Forgiveness

"Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
-Colossians 3:13


This verse is so hard to do. It's makes me think about perspective. It doesn't just involve yourself, it involves others. Sometimes it's hard to see things from other people's perspective. Often there is something you don't know about the person that makes them see things the way they do. People have a lot more going on then they tend to let on. 
I found 2 awesome definitions of bear. The first one is: to endure something with tolerance and patience. We should be patient with one another. That takes a lot in itself. Even if they're annoying or you're in a bad mood, or they've done you wrong. Be patient. 
The second definition is: to hold in the conscious mind or in one's feelings. So not only are you being patient with others, you're thinking about them and their feelings. You're taking their feelings into consideration. You have empathy. 
Forgiveness is always tough. It doesn't matter if you're wrong or right, you must forgive. If you hold a grudge against someone, it's tough to move on. Why would we be unforgiving when we serve the most forgiving and loving creator ever? The act of forgiveness is a huge aspect of faith. Our whole being is based upon forgiveness of sins. Our forgiveness is at the cross. That's also where we should leave our grudges. 
We are forgiven a million times a day. That thing you just said? Forgiven. That thought you just thought? Forgiven. That person you just judged? Forgiven. It's endless. EVERYTHING we have done and will do is forgiven. And we must forgive like God forgives us. So we must forgive everything because he did. It'll hurt and it will be hard, it may even seem that they weren't deserving of it. But guess what? We weren't deserving of forgiveness either. 
Take time and forgive someone. It gives peace. It's shows Christ's love. Let's show it. Lets be a light. Forgive and love. 

Gratitude

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”

 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.

 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.

 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

-Luke 17:11-19

Trusting in God is scary. But once you fully rely on Him, he will do great things. These lepers were away from their friends, family, even their town. They had no one. Nobody wanted to be near them. They were covered in boils and sores. They could not return back home until their disease was gone. Then the Priest had to give them permission. These guys were outcasts.

They were all alone it seemed. Time had not healed their disease, but surely Jesus could. They called on him. They had faith in him. They trusted that whatever he said was the best choice. Jesus told them to go and the went. That in itself is awesome. If Jesus told me to go right now, I would ask, "Where? Why? How? But what about...?" I would not just simply go. But these men had faith.

Jesus told them to go to the Priest & they started on their way. Probably confused out of their minds. It had been forever since they had been in town. Not to mention they were going to the Priest. He could let them back in or he could tell them to leave. On the walk to see the Priest, they noticed that they were healed! How cool is that? Nothing cured them, but after talking to Jesus they were healed. What a miracle!

But ONE of the TEN came back to thank God. It probably didn't take him that long. He probably ran. He "threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him." He was so grateful. He was so thankful for what Jesus had done. He had his life back. And because of his faith, he was cured.

But what of the other NINE? They were probably pretty excited, too. But the one who healed them was not on their mind. They were happy to be healed again and get back to their old life. After all Jesus had done, not even a simple, "thank you." That would suffice. 

What has God done for you? What are you thankful for? Are you the one man who ran all the way back to thank the man who gave you your life back? Or are you the nine other men who simply went back without a thank you? Thank God. He has done so much for you. Run to him full of excitement. 

POWER

"I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord."
-Psalm 40:1-3


This verse is conveying God's power. He can do anything. He can save you from anything. 


Waiting. It's really hard to wait, but God comes when the time is best. You might find now the best, but sometimes that's not the case. When you wait patiently, you will see God. He can hear your cries and prayers.


You might think you're in a hole far too deep to get out of, but God can get you out. He can lift you out, "of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire." All that dirty sin you've found yourself in, yeah, God can get you out of that.

Once he has lifted you out of that pit, he will set your, "feet on solid ground." He'll put you back in a good place. He won't just set you there on that solid ground, but he will steady you as you walk along. He will guide you until he feels you're ready to go along. 


After this pit you've been through is gone, God will give you joy. You made it out of this thing you never thought you could get out of. You will rejoice because he has saved you (probably for the 1000th time). You will be overjoyed that God has saved you despite what you have done. You are forgiven and you now have a new start.


If you tell others about this thing God has done to save you, they will be amazed. This could also help you share Christ. It could give others hope. 


The Lord can get you through anything. He is powerful and all mighty. You might find something impossible to get out of, but God can get you through it. It may take some waiting, but He will be there.

“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.” 

― Paulo Coelho

humble yourselves

"He must become greater; I must become less."

-John 3:30

This verse gets me every time. It encompasses the selflessness we must have. We always give ourselves the credit. We want to be recognized. We want people to compliment us. We want to be noticed. We want people to like us.

Well, that's not how it works.

