We once again convene in our respective homes to hear what God has to say. Let us wave in fond farewell to our portion on forgiveness (Don’t forget what it said though… that would really defeat the purpose of this whole blog, and I would never forgive you for it. Just kidding!!) and move on to a new topic! This time, I would like to talk to you about why you should pray.
Prayer really does work. With prayer, lions become like lambs before us. Tongues of fire lick our skin and do not burn us. Water retreats and leaves dry land in its place, demons are driven out, the lame walk, the blind see, and that math test doesn’t look nearly as intimidating.
God has been answering people’s prayers since the beginning of time. He will always answer you. That doesn’t mean He will always say yes, but He will always answer. God answers in three ways: Yes, No because I have something even better for you, and Wait. “How do you know He answers prayers?” you may be asking. Well, for one thing, He tells us so. It says in Zechariah 13:9 “They will call on my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘These are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” It says in Isaiah 65:24 “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!” Here are a few examples of when God said yes to some faithful petitioners.
In 1 Kings, Elijah was in a “contest” with the prophets of baal, a false god they were worshiping, to see whose deity was the true one. Elijah prayed to God, and boy, did He answer! In 1 Kings 18:38-39, it says “The LORD immediately sent fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, and the stones. It scorched the ground everywhere around the altar and dried up every drop of water in the ditch. When the crowd saw what had happened, they all bowed down and shouted, "The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"”
When King Manasseh was in some serious trouble (I believe he was being dragged by a hook in his nose), it says in 2 Chronicles 33:13 “When he prayed to Him, God heard his prayer and listened to him, and brought him again to Jerusalem and to his nation. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord was God.”
King David knew what he was about when he called out in Psalm 17:6 “I pray to you, God, because you will help me. Listen and answer my prayer!”
Ok, personal testimony time! Just the other day I was really upset over something. I didn’t have a hook through my nostril or anything, but I was hurt nevertheless. I will admit, I cried quite freely for some time, trying to figure out how to talk my way through this mess. It wasn’t working, and I was still miserable. I went in my room and lay down on my bed (my favorite praying spot!) and finally asked God for peace. As I said, I was angry and hurt, and I didn’t really want to be particularly loving to said person. As I lay there begging, the tears subsided. I stopped crying, and I just had this overwhelming sense that things were alright, my Savior-Daddy was with me, and I could work through the conflict. It was like a God-hug. Anyway, I know this may not seem particularly impressive to most of you, but what happened is that God brought me comfort when I asked for it. Duh, prayer answered!
As we all know, however, He doesn’t always answer with a yes. In 1 Kings 19:4, Elijah makes a request. “He begged the LORD, "I've had enough. Just let me die! I'm no better off than my ancestors."” God denied him. God had a purpose for Elijah to fulfill.
I am reminded now of a story that I have grown up hearing, about a missionary named Amy Carmichael (true story, guys!). She was born with brown eyes. As a child, she prayed and prayed that God would change her eyes to blue, but He never did. Years later she understood why. She began smuggling child prostitutes out of Hindu temples disguised as an Indian woman. Had her eyes been blue, as she had always wished and prayed for, they would have seen she wasn’t Indian and God could not have used her in that way.
God doesn’t tell us no because He feels like being mean. He’s not up there laughing at our pain. When He says no, it’s because He has something so much better planned for us! I remember when I saw a classic illustration of this. I was coming home with my mom from State Solo and Ensemble, and I was not thrilled with my performance. I just wanted to go home, change into something comfy, and not think about anything while zoning on the computer. However, my mom decided that we needed to go shopping for something. I was fine with that, but could I just go home and change first? No. We drove right past my street three times, but she would never stop. I will tell you, I was not the funnest shopping buddy right then. I was downright crabby. Finally, she let me go home. I walk in the door, close to tears… to find that my friends had thrown me a surprise birthday party. It had been my mom’s job to keep me out of the house. I ended up having a heck of a lot better time than if I had just followed my own plan for the day. My mom wasn’t being malicious… she loves me, so why would she be? She just wanted to give me something really good. It’s the same way with God. We get snippy with Him because He doesn’t give us what we want when we want it, when all He really wants is to do what is best for us because He loves us.
