Category: Forgiveness

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Softly & Tenderly

Happy Easter everyone. What a wonderful day – celebrating the resurrection of Jesus! Amazing. Simply amazing.

I always try to put myself in the different stories I read in the Bible. I feel I have been with the disciples in the storm at sea; I followed the woman who had been caught in adultery as she was drug through the streets by her accusers. I’ve eaves-dropped on the conversation between Jesus and the little boy with a lunch of five loaves and two fish and I’ve stood at the foot of cross to see Jesus crucified.

But the story that I can relate to the most – the one that leaves me speechless – occurred on that first resurrection morning.

“Mary stood outside the grave crying. As she cried, she got down and looked inside the grave. 12 She saw two angels dressed in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had lain. One angel was where His head had lain and one angel was where His feet had lain. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you crying?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord. I do not know where they have put Him.”

14 After saying this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. But she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 He said to her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” She thought He was the man who cared for the garden. She said to Him, “Sir, if you have taken Jesus from here, tell me where you have put Him. I will take Him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned around and said to Him, “Teacher!” John 20:11-16 NLV

That morning a group of women had gone to the tomb with additional spices to entomb Jesus’ body. They found the stone rolled away and ran back to the disciples to tell them the stone had been moved. Peter and John ran to the tomb ahead of her and found it empty. They went home but Mary stayed.

Heartbroken and alone, she stayed. Crying she stayed. Why would anyone steal her Savior’s body? The angels tried to speak words of comfort but she turned and walked away, dejected.

As she was leaving she encountered a man that she thought was the gardener. She spoke through her tears and asked “have you taken Jesus, please tell me where he is”.

At that moment, that sorrow filled moment, Jesus spoke but one word, softly and tenderly.

“Mary”.

At the sound of her name she knew instantly that this was Jesus! Her heart was bursting with joy. He’s alive! He called my name. He met me in my sorrow. I’m not alone, I will never be alone again. Jesus has called my name!

His death on the cross paid the price for the sins of all mankind but if I had been the only one to ever live on planet Earth, Jesus would have died just for me. He loves me that much. Salvation is exclusively inclusive. It’s for everyone and yet this gift is offered to each of us personally.

I identify with Mary. At my lowest point, heart filled with sorrow, I have heard Jesus softly and tenderly call my name. Jesus loves me, I will never be alone again.

I know if you will listen, you will hear Him call your name as well.

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At the Cross

Our Easter weekends used to have a way of being a bit abnormal.

When the kids were small we founded an outreach ministry to the working cowboys and their children. One Easter Sunday we had folks preaching at four different rodeo arenas in AZ. Those were wonderful days of seeing the Lord meet the needs of the cowboy community!

How I praise Him for giving us that opportunity to take His good news to these special folks. Everyone needs to have someone tell them about Jesus’ love, his forgiveness and his wonderful plan to give us life everlasting. That was our way of taking the gospel into all the world.

Our world was alfalfa and cotton fields, youth rodeo arenas and ropings. Your world may be a medical office, an IT programming center, the front seat of a big rig, a classroom or a bank lobby. No matter the occupation or career we are all welcome at the foot of the cross.

He died so that we could live, He was oppressed so we could live free from fear and anxiety, His body was bruised and wounded so ours could be healed, His heart was broken so we could live in an unconditionally loving relationship with the Father. There is only one place to find this free gift and that’s at the cross of Jesus.

“He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering. No one wanted to look at him. We despised him and said, ‘He is a nobody!’ 4 He suffered and endured great pain for us, but we thought his suffering was punishment from God. 5 He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well. 6 All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the Lord gave him the punishment we deserved. 7 He was painfully abused, but he did not complain. He was silent like a lamb being led to the butcher, as quiet as a sheep having its wool cut off. 8 He was condemned to death without a fair trial. Who could have imagined what would happen to him? His life was taken away because of the sinful things my people had done.” Isaiah 53:3-8 CEV

The verses above describe what Jesus went through to pay the penalty for our sins. He was sinless and deserved none of it but He took our place. His death on the cross was only part of the story. Three days later, Easter, He rose from the grave victoriously. His life’s mission was complete. Our mission is to spread the news of what He has done.

