Forgiveness

Being that September is known for Labor Day, I had a thought to prepare an excerpt exhorting laborers- but oh how my heart is heavy. As I lay here, in the late night hours, I am flooded with thoughts of forgiveness, His judgments, His grace and His mercy. 

The enemy wants us to withhold forgiveness from those that hurt us but that is not God’s will for us. When you hold on to hurt, hate and anger, it creates a seed of bitterness that is then planted in the deep recesses of your soul. Over time, that seed then turns into a deeply rooted tree that produces the fruit of wickedness, sin and pride. How can wickedness, sin and pride be produced from this? The previous emotions listed above have one thing in common. They are centered around self. What happened to me. What you did to me. That was unfair to me. See the reoccurrence of the word me? It puts you at the center of the situation and causes a chain of events that lead you into a self preserving mode. This then obscures every decision you make thereafter.

God calls us to be selfless. He wants us to prefer our brother over ourselves. He asks us to pray for those that treat us wrongfully. The second greatest commandment was to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Have you ever asked for forgiveness, in faith, believing? When Jesus was asked how we should pray, part of His response was  Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. Or forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Am I saying that you should put yourself in harms way? Of course not, but when rain comes our way, we need to trust that God sees and holds the balances. He keeps track of what was done against us and how we responded. We are going to be held accountable as well! Vengeance is mine thus saith the Lord. You don’t need to get back at anyone. Love them, forgive them, pray for them that the Lord might have mercy and then leave them in the hands of the Righteous Judge. 

Stephen modeled this very thing in his last living moments. As the very people he desired to set free through the preaching of Jesus Christ, gathered round about him, gnashed their teeth and threw stones, Stephen looked toward the heavens and prayed Father forgive them for they know not what they do.

More than that, this was also the very thing our Lord Jesus Christ Modeled in His last living moments. 

I implore you today, ask the Lord to reveal any past hurts you might still be holding onto. Forgive them. Pray for them. Place it into the hands of God and let God transform your life. 

Time Flies

As we get older time “flies” by.  It seems like yesterday that we were getting married, our children were born, or some other special occasion happened. Children can not wait to start school and grow up. Then all of a “sudden” they are graduating high school or college and have become adults. Ok, so where is this going?

When I was grade school age, I remember hearing in Sunday school and church that Jesus was coming back to take His people home. Yes, that was many years ago. But we still hear that today and it is much closer now. We need to be ready. Just like each grade in school prepares us for the next grade and finally graduation, we are preparing for our heavenly graduation. 

Matthew 25:1-13 talks about the 10 virgins preparing to meet their bridegroom. Five prepared accordingly but the other five did not. The five prepared virgins had the door opened for them, but the other five did not. They were told, “I know you not”. (Matthew 25:12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.)

The times are changing rapidly and the time for Jesus to come back and take His church home is getting so close. We must be prepared. We need to read and study our Bibles, pray and talk to the Lord. Follow his commandments. If you have not repented of your sins, repent. Not baptized?  Get baptized.  

We need Jesus, our bridegroom, to know us. We don’t want to hear that He never knew us. We need to be ready; we don’t know the date that Jesus is returning but He does. 

Matthew 25:13

Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

Freedom from Despair

Looking back over my life, I’ve had some trials. But, then again, who hasn’t? I’m beginning to realize, that it doesn’t matter. I say this from a place of love, let me explain. It doesn’t matter that you’re going through a trial because life is full of them. They are common to man. This too shall pass and there isn’t anything happening right now that God hasn’t already seen. There isn’t any attack occurring in our lives, that God hasn’t already won the victory over! That, in itself, is a reason to shout! 

Ecclesiastes 1:9 states, “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.” In other words, been there, done that. What matters is how we emerge from those pits of despair, those valleys. Shouting and exclaiming that “I’ve been set free”! If while we are in the valley, we allow ourselves to be overcome with feelings of doubt and depression, we will have gone through that experience in vain. For nothing. We will have missed its purpose and suffered much more than we needed to.

The word to focus on here is overcome. You see, its normal to have those feelings in the moment but that’s exactly what they need to stay. A moment. We should not dwell in or live in those feelings. We need to remember the God we serve! See, it is in our weakness, that we see how strong our God is. It is in those dark valleys that we realize how much of a lamp His Word is to our feet. It is in the trials, that we learn to trust in God, and it is in those seasons of stillness that we learn to listen. Paul said it this way “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his suffering…”. Oh, what true intimacy!

So, take a few minutes today and spend some time with the Lord. Thank Him for the moments of growth. Thank Him for tests that have become testimonies and praise Him through the valleys. Ask Him to show you if there are any areas in your life, where you may be wallowing in your feelings instead of praising Him in advance for the victory!

Do you have any prayer requests? Any testimonies or Praise Reports that you’d like to share? Please feel free to leave a comment! We will praise, pray and worship God with you!

Happy Fathers Day

2 Timothy 3:16 & 17

All scripture was given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness.

We must accept the fact that God, in His infinite wisdom, gives us direction for our lives. We cannot cut out sections of the Bible to believe and others to reject. It’s either all the word of God or it’s not the word of God.
It doesn’t matter who penned the words, it matters who the author was. We know that all scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable. We learn from the way that God dealt with others in the past. The Scripture says it’s a schoolmaster for the Saints of God.

The Bible tells us we are built on the foundation of the prophets and apostles. We must quit looking for excuses and apply the word of God to our lives.

God has given to the church power because we believe in HIS word. The engine of a car works as a whole BUT if you take it apart, it doesn’t work anymore! So, the word of God will only work if we accept it in it’s entirety.

Happy Mothers Day

We, the human race, all have something in common. Any guesses?? If you said, “a mother”, then you are correct. Whether good or bad, we all have/had a mother – one that gave us life through birth. Sometimes situations happen and the mother changes…. either by adoption, fostering, guardianship, or by love.
Mother’s come in all sizes and shapes. I don’t think I need to list those. 😉😉 But all mothers have one job to do and that is to raise and teach the child(ren). You’ve all probably heard the term “Alma Mater”. It means a school or college from which you graduated. But do you really know the meaning? It means “nourishing mother” in the good ole Latin.
Nourishing is providing the sustenance necessary for growth, health, and good physical and mental condition. We are to love and care for our children, teaching and training them.
Scripture teaches mothers to point children towards Christ by praying for them, modeling faith and character and training them in wisdom. Proverbs 29:15 states…”The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother shame”. I think it’s pretty self-explanatory. Today people are so afraid of spanking and correcting their children that we see what the society is bringing about. There are kids with no morals, no work ethics and think everything should be handed to them. There are mother’s, I believe, that are ashamed. They are headed to destruction.
It is up to us, as mothers, to train them. Deuteronomy 6:7 states about the commandments given to Israel…”And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou riseth up.”
We have a huge responsibility upon us as mothers. Having a baby isn’t all hugs, snuggles, and cuddles. Mothers have to nurture, train, and point them to Christ every day. And praying that they grow to maturity in wisdom and love for Christ.