There is power in prayer, and God can work miracles if we ask Him to. It’s not just about getting what we want though… God is not a cosmic vending machine. Certainly, He wants us to ask for things. It says in Matthew 7:7, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” It also says in James 4:2, “…Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” It isn’t that God doesn’t want to give us good things. He does! It’s just that prayer is so much more than that. How do you get to know someone? You spend time with them and talk with them. Really, that is what prayer is. It’s hanging out with God. Crazy, right? We get the chance to chill with GOD, whenever, no matter what, and He is always ready to listen. How cool is that?
Through Jesus, we have a line straight to God himself! It’s like a phone plan with unlimited minutes and texting. There are times when you and God need to talk things out and use some of those minutes, alone in your room or at the altar. Then you can just send a quick text up as you go through your day as well. “Hey God, bless old Aunt Myrtle, would You?” To take this ridiculous phone analogy a little further… how much sense would it make to leave your cell phone at the bottom of your purse or rolling around the floor of your car, and never use any of those minutes? It wouldn’t. In the same way, recognize the gift of direct communication with the Creator of the universe and get some use out of it!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Forgiveness: Part Three
This is the third and final installment of our look at forgiveness. You may be wondering, “What’s left to talk about? God’s forgiven me, I’ve forgiven others… what am I missing?” This time we talk about forgiving ourselves. Oh, and once again, if you are new and haven’t read Forgiveness: Part One, go back and read it! Part two is not as necessary, but I encourage you to read that one as well. Anyhoo…
“Forgive myself?” you may be thinking. “What are you talking about?” Let me explain what I mean. Have you ever done something wrong, and felt guilty about it? Of course! We all have. That’s the Holy Spirit convicting us through our conscience. That is not what I am talking about.
Ok, scenario two. Have you ever done something wrong and sincerely asked God for forgiveness, but afterward you still were beating yourself up over it? “How could I have been so stupid! Why did I do that? I’m such a horrible person…” etc. THAT is what I’m talking about here.
Now as we learned back in Part One, God forgives you. Not only does He forgive you, but He makes you clean as though it never happened. Quite literally, He “forgives and forgets”. It says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us.” It says it a little clearer in Isaiah 43:25. “I, I am the One who erases all your sins, for my sake; I will not remember your sins.” And again, in Jeremiah 31:34, “I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!”
“Ok.” You may be saying. “You covered this two weeks ago. God forgave me, ok. What about it?” The point I am making is that God forgets your sin. He will never bring it up again. Now, if the God of the universe can forget your sin… shouldn’t you?
“Now hold on!” perhaps is your cry. “It’s not as easy as all that! It’s not like I want to feel guilty! Who would? But I’ve done so much, I’ve hurt someone, I’ve hurt myself… how do you expect me to suddenly be peachy overnight?” I don’t, and neither does God. Some wounds take time to heal… but why add to the weight of your pain by allowing these thoughts of guilt to keep haunting you?
I say allowing, because I agree that you don’t do it to yourself. So, logically, if YOU aren’t bringing it up, and GOD isn’t bringing it up, who is? It ain’t yo mama, I’ll tell you that. Satan is called the Great Deceiver, and with good reason! He loves nothing better than trying to tear you down. He brings up old sins, past failures, current fears, and future hopelessness. It says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Trust me when I say that he is after you, and he is in no way above using things that God has forgiven and forgotten to hurt you!
Look at what you’ve done! Look at all the people you’ve hurt. You are horrible, worthless!
Do you really think that God can use you now? Why bother even trying?
You failed before… what makes you think you won’t fail this time?
You’re not good enough…
Remember when you did that? Can you really go to God with a heart like yours?
Any of these lies sound familiar to you? Just remember that they are lies! It says in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Even his very NAME gives you a clue… the word “Devil” in its original Greek form literally means ‘Slanderer’, or liar. It’s what he does. I’m not going to lie to you (ha, very punny, right? No, sorry, that was terrible.), that is a scary thought sometimes.
