Learning to Forgive

Forgiveness means sharing the same gift Jesus extended to us—regardless of the offense.

Colossians 3:12-15 12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also. 14 In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 Let the peace of Christ, to which you were indeed called in one body, rule in your hearts; and be thankful. We’ll often try to justify an angry, unforgiving heart by thinking, Well, the Lord knows what that person did to me. So He gets why I feel this way. Certainly Jesus—who was fully God and fully man—knows human emotions inside and out. In fact, He Himself experienced betrayal and abandonment, so it’s true that He understands our pain. Nevertheless, He does not approve of an unforgiving attitude. Through the Savior, we see how God views forgiveness, even when it comes to the vilest offenses. And consider this: We are the ones who continually betray Him. How? We’ve denied Him His rightful place in our life, doubted His Word, and ignored His instruction. There are times we kick Him out of our daily activities and decisions so we can pursue things more to our own liking. What’s more, we have sinned against both Him and other people. And what is Jesus’ disposition towards us? “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). Now, do you really believe He will justify our unforgiveness? No, He wants us to instead look at the cross. There we will discover the price that was paid for our own forgiveness. Just as we have been forgiven, so we must now become forgivers (Col. 3:13 above).

Holy, Holy, Holy

A Broadcast with R.C. Sproul

The Bible doesn’t just describe God as holy. It says He is “holy, holy, holy” (Isa. 6:3). Today, R.C. Sproul examines this attribute of God that is elevated to the highest degree.

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5 Simple Things to Start Doing for Your Happiness

Some practical advice from Marc and Angel’s self-help blog:

Life tends to open our minds and educate us as time passes. We gradually realize how much nonsense we have wasted our energy and resources on. And we begin to see more beauty in letting go…

Take this to heart, and start making more time and space for your own happiness and peace of mind. Your needs matter. And if you don’t value yourself, look out for yourself, and stick up for yourself today, you’re sabotaging yourself.

Also, keep in mind that it is possible to take care of your own needs while simultaneously caring for those around you. And once your needs are met, you will likely be far more capable of helping those who need you most.

So today…

1. Start being more polite to yourself. – Think about it… If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend?

2. Start filtering out the noise in your life. – Be careful about who you give the microphone and stage to in your life. Don’t just listen to the loudest voices. Listen to the truest ones.

3. Start letting grace have the last word. – Most drama isn’t worth it. And we often only lose the arguments our pride insists on winning. So remember, when it’s more important to win arguments than love people, we need to start all over again with our faith and priorities.

4. Start steadying yourself with simple rituals. – Whenever life feels like an emotional roller coaster, steady your mind with simple rituals. Make the bed. Water the plants. Rinse off your own bowl and spoon. Simplicity attracts calmness and wisdom.

5. Start turning the pages that need to be turned. – I can tell you from my own life experiences, almost everything that has happened helped me grow in some way. Painful experiences taught me key lessons I didn’t think I needed to know. But now I know… No book is just one chapter. No chapter tells the whole story. No hardship defines who we are. So keep turning the pages that need to be turned in your life.

The bottom line is, despite the real world challenges we all collectively face, the biggest and most complex obstacle you will likely have to overcome on a daily basis is your own mind…

 

Angel Chernoff
Marc and Angel Hack Life
Practical Tips for Productive Living

Unforgiveness and Hate

The sooner we confront hatred in our heart, the brighter our witness will shine.

Ephesians 4:31-32 31 All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. One of the most destructive attitudes a believer can display is hate. Think about it: How well can the light of Christ shine through a life that’s shrouded in anger, bitterness, and malice? Such a demeanor doesn’t reflect a positive image of Jesus to non-Christians. But the problem affects more than our witness to the unbelieving world. Even in churches, it’s not difficult to find individuals brimming over with hostility. Where does this attitude come from? One reason some believers struggle with hatred is an inability to forgive a hurt. Is that you? Think about someone who wronged you in the past, and ask yourself three questions: 1. If you hate someone, you cannot shake the memory. Does the scene play out in your mind over and over?  2. If you hate someone, you cannot wish him or her well. Do you want the best for a person who has hurt you?  3. If you hate someone, you want that person to hurt, too. Do you secretly desire for this individual to experience the pain that you suffered?  Have these questions revealed any hidden animosity in your heart? If so, don’t leave this page without prayerfully meditating on Ephesians 4:31-32. Read that passage above aloud. Then personalize it into a prayer, and let the Holy Spirit move you to forgive an old hurt.

Unstoppable Love

God’s love for us never ends, but we must open our hearts to receive it.

