Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you (1 Peter 5:6, ESV). Fifty years ago, I had been in the ministry for two years and attended a large church in our community. And I was becoming frustrated with how the pastor led the church […]
The New Testament uses two words for forgiveness. One word has roots in grace. Let’s read Ephesians 4:32 . . . Forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (ESV). The way Christ forgave us is unique. It means “cancel the debt.” Because of the blood of Christ our sins are canceled, the debt
Two Words For Forgiveness Read More »
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Ephesians 4:32, ESV). The message of the Bible is forgiveness. There is a caveat, though, as we must forgive as we have been forgiven to walk in the full blessing of forgiveness. To make sure that we understand this message of
Walk In The Full Blessing Of Forgiveness Read More »
[Note: It’s debatable, but is the soon coming of the 1000th Interruption a sign of the end times?] Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32). We all bring expectations into our relationships. Our expectations are often developed from what happened or didn’t happen in previous
Great Expectations! Read More »
Do you have trouble moving on from the past? But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14, ESV). Last week, I was walking downtown on a sidewalk, and approaching me in
The Moving On Test Read More »
God made us alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. Colossians 4:13-14 ESV Ignoring sin doesn’t make it go away. Canceling sin doesn’t necessarily set people free, overcome our guilt, and bring self-acceptance
I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25 Amazing, God forgets our sins. We are made in God’s image and if God forgets our sins, then we are made to forget about our sins too. Carrying our sins, remembering what we did and
Forgetting And A Healthy Brain Read More »
Watch over each other to make sure that no one misses the revelation of God’s grace. And make sure no one lives with a root of bitterness sprouting within them which will only cause trouble and poison the hearts of many. Hebrews 12:15 TPT While reading Hebrews 12:15 above did you notice three descriptions –
Three Reasons to Forgive Read More »
I remember two friends who were inseparable. Having not seen either for a while, I encountered one and asked, “How is ____?” His response: “We haven’t seen one another in a while.” I paused and asked, “You two were close, what happened?” He told me in exacting detail how his friend had offended him. He
When Your Friend Offends You Read More »
As they were being baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River, they confessed their sins. John 3:6 (OGV) In the 70’s there was a Christian conference where you received a large red notebook. Thousands upon thousands of believers attended this conference and received the red notebook. I have always been a “hear and
Confession and Asking Forgiveness Read More »