So here’s the good news. We don’t have to give in to him! If we are in Christ, and Christ in us, he has no real power over us. It says in James 4:7, “So place yourselves under God's authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” If that’s not encouraging, I don’t know what is. When we call on God, Satan runs! He has no choice but to go scurrying off, tail between his legs, screaming like a little girl! Well, maybe he might just slink off and sulk, I don’t know. In any event, he leaves you alone! Will it be a one-time battle? No. Will he likely return to torment you again? Yes. I told you, that’s just what he does!
But don’t worry. Take comfort in the knowledge that Satan has no power over you, that you are forgiven, and that God will never bring that sin up again. It’s washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. And thank God for that, because I will tell you what, my friends… we would be in some hot water without it.
So, to wrap up all my rambling… let God help you to let go of your guilt and shame. You don’t need it. It’s a trick of the devil to keep you from feeling like you can do anything for God. You are so far above that… you are a child of the King! I know it’s not as easy as a snap of the fingers, and I don’t want to make this sound like a quick-fix… just call on God, trust His promises, and know that you are forgiven.
Well, this was it on forgiveness! Now you know... what are you going to do with it?
Still praying about what to talk about next week and in the future, so if you have a suggestion, please let me know! Thanks darlings! I love you!
“Forgive myself?” you may be thinking. “What are you talking about?” Let me explain what I mean. Have you ever done something wrong, and felt guilty about it? Of course! We all have. That’s the Holy Spirit convicting us through our conscience. That is not what I am talking about.
Ok, scenario two. Have you ever done something wrong and sincerely asked God for forgiveness, but afterward you still were beating yourself up over it? “How could I have been so stupid! Why did I do that? I’m such a horrible person…” etc. THAT is what I’m talking about here.
Now as we learned back in Part One, God forgives you. Not only does He forgive you, but He makes you clean as though it never happened. Quite literally, He “forgives and forgets”. It says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our sins from us.” It says it a little clearer in Isaiah 43:25. “I, I am the One who erases all your sins, for my sake; I will not remember your sins.” And again, in Jeremiah 31:34, “I'll wipe the slate clean for each of them. I'll forget they ever sinned!”
“Ok.” You may be saying. “You covered this two weeks ago. God forgave me, ok. What about it?” The point I am making is that God forgets your sin. He will never bring it up again. Now, if the God of the universe can forget your sin… shouldn’t you?
“Now hold on!” perhaps is your cry. “It’s not as easy as all that! It’s not like I want to feel guilty! Who would? But I’ve done so much, I’ve hurt someone, I’ve hurt myself… how do you expect me to suddenly be peachy overnight?” I don’t, and neither does God. Some wounds take time to heal… but why add to the weight of your pain by allowing these thoughts of guilt to keep haunting you?
I say allowing, because I agree that you don’t do it to yourself. So, logically, if YOU aren’t bringing it up, and GOD isn’t bringing it up, who is? It ain’t yo mama, I’ll tell you that. Satan is called the Great Deceiver, and with good reason! He loves nothing better than trying to tear you down. He brings up old sins, past failures, current fears, and future hopelessness. It says in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Trust me when I say that he is after you, and he is in no way above using things that God has forgiven and forgotten to hurt you!
Look at what you’ve done! Look at all the people you’ve hurt. You are horrible, worthless!
Do you really think that God can use you now? Why bother even trying?
You failed before… what makes you think you won’t fail this time?
You’re not good enough…
Remember when you did that? Can you really go to God with a heart like yours?
Any of these lies sound familiar to you? Just remember that they are lies! It says in John 8:44, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” Even his very NAME gives you a clue… the word “Devil” in its original Greek form literally means ‘Slanderer’, or liar. It’s what he does. I’m not going to lie to you (ha, very punny, right? No, sorry, that was terrible.), that is a scary thought sometimes.
So here’s the good news. We don’t have to give in to him! If we are in Christ, and Christ in us, he has no real power over us. It says in James 4:7, “So place yourselves under God's authority. Resist the devil, and he will run away from you.” If that’s not encouraging, I don’t know what is. When we call on God, Satan runs! He has no choice but to go scurrying off, tail between his legs, screaming like a little girl! Well, maybe he might just slink off and sulk, I don’t know. In any event, he leaves you alone! Will it be a one-time battle? No. Will he likely return to torment you again? Yes. I told you, that’s just what he does!