Romans 8:31-39 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? 33 Who will bring charges against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, but rather, was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   God is love. It is His very nature to care for His creation unconditionally. This means that no matter what we do, the Lord will not stop loving us. After reading that sentence, many people are going to think of a dozen reasons why they are an exception. So let me make this clear: God loves each of us, and the only thing preventing us from experiencing that love is our own hesitation to accept it. The truth is, none of us deserve the Lord’s love, and yet He freely gives it anyway. Some people intellectually believe every word of the Bible but still feel unloved because they judge themselves unworthy. Their doubt acts like a dam, keeping the flow of God’s care from their heart—and the barrier will hold as long as the person believes divine love must be earned. Romans 8:32 (above) tells the good news that “God is for us,” and the cross is a stunning example: Jesus died so we could be purified and enter into a relationship with the Father. The Savior’s atoning sacrifice is itself proof of God’s love, but there are many other expressions of it, including a unique purpose and plan for each of His children. And through His sovereign control, He works every situation—whether good or bad in itself—to our benefit. Won’t you ask the Lord to reveal and help you clear away anything that might be blocking the flow of His relentless love?

Christian Hope Changes Everything

https://www.crossway.org/articles/christian-hope-changes-everything/

The People We Christians Have the Hardest Time Loving. Thinking Through John 13:34-35

Clarke Dixon There is a group of people that throughout history Christians have had great difficulty loving. We Christians have shunned them, demonised them, jailed them, and have even put them to death. In our day common notions of decency do not keep us from being on the attack, in books and over the internet, through social media, in blogs, podcasts, and in chat forums. What is that one group? It is the group Jesus speaks about in John 13:34,35: So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:34-35 (NLT) The group we Christians have the hardest time loving? Other Christians. We have a long history of not treating Christians who think differently from us well. We have hated, feared, mistreated, maligned, and tried to destroy one another. LOVING ONE ANOTHER IS SUPER-IMPORTANT! Jesus gave the disciples a kind of “pep talk” at the Last Supper. Jesus had spent three years with his disciples and was now preparing them to be a Jesus following community without him, at least without him in the way they had become accustomed to. First thing out of the gate? Love each other! WHY IS LOVING ONE ANOTHER SO IMPORTANT? If we can’t love one another, then how can we expect people to take seriously our good news message of love? Jesus said love for each other would prove that the disciples really were his followers. It is interesting that though Jesus taught and modelled love for all people, including those on the fringes of society, and even including one’s enemies, it is love for one another that is evidence of being a Jesus follower. A watching world will not be impressed by our lack of love for each other. We Christians can do all kinds of loving things in the world and for the world, but when we don’t love one another, our message that God’s love changes everything, is lost. WHAT DOES LOVING ONE ANOTHER LOOK LIKE IN OUR DAY? There is the idea that if you love someone you will rescue them from their wrong thinking. Loving one another therefore means fixing other Christians, pointing out their errors. There are two problems with this. First, Christians are not cars that can simply be fixed. They are people, with history, experiences, and reasons why they think the way they do. Second, the Bible is not like the Haynes repair manual I have for my motorcycle, with step-by-step instructions and photographs to make everything as clear as possible. The Bible is brilliant, but convoluted. The Bible is sometimes hard to understand, and it is sometimes easy to misunderstand. There is a better path forward than trying to fix one another. LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH ONE ANOTHER. Conversation means talking with and to one another rafter than talking about one another. In our day there is so much talking about one another in books, on social media, podcasts, blogs, and perhaps worst of all, online comments. Conversation means listening as well as speaking. Listening is an important part of love. We each have our blind spots that others may be able to speak to. We each believe things and hold to things that may cause harm if we are not aware. Blind spots are nasty that way. Conversation means seeking truth together. Author Soong-Chan Rah has written an article about the difference between truth possessed and truth pursued. Truth possessed can be summed up as “I know the truth and everyone should listen to me.” Truth pursued can be summed up as “there is such a thing as truth and let’s work together on finding it.” LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS LEARNING THE SKILL OF DISAGREEING WITH ONE ANOTHER WITHOUT DISMISSING OR DEMONISING ONE ANOTHER. It means learning to disagree with others while honouring them for doing their best to honour God. Those who think differently than we do may never have been exposed to reasons to think otherwise. They might be doing the best they can. Maybe the blind spot is ours and we are the ones who need to rethink things. Humble people are listeners. LOVING ONE ANOTHER MEANS TAKING A POSTURE OF GENTLENESS TOWARD ONE ANOTHER. Gentleness might be the most neglected fruit of the Spirit in our day. If everyone around the world learned gentleness, wars would cease, and wars would cease to begin. Imagine too, if people would be gentle with themselves. Therapists may find they have more free time. We can not, of course, make that happen, but we can model gentleness in our own lives, in the life of our our own church family, and in our own family of churches. You may think differently about many issues and theological ideas than I do. I will be gentle with you. Will you be gentle with me? BUT ISN’T DIVERSITY OF THINKING AMONG CHRISTIANS A PROBLEM? DON’T WE NEED TO GET EVERYONE ON THE SAME PAGE? I have heard it said that we have a diversity problem in our day in the convention of churches within which I serve. It has been said that our tent is too big as a Baptist Convention. I don’t think we have a diversity problem. We have a diversity opportunity. We have the opportunity to demonstrate to a polarised world, how to live in a polarised world. It is through loving one another. It is through conversation, speaking and listening, talking with and to rather than about, disagreeing without dismissing or demonising, and through being gentle. When we allow our differences to become reasons for erecting walls and starting wars we are reflecting the world’s ways, not the way of Jesus. We Christians have had a hard time loving one another. Jesus said we must do it. So let’s do it.

