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Forgiveness Is Freedom

 Forgiveness Is Freedom Ever had an experience where you gave trust and love with abandon, but you were “burned” in the end? You know. Went out of your way for someone, but not only did you not get a bit of recognition, you were criticized for it. Transgressions, or abuses, against us are very difficult to ignore or let go of. Often, we say to ourselves that we’ll forgive the person, but we know we won’t forget. Speaking of transgressions, when inspecting my life, I see that my transgressions against God are enormous. Yet God has forgiven me. Unbelievably, He has moved my sins away from Him, as far as the East is from the West. God forgives me, but commands that I forgive others in the same way. He tells me in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But, if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (NASB95) Also, and here is the tough part, Philippians 2:3 says, “Do no...
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You Are Under Attack!

  Eternity—sounds like a long time. When was the last time you considered your eternal soul? God wants you to spend your eternity in heaven with Him. Not in the lake of fire with Satan. We know intuitively that we are made for more than just existing. Our soul, which is our “life,” our essence, that which God created uniquely for each of us, begs for relevance. You’ve felt it. Our soul is that motivating power that brings strength of will and, together with the heart, determines our conduct. When Jesus commanded us to love God with all our soul, He is talking about the power of our lives. If your soul is tossed and turbulent, never at ease and moving away from God, you become susceptible to false teachers, a corrupt world, and Satan’s plans. Your love is drifting like flotsam and jetsam in your culture’s trends. Your only anchor is God’s Word. We often hear that we should listen to our hearts to know what is right for us. Bad advice. Your heart decides feelings,...
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Our Daily Battle with Sin

  The melancholy and shame left him slumping in his chair like a spineless, cast-aside stuffed doll. He had failed again. How many times must he go through this? He wants to live a godly life, a God-honoring life, but this habit controls him like meth to a junkie. He had read in the Bible that the Apostle Paul had a weakness, and he wanted God’s help with it. But God told Paul He wouldn’t fix Paul’s weakness, but He would strengthen Paul for his work. Well, God knows he is weak and needs God’s strength, and he is wondering why God hasn’t helped him. Ever feel this way? Facing the sin in your life has several avenues. Some think the constant recognition of sin is a means to appreciate God’s forgiveness and grace rather than a source of debilitating shame. Then there is the view that calling oneself a “sinner” after salvation is wrong and believers should identify with their new nature in Christ rather than their old sinful nature. They should concentrate on Romans 12:2, “…...
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Bear God's Image

  In Megan Wood’s song, The Truth, the verse, “I was made in the image of a perfect King,” lifts my soul. Think about it. The Bible tells us we are made in the image of God, yet my unfocused mind is a burden to me. God may be able to handle multiple thoughts at once, but not me. I’ve often suspected that I have attention deficit disorder (it surely can’t be my fault). Often, it is very hard for me to hold a single thought for more than a few seconds. How nice it would be if my attention was focused upon God as each thought raced through, filtered through His lenses, measured and evaluated, kept or discarded. Like having a mental sieve made from each of the godly traits, where thoughts pass through and are acted upon, or are captured and tossed out. This lack of focusing ability leads to poor decisions, confusing actions, and stifles inspiration. It interferes with using my spiritual gifts. But God knows this. In 2 Peter 1:3, he says, “seeing that His divine power has gr...
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God's Root Canal for Your Heart

  Root canal. Yikes! The mere thought of the pain associated with this dental procedure is enough to ruin your day…or week if you’ve just had it done. While lying on my back, a rubber wedge forcing my mouth open, the smell of burning tooth enamel and the grinding vibrations felt down to my titanium knees, I thought about how God painlessly removes our sins. Just as my endodontist removes the abscess at the root of my tooth, Jesus’ living, saving blood flows through our hearts, removing the abscesses of sin. In 1 John 1:7, he tells us, “but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” (NASB95) Blood equals life. Jesus shed His blood on the cross to give us eternal life. Living our eternal lives now results in peace and harmony with our world. Life is lived abundantly. Joy replaces worry; mercy replaces hate; love replaces anger. Our lives will be different when we accep...
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God Lifts Your Burden

    Sin. Feeling unable to change the things you hate about yourself? Exasperated and tired of your efforts to live a godly life? Living the Christian life is an ongoing, daily conflict with our world. At every turn, lust of the flesh, of the eyes, and the human-pride of life bombards us. Sinful ways are promoted; Christian ideals are not. And nowhere in the Bible are we told it will get easier. During the Apostle Paul’s life, he suffered in many situations. At one point he pleaded with God to remove a “thorn” in his side that was hampering his ministry. God said no. Our “thorns” come in many forms as well. Some result from our poor decisions, our lust for the pleasures of the body. Some may be trials where our lifestyles naturally put us in difficult positions, or some may come because we think we have it all together and we don’t need God. Whatever the cause of our troubles, we don’t like them and we pray to God to remove them. Just like Paul, He often says n...
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Anxious Much?

  Does the world make you anxious? With the constant bombardment of information, people are manipulated into a life of fear. Fear is the great motivator, driving our outlooks on life, our purchasing of products and services, and even our worship of God. The resultant worry can deprive us of joy, good health, and the communion God wants with us. We know being blessed by God lifts our life with joy, but then the next day we worry the blessings will cease; that the “other shoe will drop.” This year I have been so blessed by God, but as the days have gone by, I have let the tendrils of doubt weave their way into my joy. That almost transparent wisp of worry that settles gently upon my good feelings of a life lived within God’s love. Will I now experience trials and tribulations “necessary” for my growth? Thankfully, the Bible is full of God’s instructions for just these situations. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus says, “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself...
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