But don’t worry. Take comfort in the knowledge that Satan has no power over you, that you are forgiven, and that God will never bring that sin up again. It’s washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ. And thank God for that, because I will tell you what, my friends… we would be in some hot water without it.
So, to wrap up all my rambling… let God help you to let go of your guilt and shame. You don’t need it. It’s a trick of the devil to keep you from feeling like you can do anything for God. You are so far above that… you are a child of the King! I know it’s not as easy as a snap of the fingers, and I don’t want to make this sound like a quick-fix… just call on God, trust His promises, and know that you are forgiven.
Well, this was it on forgiveness! Now you know... what are you going to do with it?
Still praying about what to talk about next week and in the future, so if you have a suggestion, please let me know! Thanks darlings! I love you!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Forgiveness: Part Two
Eh, it's a little early. So sue me!
The second type of forgiveness is a little bit harder to deal with… that is our forgiveness of others. Oh, and if you are new and haven’t read Forgiveness: Part One, go back and read it. Now! Why are you still here? GO!! Gee whiz…
Ok. Anyway, today we are talking about forgiving those that have hurt us. As I said, this one is WAY harder. Is there anyone you are harboring unforgiveness for? Maybe an old ex-boyfriend that cheated on you. Maybe your friend told a secret about you. Maybe your parents haven’t been what they needed to be in your life. All of us have struggled at one time or another with this. It’s time to let it go.
“Why?” You may be asking. “You don’t know what they did to me! Why should I forgive them? They’re not even sorry!” Good point. I have absolutely no idea what they did to you. But stick with me for a little bit longer, and I shall do my best to give you God’s answer on the subject.
There are a few different reasons as to why God wants us to forgive. Because we as humans are selfish creatures, I will start with the one that most closely concerns our personal benefit. When you hold on to unforgiveness, it eats you up inside. Don’t deny it… you know it to be true. The object of your anger may be going about, blissfully unaware of your wrath or hatred. It may not concern them at all. But you… you know you haven’t forgiven them. You think about it every time you see that person. You carry it around with you, and it festers and matures, and makes you truly miserable. Maybe that person does know about it. Maybe you are quite open about the slate not being clean. Congratulations, now you have TWO unhappy people!
The second reason… because Jesus forgave you. “What?” you might be thinking. “What is this weirdo talking about?” This weirdo will gladly tell you. When you sin, you are consciously saying “No!” to God. That hurts Him. However, no matter how much you hurt Him throughout your life, He loves you enough that He is willing to wipe the slate clean. Now, if you are living the Christian life, then we want to be like Jesus, right? That’s what being a Christian is, being in a relationship with and having Jesus live through you. So logically, it would make sense that He wants us to forgive. “But that’s different!” You may be saying. “He’s GOD, isn’t He? Isn’t that sort of what He does?”
Hmm.
Well, yes, He is God. And yes, God can do anything. But does he HAVE to? In reality, it’s absolutely amazing that He would even allow such imperfect beings as ourselves to exist, much less to give us the option of living with Him for eternity. Yet, He does. Because we are worth it? No. Because we deserve it? No. It’s because He loves us, just as we are called to love others. It says in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." In the Greek language (the language this part of the Bible was written in) there was no punctuation, so they instead emphasized important things by repeating them. The phrase ‘Love one another’ was repeated three times!! Does that maybe signify to you that it is important?
So how do we apply this to forgiveness? How did God show His love for us? He forgave us. Hint hint, maybe we should show our love of others by forgiving them?
You may still be shouting, “But this is different!! This person has truly hurt me!” ok. I don’t doubt that you have been hurt, many of you more than I could ever understand. But is it really different? Let’s break this down a bit and be hypothetical.
Suppose one of your best friends totally betrayed you. Suppose someone then publicly humiliated you, turned almost everyone you know against you, beat you to a bloody pulp, exposed you naked in the most public place in town, and then… hmm, what came next? Oh yeah, then they started to kill you. If you found yourself in that position, would you find it particularly easy to forgive those people? Would you even bother to try? Frankly, I don’t honestly know that I would be able to.
But Jesus did. Put into modern terms, that’s pretty much what Jesus went through, only a heck of a lot worse. As He was nailed to that cross, slowly dying the most torturous and humiliating death imaginable, do you know what He looked up to heaven and said? In Luke 23:34, “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Still think it was easy? Still think you are really that different?