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Lessons in Sonship

As God’s Son, Jesus perfectly demonstrated for us what it means to be children of God.

John 8:25-59 25 Then they were saying to Him, “Who are You?” Jesus saidto them, “What have I even been saying to you from the beginning? 26 I have many things to say and to judge regarding you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I say to the world.” 27 They did not realize that He was speaking to them about the Father. 28 So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and I do nothing on My own, but I say these things as the Father instructed Me. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” 30 As He said these things, many came to believe in Him. 31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. 37 I know that you are Abraham’s descendants; yet you are seeking to kill Me, because My word has no place in you. 38 I speak of the things which I have seen with My Father; therefore you also do the things which you heard from your father.” 39 They answered and said to Him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus *said to them, “If you are Abraham’s children, do the deeds of Abraham. 40 But as it is, you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth, which I heard from God; this Abraham did not do. 41 You are doing the deeds of your father.” They said to Him, “We were not born as a result of sexual immorality; we have one Father: God.” 42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I came forth from God and am here; for I have not even come on My own, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he tells a lie, he speaks from his own nature, because he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I say the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 The one who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God.” 48 The Jews answered and said to Him, “Do we not rightly say that You are a Samaritan, and You have a demon?” 49 Jesus answered, “I do not have a demon; on the contrary, I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. 50 But I am not seeking My glory; there is One who seeks it, and judges. 51 Truly, truly I say to you, if anyone follows My word, he will never see death.” 52 The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that You have a demon. Abraham died, and the prophets as well; and yet You say, ‘If anyone follows My word, he will never taste of death.’ 53 You are not greater than our father Abraham, who died, are You? The prophets died too. Whom do You make Yourself out to be?” 54 Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing; it is My Father who glorifies Me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God’; 55 and you have not come to know Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I do not know Him, I will be a liar like you; but I do know Him, and I follow His word. 56 Your father Abraham was overjoyed that he would see My day, and he saw it and rejoiced.” 57 So the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58 Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am.” 59 Therefore they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and left the temple grounds.   Jesus’ assertion that He was the Son of God incited fury in the religious leaders of His day. Yet His explanation to them so many centuries ago helps us understand how to act like God’s children today: • He spoke His Father’s words to the world (John 8:26). And we were given the same assignment: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (Mark 16:15). • Christ did nothing on His own initiative (John 8:28). Sonship requires surrender to the Father’s authority. •The Son spoke as the Father taught Him (John 8:28). We should rely on the truth of God’s Word, not our own wisdom. • Jesus did what pleased the Father (John 8:29). God’s children no longer live for their own pleasures but seek the joy of obeying their heavenly Father. • Christ pursued the Father’s glory, not His own (John 8:49-50; John 8:54). In the same way, we’re to humble ourselves and exalt the Lord in our thoughts and behavior. • He knew His Father (John 8:55). Like Christ, believers have the same privilege of intimacy with God. We are God’s children only because of the faithful obedience of His Son. Christ opened the door for our adoption, showered us with blessings, and demonstrated how we are to walk in faith. Now we are to follow His example.

How Peculiar!

But ye are…a peculiar people. 1 Peter 2:9, KJV Many of the older translations of the Bible used the word peculiar to describe the people of God. In the King James Version, for example, we learn that Israel is to be God’s “peculiar treasure” (Exodus 19:5) and that Christians are to be a “peculiar people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14). Newer versions update the language, telling us we are a special people. Peculiar now has a different connotation.

And yet… A. W. Tozer wrote, “A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen, talks familiarly every day to Someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of Another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible and knows that which passes knowledge.” How special we are! Be not afraid to possess this peculiar character, for though it is misunderstood on earth, it is well understood in heaven. Charles Spurgeon David Jeremiah

The Affliction of Paul

People’s problems may be different, but God’s response is the same: His strength is enough.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. 9 Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, 10 who rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11 if you also join in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons in our behalf for the favor granted to us through the prayers of many. It’s easy to assume that problems in biblical days were nothing like ours. So, what can a first-century missionary possibly teach us about the adversity we face in the year 2022? Though Paul’s culture was quite different from ours, some things were the same—like temptation, hardship, and sin. Satan was a threat then as he is today. Therefore, when the apostle wrote of being burdened beyond his strength, he had experience to back up his words. Though Paul may have “despaired even of life” (2 Cor. 1:8), he believed God would sustain him during difficult seasons. As Jesus taught, divine strength can overcome worldly tribulations (These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33). That isn’t to say believers can avoid all sorrow and pain, but we know the Lord will meet our needs in every heartache and trial (And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:19). Our faith grows stronger when we trust Him in times of affliction. God’s strength is available to all believers who confess their weakness and inadequacy. Sometimes a troubled soul has only enough stamina left to admit, “Father, I absolutely cannot. If You don’t, it is simply not going to happen.” And that’s okay because in this mindset, we surrender ourselves to God. And as we wait, we’re in a good position to watch Him keep His promise.