute, I suppose, for an alligator.  My cousin David kept it in an old washtub that belonged to my grandmother and she even put up with it residing in her backyard – she was patient that way.  Good thing the door everyone used was on the side of her house instead of the back -
I don’t think the milkman would have appreciated the alligator there to greet him – he had enough trouble out of my grandmother’s ill tempered dog, Chester.  

I guess I thought the gator would stay little.  I wonder if David thought so too.  But I don’t think there is such a thing as a tiny alligator that doesn’t grow, although, I wouldn’t have been surprised if such was advertised along with the sea monkeys and other goofiness in the back of the comic books that David and I collected.

It is a wonder that his parents ever agreed to such a thing as having an alligator for a pet.  I suspect they knew that it would grow, and it certainly did.  But maybe they had to let David see for himself that it may not be the best choice for a pet.

You know, sin to us is a bit like that alligator was to David – pretty appealing at first, but then it grows.  And before we know it, we have a monster on our hands, like David did with his alligator.  Well, he and his family wanted to keep their hands…and limbs, and lives, for that matter.  So, they decided it would be best to get rid of the not so little monster, lest they get consumed…  Kinda like sin…  

                

When the Storm Clouds Roll In

Stormy days.  We don’t always like them. Sometimes they can be inconvenient.  If they occur consecutively, they can be depressing.  Severe storms may even be frightening.  But I think we would all agree that we can benefit from them.  

The greenery and blooms just beyond our doorsteps speak to the benefit of spring rains.  The beauty makes me mindful of how we stand to spiritually profit from stormy adversity in our lives. 

Some difficulty may just antagonize us, causing frustration.  A friend of ours calls annoying types of storms “the sandpaper of our lives.”  Heavy, dark storms that have no end in view may give way to a sense of helplessness and despair.  When life’s storms get severely threatening, we may find ourselves in fight or flight mode initially, and then we might become gripped with paralyzing fear and insecurity.

I was just watching the other day about what not to do during tornados.  One thing NOT to do if you see one heading your direction is jump in the car and try to outrun it.  Doing so usually doesn’t end favorably. 

In our personal lives, we tend to do just that, don’t we?  We try to escape adversity.  We may even beg God to bail us out, finding ourselves disheartened if He doesn’t answer our prayers the way that we think He ought to. 

But since God knows the big picture, He is more concerned about our long term benefit than our current state of comfort levels. 

  

We will never forget the beauty amongst the devastation of that perfect, fair day following the infamous tornado outbreak of April 2011.  

None of us recalled ever seeing the sky such a pure, intense shade of blue before. 

My daughter took this photo with her inexpensive point and shoot camera as she recorded some of our twister destruction.  The picture is in it’s “as is,” unaltered state, which gives you an idea of how deeply blue the sky was that day. 

I took these, but also without filters and no adjustments were made.  I don’t know how it works, but it seems like the storms did more than strip away our trees.  My theory is that it cleared out any haze and what didn’t belong in our atmosphere, allowing us to see the sky in a purer state than what we normally see.      

Just as all of God’s creation benefits from rain, likewise we can benefit from storms in our lives.  Subsequently, other people will too, if we allow adversity to deepen our relationship with the Lord. 

Stormy periods aren’t always in our control.  But our response is our choice.  Will we allow ourselves to be refined, or will we let resentfulness and rebellion creep in?  Will we let the Lord clear out the haze, or will hostility cloud our thoughts and actions? 

With each passing storm, it is my hope that each of us will endeavor to gain ground towards being as intensely pure as that blue sky was here on April 28, 2011.