“We are Christ’s missionaries. God is speaking to you through us. We are speaking for Christ and we ask you from our hearts to turn from your sins and come to God. 21 Christ never sinned but God put our sin on Him. Then we are made right with God because of what Christ has done for us.” II Corinthians 5:20-21 NLV

All are welcome at the cross!

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No Data Found!

If you’re like me most of your computer knowledge comes from trial and error. Lots and lots of error!!

In the early days of my computer ownership I had a dear friend help me with some inputting and formatting I was trying to do. He gave me some advice I still use. “When working in a document or on a page, play around as much as you want but if you don’t like the result, close the file but don’t save. Everything will revert back to the previous version.” Words to live by for sure. It has saved me tears and frustration, not to mention many hours of trying to recreate something that I had messed up.

However, there are circumstances when I’ve been glad to hit delete and see everything on the screen or in the file completely disappear. No longer can it be found. This takes intentional thought – it’s gone with no way to retrieve the information.

I can hear someone say “perish the thought, that would be horrible”. In many cases that would be true. Yet, I would like to relate a situation where this is amazingly welcomed.

“You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins. 14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross. 15 There Christ defeated all powers and forces. He let the whole world see them being led away as prisoners when he celebrated his victory.” Colossians 2:13-15 CEV

Before we come to Christ our lives are spiritually dead. Our sins separate us from a life with God. But when we come to Christ He gives us life by forgiving all our sins. It’s then that God, the Father, hits the delete button on the file with all our transgressions and failures – they are wiped out! No search will find them, they are gone, vanished as if they never existed.

How great is that!

The greatest system failure of all time is for our benefit! In place of our failures and sins there’s a new file with a one word name – “Forgiven”!

But He doesn’t stop there, although that would certainly be enough. Christ goes on to defeat all the powers and forces that would like to defeat us and hold us captive to our past. Then He puts them on display, for all to see, they are defeated.

We are now alive in Christ, totally forgiven and the list of sins, the charges against us, are wiped out!

Praise God! There is no data found.

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Clean & Spotless

I’m hoping most of you recognize this image, a clothes line. Some have probably never used one, however, it used to be one of my favorite places.

When Dave and I first started studying, really studying the Bible, we lived in a rental house that accomodated our family quite well. It had everything we needed except a dryer. I would sit at the kitchen table and read my Bible diligently. We were actually doing a word study at the time – faith, peace, love, wisdom, Holy Spirit, etc. We would look each word up in a concordance, write down each reference location and then look them up in our Bibles.

We wanted to know what faith really was, how we received it, how it was to control our lives, how to walk by faith…the same was true for all the other words I listed above.

During this study was when I learned to love doing laundry and it was something I did frequently for a working husband and two small children. It seemed the only time I really had to myself was when the clothes finished washing and were ready to be hung on the line. The smell of freshly laundered sheets and towels and the warm sunshine gave me a sense of God’s presence and peace. The clothes line became my chapel.

It was there, I was alone with my thoughts and the things I had read in the Bible that day would flood my mind and my heart. It was there the Holy Spirit showed me how to apply those verses to my life.

The Bible became practical for the first time in my life. The clothes line was my personal Bible School and the Holy Spirit was my instructor. For the first time, I realized that not only had my sins been forgiven but they had been completely removed from the list of accusations against me. God, the Father Himself, had chosen to forget them completely.

I was clean and spotless in His sight.

“God himself was pleased  to live fully in his Son. 20 And God was pleased for him to make peace by sacrificing his blood on the cross, so that all beings in heaven and on earth would be brought back to God.

21 You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. 22 But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent.” Colossians 1:19-22 CEV

I am faultless and innocent!

Cleansed, just like those sheets I hung on the line. My sins have been removed, no spots left. I had tried for years to atone for big mistakes and I had gotten no where. The guilt plagued me. However, when I read verses like the ones above I came to understand just how amazing God’s grace and how wonderful His love was!

The Father made peace with me because of what Jesus did and I can stand in His presence washed clean and spotless. In His presence I find help for every situation I encounter. You can too!

You have been made holy, faultless and innocent through Jesus’ sacrifice. Let the world see that you are clean and spotless basking in the light of the Son!

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It’s Good Tuesday

Today’s title is interchangeable. It can be used any day of the week!

Why?

God is good all the time and He shares His goodness with us. Who among us doesn’t feel that love, trust, hope, wisdom, strength and joy are good things? All of these characteristics are for us and when added to the grace and peace we learned about yesterday make everyday a good day.