Everything we do should be for God's glory. HIS GLORY not ours. It's so hard to be okay without being noticed or complimented. Sure, we can accept the compliments, but we must realize that it's credit for God. He made us. He made the world. Creator of the universe, all that cool stuff. He deserves the credit. He deserves everything.

It's so easy to be prideful and strive for self-gratification because that's what the world tells us to do. Well, that's not what God tells us to do. We're not of this world (Romans 12:2). We're supposed to be different. That's tough, but eternal glory is way better than having people on Earth think we're cool. 

Becoming less is tough. It's giving up a lot of things. Giving up selfishness, striving to be perfect, trying to get credit, etc. It's about humbling yourself before God. It's about knowing that he is in control. That he ultimately deserves glory. He uses us. We owe him everything because he gave up everything to him. Once we live for him, we get to live with him. How cool is that?

"If thou desire the love of God and man, be humble; for the proud heart, as it loves none but itself, so it is believed of none but by itself; the voice of humility is God's music, and the silence of humility is God's rhetoric. Humility enforces where neither virtue nor strength can prevail nor reason."

— Francis Quarles

"Humility is royalty without a crown."

— Spencer W. Kimball 

Everything.

Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
’ -Matthew 22:37-39


Whoa.This verse is packed full of commitments. They're all tough ones too. This is what God requires of us.

 It requires everything.

First, we must love the Lord with ALL of our heart. Not the good parts, or half of it, but ALL OF IT. Does that sound easy? Here's the definition of heart (not the actual organ):  The repository of one's deepest and sincerest feelings and beliefs. It has to be sincere. It has to be with the deepest part of your heart. Every single part of it. That's just the first step.


Second, we must love Him with all of our soul. The soul contains thoughts, emotions, and actions. So everything we do, say, and feel should reflect our love for God. Wow. That too also requires EVERYTHING of us. You may feel what God wants you to, but it means nothing if not put into action. We must essentially live for Him. Our daily goal should be striving to be more Christ-like. Living as he lived. Thinking as he thought. Feeling as he felt. 


Third, we must love Him with all our mind. The definition of mind is: The collective conscious and unconscious processes in a sentient organism that direct and influence mental and physical behavior. He requires mental and physical love. He wants ALL of it. God wants complete and total commitment. Following Him is not easy. We must carve out time for him (technically He should be the one carving out time for us. Fitting GOD into OUR schedule is not the right way to be seeing things). We have to fight for it. It's not easy.


Lastly, we should do the most important thing. We should love our [friends] as much as we love ourselves. How well we take care of ourselves, we should also do for our friends. Friends meaning everyone whether you like them or not. You should be willing to give them the best you've got. God did the absolute same thing for us. The things we acquire are not our own. We don't own them. God does. Don't hold on to something, it's not your's to begin with. It's God's because he provided you with it. It's a tough way to think this way.

Following God is not easy. It's the toughest thing you'll ever do. But it's the best thing you could ever do. He will give you such an adventurous life. He will show himself in so many ways if you let him. Let him take control of your life. Talk to him. He's been waiting far too long for you. He's called your name so many times. Don't you think it's time you answer?




“When you find your path, you must not be afraid. You need to have sufficient courage to make mistakes. Disappointment, defeat, and despair are the tools God uses to show us the way.” 
― Paulo Coelho

Hope

"...For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

-Matthew 9:13

This verse gives hope. It always seems like there's a checklist of things we must do and do well to follow God. The need to be perfect in every way. The need to get rid of any sin before God can use them. They will always feel inadequate. We will never be perfect, but God uses us anyway. This is hope.

God doesn't call us to strive only for perfection. He knows we are imperfect. We will never be holy like he is. Our focus shouldn't be on how perfect we should be for God. Our focus should be on loving God, talking to him, worshiping him, and being his disciples. The disciples were some of the most imperfect people, but he used them for great things. He didn't call people who didn't need his grace and were perfect, he called the sinners.They were never righteous or deserving of grace, but Jesus took them anyway.

I always wondered why God used the sinners. I think maybe he did it to prove a point. To show off how real this was. How this changed people. If he used already righteous people, he wouldn't make a very big statement. If he used the least likely of people and they did great things, a miracle took place. 

Don't think you have to get your life in order to finally come to God. God wants you just as you are. He loves you despite your flaws. He gave us this hope, so we get the wonderful opportunity to serve him. He can use this mess of a life and turn it around for good. You're not too far gone for God. He can use you just as you are. 

Abba Father

God is in control, He can do ANYTHING, and his plan is perfect (even if we think it's not). With that being said, here is the verse that's been on my mind (Romans 8:15):

"So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.”