Now I move on to some others of you who may be reading this blog. Perhaps you aren’t thinking that you don’t want to forgive… maybe you are thinking that you can’t forgive. Perhaps there are some of you out there that have tried and tried to forgive this person in your life, but they have just hurt you too deeply. It is especially for you that I have wonderful news.
We don’t have to do these things on our own strength. Sometimes we can’t do things on our own, and that’s ok. I tried for a long time to remove something from my life that was displeasing to God, but could never do it because I was still trying to work off of my own strength. It wasn’t until I asked God to change me, and to do that work in me, that I was delivered. If you want to know about that, ask me and I’ll gladly tell you. But it takes a real act of surrender to look to God and say, “I can’t do it, so please do it through me! Put forgiveness in my heart, because I have been so deeply hurt that I can’t do it on my own!” and you know what? He will. It may not be easy… but He will do it. It says in Mark 2:7, “…Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Lean on Him. Let Him be your strength and your provider. We don’t have to struggle with these things by ourselves.
So again I ask you… do you have someone you need to forgive? Pray about it. Seek God over it and give your burden to Him.
The second type of forgiveness is a little bit harder to deal with… that is our forgiveness of others. Oh, and if you are new and haven’t read Forgiveness: Part One, go back and read it. Now! Why are you still here? GO!! Gee whiz…
Ok. Anyway, today we are talking about forgiving those that have hurt us. As I said, this one is WAY harder. Is there anyone you are harboring unforgiveness for? Maybe an old ex-boyfriend that cheated on you. Maybe your friend told a secret about you. Maybe your parents haven’t been what they needed to be in your life. All of us have struggled at one time or another with this. It’s time to let it go.
“Why?” You may be asking. “You don’t know what they did to me! Why should I forgive them? They’re not even sorry!” Good point. I have absolutely no idea what they did to you. But stick with me for a little bit longer, and I shall do my best to give you God’s answer on the subject.
There are a few different reasons as to why God wants us to forgive. Because we as humans are selfish creatures, I will start with the one that most closely concerns our personal benefit. When you hold on to unforgiveness, it eats you up inside. Don’t deny it… you know it to be true. The object of your anger may be going about, blissfully unaware of your wrath or hatred. It may not concern them at all. But you… you know you haven’t forgiven them. You think about it every time you see that person. You carry it around with you, and it festers and matures, and makes you truly miserable. Maybe that person does know about it. Maybe you are quite open about the slate not being clean. Congratulations, now you have TWO unhappy people!
The second reason… because Jesus forgave you. “What?” you might be thinking. “What is this weirdo talking about?” This weirdo will gladly tell you. When you sin, you are consciously saying “No!” to God. That hurts Him. However, no matter how much you hurt Him throughout your life, He loves you enough that He is willing to wipe the slate clean. Now, if you are living the Christian life, then we want to be like Jesus, right? That’s what being a Christian is, being in a relationship with and having Jesus live through you. So logically, it would make sense that He wants us to forgive. “But that’s different!” You may be saying. “He’s GOD, isn’t He? Isn’t that sort of what He does?”
Hmm.
Well, yes, He is God. And yes, God can do anything. But does he HAVE to? In reality, it’s absolutely amazing that He would even allow such imperfect beings as ourselves to exist, much less to give us the option of living with Him for eternity. Yet, He does. Because we are worth it? No. Because we deserve it? No. It’s because He loves us, just as we are called to love others. It says in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." In the Greek language (the language this part of the Bible was written in) there was no punctuation, so they instead emphasized important things by repeating them. The phrase ‘Love one another’ was repeated three times!! Does that maybe signify to you that it is important?
So how do we apply this to forgiveness? How did God show His love for us? He forgave us. Hint hint, maybe we should show our love of others by forgiving them?
You may still be shouting, “But this is different!! This person has truly hurt me!” ok. I don’t doubt that you have been hurt, many of you more than I could ever understand. But is it really different? Let’s break this down a bit and be hypothetical.