“The Lord has done this. We think it is great! 24 This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us be full of joy and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:23-24 NLV

I don’t understand those who get up and consign themselves to a “bad” day. As believers in Christ we can roll all the cares of the day over on Him and take the joy He gives and fill our day with that.

It’s simple but it takes work to change our mindset. Our Father isn’t a genie with magic powers , no. He is God Almighty, our Father, and He promises to take our cares and direct our steps.

“Turn to the Lord for help in everything you do, and you will be successful.” Proverbs 16:3 ERV

This is the message Paul was writing about to the Christians in Colossae and it is just as true today. These people weren’t spiritual giants, they were new Christians who had only recently accepted the gift of Christ but they were having good days. Paul had received word about their faith and love.

It was a Good Day!

Because of their faith and love hope grew in their hearts. Hope of what was waiting for them in heaven. They shared this hope in their community and many were placing their faith in the Good News of the gospel. The love of the Father was spreading and changing lives.

It’s a Good Day for us as well.

The grace of God changes our lives. We have the same hope and can share in this very same love that they did. God’s love has not decreased through the ages nor has His grace (kindness) depleted. When we begin to understand the depth of His love and grace we will rely upon His strength and power, even in the rough times, knowing that He will carry us through.

May I encourage you to read the first chapter of Colossians. What I’ve shared with you today is in the first few verses. It won’t take long to read it. It’s a life changing message and it will certainly make for A GOOD DAY.

This is my prayer for you:

“I pray that you will be giving thanks to the Father. He has made it so you could share the good things given to those who belong to Christ who are in the light. 13 God took us out of a life of darkness. He has put us in the holy nation of His much-loved Son. 14 We have been bought by His blood and made free. Our sins are forgiven through Him.” Colossians 1:12-14 NLV

We are invited to share in the good things that belong to us in Christ and to know that all our sins are forgiven!

It’s a Good Day to have a Good Day!

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Imperfect But Loved

I don’t know if you have realized it or not but the Bible is filled with imperfect people. Ordinary people just like you and I.

There are men who lie, women who are jealous, the unfaithful and disloyal. The cheats and scoundrels. The fearful and the timid. The rebellious and the braggarts. We have their stories as a guide of what not to do but also as an encouragement.

An encouragement of our Father’s unconditional, unfailing love!

I’ve been reading the story of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson. He was a manipulative, devious man. He stole his brother’s birthright, the inheritance for being the oldest child and the blessing that went with it. He deceived his father and cheated his brother.

But God blessed him and through his descendants the nation of Israel was blessed.

“The Lord was standing beside the ladder and said: ‘I am the Lord God who was worshiped by Abraham and Isaac. I will give to you and your family the land on which you are now sleeping. 14 Your descendants will spread over the earth in all directions and will become as numerous as the specks of dust. Your family will be a blessing to all people.  15 Wherever you go, I will watch over you, then later I will bring you back to this land. I won’t leave you—I will do all I have promised.’ 16 Jacob woke up suddenly and thought, ‘The Lord is in this place, and I didn’t even know it.'” Genesis 28:13-16 CEV

On the night that Jesus was arrested He was celebrating the Passover with his twelve disciples. He knew two of these men were going to betray Him that evening. Judas, a paid informant, told the religious leaders of Jesus’ location which led to his arrest, trial and crucifixion. Peter also betrayed Jesus that night, denying his association with Jesus three times during the course of the evening.

Judas was so remorseful that he killed himself. It’s very sad that he died not realizing that Jesus’ death was for the forgiveness of all sin, including his. Peter, on the othe hand, had an encounter of forgiveness with Jesus after His resurrection and went on to be instrumental in evangelizing the world with the message of God’s unconditional love and forgiveness.

“Peter and the apostles replied: We don’t obey people. We obey God. 30 You killed Jesus by nailing him to a cross. But the God our ancestors worshiped raised him to life 31 and made him our Leader and Savior. Then God gave him a place at his right side, so that the people of Israel would turn back to him and be forgiven. 32 We are here to tell you about all this, and so is the Holy Spirit, who is God’s gift to everyone who obeys God.” Acts 5:29-32 CEV

Imperfect people are all God has. Some seem worse than others but we all fail to measure up. That’s why Jesus died – He brought us forgiveness and a relationship of love and peace with the Father. If we were perfect we would have no need for a Saviour, no need for unconditional love.