God did not give us a fearful spirit. He gave us a spirit of " power, of love and of self-discipline." [2 Timothy 1:7]. We "received" it. As in, God gave them to us. He equipped us with everything we would ever need from the very beginning. We don't have an excuse to be "fearful slaves" anymore. We have nothing to fear because we have all that we will ever need in Christ! We are slaves to the best master out there. He has given us more than we could ask for and has loved us despite out many mistakes. He is glorious.
We received God's spirit when he "adopted [us] as his own children." Once we said, "yes," to the glorious gift of salvation we immediately were adopted into the family of the creator of the universe. How cool is that? Once we proclaimed him as our savior, we were a part of a holy kingdom. He claims us as his own.
Once we received him, he became our father. Holy, perfect God is my dad! I'm associated with the King. I'm the princess of God. The apple of his eye. When I do something well, he hangs it on his heavenly refrigerator. When I have a bad day, he tells me it'll all work out in the end. He will never leave you, he's never late, he always loves, and he always does what's best for his children.


My devo book "Heaven Calling," had a wonderful entry about being apart of God's family:

"..You have earthly parents, but when you humbled yourself in repentance and were reborn into my family, you became my child. As your heavenly Father, I love you no matter what. But one of the best parts of being adopted by me is sharing in the inheritance of my Son. Think of it: Jesus is now both Savior and brother to you! Your place in my family doesn't rest upon what you can do, how much wealth you accumulate, or how many friends you have. It comes from the simple act of kneeling at the cross. In that humility is true status-as my beloved child."

"So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven."-Matthew 18:4

Follow Me

One of the most in-your-face-bible verses has to be Matthew 16:24-25. It says:

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."

Jesus kind of gives a list of sacrifices of what it takes to follow him. It's not an easy thing at all. First the follower must, "turn from [their] selfish ways." They must give up every selfish thing. Anything that they do for themselves must be given up. That's a lot in itself. You wanna do that? Well too bad. Your selfish desires must be gone. 

Second, they must, "take up [their] cross." This is a big deal. The cross isn't a shiny little pendant you wear around your neck. It's a sign of death. Not a peaceful death either. The cruelest of the cruel. The worst death imaginable. Crucifixion. Following Jesus will take your life. You will die for him as well as live for him. They're one in the same. You must be willing to give your whole being to following him. That's a whole lot.

Third, you must "follow [him]." This might sound easy, but it's not. He might go somewhere or call you to go somewhere that you just don't want to. You might be tired. You might not want to stand out. You may decide that this isn't what you want. It's a big commitment. It doesn't end. Following Jesus has as a starting point, but not an end point. You just keep going until you're done. Gone. With him. 

The more of yourself you give up for him, the closer you will be to him. The reward is great. Eternity in Heaven. That's a big deal. If you stay with your selfish ways, you will lose your life. An eternity of excruciating uncertainty. Your ultimate demise. 

You have to give a lot to get a lot in return. The more you get rid of your self the more you become like Jesus and the more he will ultimately bless you with. Religion is a messy thing. It's packed full of emotion and losing yourself, so he can shine. It's the best mess you can make. It isn't going to be easy, but boy will it be worth it.

:)

Judgement

 JOHN 8:1-11

 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, ² but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. ³ As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

 ⁴ “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

 ⁶ They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. ⁷ They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” ⁸ Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.

 ⁹ When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. ¹⁰ Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”

 ¹¹ “No, Lord,” she said.

   And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”


This is one of my favorite Bible stories. This shows Jesus' amazing acceptance. It conveys the acceptance of even the most looked down upon sins. This also shows Jesus' wonderful holiness. Every person didn't have the right the cast a stone. But Jesus did.

 And he did NOT.

He had mercy on her. He loved her despite her sin. The Pharisees were taught a lesson: they too had faults. Not one of them were free from sin. They were all imperfect human beings. Jesus didn't judge her or them. He simply wrote in the sand. He didn't point a finger or get mad. It's amazing to me how Jesus can say everything perfectly without many words. He is different. He doesn't accuse people, condemn them, or act like a jerk. He is holy. He is merciful. He is everything that is good.

My Devo book "Heaven Calling," has a wonderful little paragraph about the judgement of others:

"...it is easy to point the finger at someone else's sin...But I urge you, don't be quick to judge. That is my job. I alone am holy. I alone can see into a person's heart. I alone know their motives. I judge with wisdom and with justice. I judge with love. When I judge, I don't do it to point a finger or condemn. My desire is that everyone will come to me, repent, and turn from their sin. Remember that I love you even when you fail and your behavior is less than perfect. Extend that love to others, and leave judgement to me."