Suppose one of your best friends totally betrayed you. Suppose someone then publicly humiliated you, turned almost everyone you know against you, beat you to a bloody pulp, exposed you naked in the most public place in town, and then… hmm, what came next? Oh yeah, then they started to kill you. If you found yourself in that position, would you find it particularly easy to forgive those people? Would you even bother to try? Frankly, I don’t honestly know that I would be able to.
But Jesus did. Put into modern terms, that’s pretty much what Jesus went through, only a heck of a lot worse. As He was nailed to that cross, slowly dying the most torturous and humiliating death imaginable, do you know what He looked up to heaven and said? In Luke 23:34, “Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Still think it was easy? Still think you are really that different?
Now I move on to some others of you who may be reading this blog. Perhaps you aren’t thinking that you don’t want to forgive… maybe you are thinking that you can’t forgive. Perhaps there are some of you out there that have tried and tried to forgive this person in your life, but they have just hurt you too deeply. It is especially for you that I have wonderful news.
We don’t have to do these things on our own strength. Sometimes we can’t do things on our own, and that’s ok. I tried for a long time to remove something from my life that was displeasing to God, but could never do it because I was still trying to work off of my own strength. It wasn’t until I asked God to change me, and to do that work in me, that I was delivered. If you want to know about that, ask me and I’ll gladly tell you. But it takes a real act of surrender to look to God and say, “I can’t do it, so please do it through me! Put forgiveness in my heart, because I have been so deeply hurt that I can’t do it on my own!” and you know what? He will. It may not be easy… but He will do it. It says in Mark 2:7, “…Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Lean on Him. Let Him be your strength and your provider. We don’t have to struggle with these things by ourselves.
So again I ask you… do you have someone you need to forgive? Pray about it. Seek God over it and give your burden to Him.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
They are coming, I promise!!
Hey guys! So, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to tell you when each new study is going to be going up. Well, I'm shooting for every Monday, so be sure to check it out! I'm also toying with the idea of also making this a bit of a traditional blog as well. You know, saying what's going on with me and all that jazz. As I said, toying with it, so we will see. In any event, check it out on Mondays everyone! Thanks, and I love you all!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Forgiveness: Part One
The first topic to be tackled here is forgiveness. There are three basic types of forgiveness, and all shall be addressed in time. The first (and frankly the most important, because without it the others are nigh impossible) is the forgiveness of God.
Now, in order to be forgiven, it’s rather imperative that we know we need forgiving. “I’m not a bad person.” You may be saying. “I haven’t killed anyone. I get good grades in school. I go to church on Christmas and Easter.” Etc, etc. It says in 1 John 1:10, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Let me put it this way and ask you a few tough questions.
Have you ever lied?
Liar.
Have you ever stolen anything?
Thief.
Have you ever lusted after anyone? Matthew 5:27-28 says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Adulterer.
Ever hated someone? 1 John 3:15 says “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Murderer.
The point is that we all mess up. We all sin, and when we do it hurts the heart of Jesus, and it quite honestly hurts you too. “Well,” you are likely thinking. “That sucks.” Yes. Yes it does.
Perhaps you are on the other end of the spectrum. Maybe you are reading this today and thinking, “Forgiveness? How could God forgive me? I’ve done WAY too much wrong… I can never be good enough for God.” In a sense you are right, because, since God is perfect, you can’t be good enough for Him. Bear with me for a moment while I explain that statement. Romans 3:23 states that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of us are good enough to make it on our own. Not you. Not me. Not my pastor. Not Mother Theresa. No one. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Here’s the good part... WE DON’T NEED TO BE GOOD ENOUGH. That’s a very good thing, because we would never be able to do it. When Jesus came he took all our sins onto Himself. Pause and consider the magnitude of that act for a moment. He took all the sins of everyone who had ever been born and ever would be born. The man who had never sinned took on the guilt and shame and death that our sins brought. He took on your sin when you lied to your mom the other day. He took on my sin when I told that dirty joke the other week. He took on Hitler’s sin. He took on Saddam Hussein’s sin. He took the sin of every person ever, all at one time.
Why did He do that?
The answer is both powerful and simplistic. It was because He loved you then, and He loves you still. Dying with our sin made it possible for us to be reunited with our Father God who loves us so much. It is because of this selfless act that today, right now, no matter who you are or what you have ever done, you can go before God and say, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me!”… and He will. He is waiting with open arms, always calling you to Himself. He wants you to love Him, and to let Him love you. He wants a relationship with you, and quite frankly, that’s all it really comes down to.