“All of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. 24 But God treats us much better than we deserve, and because of Christ Jesus, he freely accepts us and sets us free from our sins.” Romans 3:23-24 CEV

Isn’t is good to know that no matter our failures or imperfections God chooses to love us unconditionally!

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Spring Cleaning

The last two days I have been busy cleaning baseboards. Yes, baseboards!

I have a thing about baseboards. When we check into a hotel and everything looks fresh and clean I look at baseboards. When I have company coming and I’ve changed the sheets and cleaned the floors I look at the baseboards.

Normally, I get around to doing them twice a year but in the past few years I have stretched that out to every eighteen months with spot cleaning of different rooms as I deem necessary.

There’s a life lesson to be gained here.

There’s only one good way to clean baseboards. It requires a basin of warm, soapy water, several soft clean rags and a small scrub brush. It must be done on hands and knees. They can’t be thoroughly cleaned without being on floor level and since I’m there it’s also a good time to wash the tile floors by hand.

Now, for the life lesson.

There isn’t much else I can do while scrubbing them than think. It’s a good time to take personal inventory; a time to examine heart motives, physical activities, prejudices & irritations, hurts and fears. Removing the dust and spots from the baseboards is also a great time to clean some of life’s dusty corners.

“Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God.” II Corinthians 7:1 ERV

“Put out of your life these things also: anger, bad temper, bad feelings toward others, talk that hurts people, speaking against God, and dirty talk. 9 Do not lie to each other. You have put out of your life your old ways.” Colossians 3:8-9 NLV

The Lord and I had a good talk about some things I had let build up; things I had ignored. Spring cleaning is good for our homes but even better for our soul.

“…Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her 26 to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word. 27 He did this to present her to himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault.” Ephesians 5:25-27 NLT

Invite the Holy Spirit to help you with those hard to reach areas in your life. Get some Spring cleaning done. I can tell you from personal experience you’ll be glad you did!

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Formatted Correctly

Just a short time back I shared how God sees us as completely new when we accept the forgiveness that Christ provided for us on the cross. The Bible says that our past is gone, wiped clean, and we are completely new.

That’s a hard concept to grasp because we can remember our past and all of our failures so well.

Hard to imagine, that is, unless you have ever experienced a hard drive crash on your computer or, as I remembered this morning, a time when I had improperly formatted or failed to format a DVD disc.

I had been asked to make dvds of a memorial service. I tested the first two copies to make sure they were formatted correctly and then followed the same process for the others. Imagine my shock when a few days later I received an email telling me that several of the copies were blank.

What?

Our lives are a lot like that DVD when we come to Christ. Old things have passed away and all things have become new.

“You were dead, because you were sinful and were not God’s people. But God let Christ make you alive, when he forgave all our sins.14 God wiped out the charges that were against us for disobeying the Law of Moses. He took them away and nailed them to the cross.” Colossians 2:13-14 CEV

Our sins were wiped out, removed – the disc is blank!! Here’s the great thing about God, He doesn’t leave us with a blank disc.

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:10-12 NIV

We have a promise that God, our loving heavenly Father, will write His word in our hearts. It is the leading of the Holy Spirit; giving us direction, encouraging us, correcting us, inspiring us, that makes the Word of God come alive in our lives. God puts the desire in our hearts to know Him and the way we get to know Him is through reading His letter to us. Those words will burn to our disc.

I remember when Dave & I were dating – it was a long distance relationship. I waited anxiously each day for his letters to arrive and when they did I’d read them over and over again. (In fact, I still have those letters and take time to read them occasionally.)

I looked for the parts that said he loved me and that he was coming to see me soon. Those words burned into my very being and I would excitedly tell my friends – “he’s coming, he’s coming”. I had his word on it and his words became life to me.

That’s the way God’s word is to me now. It burns indelibly into my heart!

Circumstances or time can’t steal what the Holy Spirit has written there.

I know that when I press “play” the disc won’t be blank. I pray today that you have God’s word burned onto your heart!

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Nothing To Brag About

We live in a reputation driven society. Companies spend billions each year on advertising, making sure they have the right image for their product.