Don’t believe me? Then, to quote the guy from Reading Rainbow (anyone else remember that show from when we were little?), don’t take my word for it!
Nehemiah 9:17 But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.
Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Now, in order to be forgiven, it’s rather imperative that we know we need forgiving. “I’m not a bad person.” You may be saying. “I haven’t killed anyone. I get good grades in school. I go to church on Christmas and Easter.” Etc, etc. It says in 1 John 1:10, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Let me put it this way and ask you a few tough questions.
Have you ever lied?
Liar.
Have you ever stolen anything?
Thief.
Have you ever lusted after anyone? Matthew 5:27-28 says “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Adulterer.
Ever hated someone? 1 John 3:15 says “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
Murderer.
The point is that we all mess up. We all sin, and when we do it hurts the heart of Jesus, and it quite honestly hurts you too. “Well,” you are likely thinking. “That sucks.” Yes. Yes it does.
Perhaps you are on the other end of the spectrum. Maybe you are reading this today and thinking, “Forgiveness? How could God forgive me? I’ve done WAY too much wrong… I can never be good enough for God.” In a sense you are right, because, since God is perfect, you can’t be good enough for Him. Bear with me for a moment while I explain that statement. Romans 3:23 states that “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None of us are good enough to make it on our own. Not you. Not me. Not my pastor. Not Mother Theresa. No one. ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Here’s the good part... WE DON’T NEED TO BE GOOD ENOUGH. That’s a very good thing, because we would never be able to do it. When Jesus came he took all our sins onto Himself. Pause and consider the magnitude of that act for a moment. He took all the sins of everyone who had ever been born and ever would be born. The man who had never sinned took on the guilt and shame and death that our sins brought. He took on your sin when you lied to your mom the other day. He took on my sin when I told that dirty joke the other week. He took on Hitler’s sin. He took on Saddam Hussein’s sin. He took the sin of every person ever, all at one time.
Why did He do that?
The answer is both powerful and simplistic. It was because He loved you then, and He loves you still. Dying with our sin made it possible for us to be reunited with our Father God who loves us so much. It is because of this selfless act that today, right now, no matter who you are or what you have ever done, you can go before God and say, “I'm sorry. Please forgive me!”… and He will. He is waiting with open arms, always calling you to Himself. He wants you to love Him, and to let Him love you. He wants a relationship with you, and quite frankly, that’s all it really comes down to.
Don’t believe me? Then, to quote the guy from Reading Rainbow (anyone else remember that show from when we were little?), don’t take my word for it!
Nehemiah 9:17 But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them.
Acts 10:43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Ephesians 1:7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Colossians 1:13-14 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
And so, it begins.........
There are two things you need to know about this blog.
The first: This blog has nothing to do with my opinions. “Hmm.” You may be thinking. “How droll. Isn’t that just what a blog is all about?” Maybe. I don’t know. I am the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about blogging. In fact, there are a lot of things I know absolutely nothing about. Ah well. Such is life. In any event, the purpose and idea of this blog is not to tell the world of my daily doings, but to share what God has to say about things. I may throw in a few personal things, I don’t know yet. I am going to try to be as vulnerable and open as I can be here. But I digress. Flat out, this is an online Bible Study.
The second: I am not particularly worried about offending you. Don’t like what I say? Take it up with the Guy who wrote it. Think I’m a little too harsh? That’s ok. I love you enough to risk your disdain.
But enough of this introduction. On to the stuff that really matters……
The first: This blog has nothing to do with my opinions. “Hmm.” You may be thinking. “How droll. Isn’t that just what a blog is all about?” Maybe. I don’t know. I am the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about blogging. In fact, there are a lot of things I know absolutely nothing about. Ah well. Such is life. In any event, the purpose and idea of this blog is not to tell the world of my daily doings, but to share what God has to say about things. I may throw in a few personal things, I don’t know yet. I am going to try to be as vulnerable and open as I can be here. But I digress. Flat out, this is an online Bible Study.
But enough of this introduction. On to the stuff that really matters……
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