Celebrities are given huge endorsements. The best production companies are hired. Constant attention is placed on positioning of those on-line searches. Reputation means everything – drink the right product, wear the right clothes, drive the right car, support the right candidate, play for the right team. The list is endless.

But, what about you and me? I know me and I really have done nothing to brag about, I won’t be asked for my public opinion or endorsement.

I’m kind of like Charlie Brown’s Christmas Tree.

So were the shepherds on that eventful night when the angels filled the sky. Shepherds had a poor reputation in their society at best. They were considered the lowest of the blue collar workers, rogues, and liars but God… God saw them as men who would be faithful to spread the message that His Son had been born!

“The angels went from the shepherds back to heaven. The shepherds said to each other, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see what has happened. The Lord has told us about this.’ 16 They went fast and found Mary and Joseph. They found the Baby lying in a place where cattle are fed. 17 When they saw the Child, they told what the angel said about Him. 18 All who heard it were surprised at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary hid all these words in her heart. She thought about them much. 20 The shepherds went back full of joy. They thanked God for all they had heard and seen. It happened as the angel had told them.” Luke 2:15-20 NLV

How do you see yourself today? Are you someone who has struggled most of your life with relationships and careers? Do others look down on you because of your education or lack thereof? Maybe you’ve done some stupid stuff and it has caused people not to trust you or you have wounded and broken relationships. Well, God has a message and a plan for your life. He is willing to use you to touch others.

The Bible is filled with people of low reputation who were used by God. Fishermen, shepherds, slaves, prisoners, prostitutes, tax collectors, children, a divorcee, murderers. People you and I probably wouldn’t invite to dinner but God used them all and not only did He use them, He saw them as valuable.

Jesus gave us His reputation and His place in heaven to reach us with His love.

“Jesus has always been as God is. But He did not hold to His rights as God. 7 He put aside everything that belonged to Him and made Himself the same as a servant who is owned by someone. He became human by being born as a man. 8 After He became a man, He gave up His important place and obeyed by dying on a cross.” Philippians 2:6-8 NLV

He died for you and me. He brought us new life and completely blotted out all the old garbage; our past is gone, never to be remembered.

“God decided to let his people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, his people. He is our hope for glory.” Colossians 1:27 ERV

The splendor and the glory of Christmas is not in the tinsel, the lights, the trees; it’s not in the messengers (that includes us) but it’s in the message of the manger and the Son of God laid aside His reputation to become Immanuel, God with us.

Now that’s something to brag about!

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Loaves of Love

I can’t begin to tell you how many loaves of banana bread I have baked in my lifetime. Hundreds, maybe even into the thousands, but none were more meaningful than the loaves I delivered yesterday.

About a month ago a friend told me of a project, Love Loaves, that has been occurring in our community for a number of years. The local mission has a Christmas dinner each year and when folks leave they are given a “Love Loaf” to take home. I was told that some years they have received between 450-500 loaves of bread.

My heart stirred to be a part and so did my mixer! What a great way to express the love of Jesus at Christmas.

“Jesus then told them, ‘I tell you for certain that Moses wasn’t the one who gave you bread from heaven. My Father is the one who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 And the bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world.’

34 The people said, ‘Lord, give us this bread and don’t ever stop!’ 35 Jesus replied: I am the bread that gives life! No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who has faith in me will ever be thirsty.” John 6:32-35 CEV

The Bread of Heaven.

“The bread that God gives is the one who came down from heaven to give life to the world”. Heaven’s gift basket! The Bread of Heaven was wrapped in cloth, not plastic, and placed gently in a manger instead of a basket and cradled by the hay.

As I sat thinking of Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, the Bread of Life, the miracle of the five loaves and two fishes took on greater meaning than ever before. Jesus blessed the loaves, broke them and had the disciples distribute them to a crowd of five thousand men plus their wives and children. Miraculously all were fed and there were twelve baskets left over.

Jesus, the Bread of Heaven, was there to meet the hunger in each man’s soul. Not only that, He was also able to continue (via the left overs) to touch the lives of those who weren’t even there.

Isn’t that what He’s doing today? He satisfied the hunger of those men and women almost two thousand years ago, His message of life was distriubted by the disciples down through the ages and He is still filling our hearts today.

Bread of Heaven. The Loaf of Love. Let’s keep sharing God’s gift of life!

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