Category: Forgiveness

Posted on

Tenderhearted & Forgiving

Some of you have probably figured out that Dave and I are on a summer adventure. We left home recently in our traveling bunkhouse, our 5th wheel trailer. We are in the mountains of Arizona. Yes, Arizona has mountains, beautiful, cool mountains.

These trips away from our home are always times of growth. The Lord stretches me and shows me things in my life that I need to work on. I guess I just see them clearer when I am out of my daily routine. I’m happy to say that some of the things I have seen come to light show me that I have grown more in my faith and my compassion than I had realized. Others, the Lord has shown me I still have a ways to go.

Last night was one of those “I have grown more than I thought” situations. I woke up several times to the sound of a generator. Now for those of you unfamiliar with camping or RV park rules there are always quiet hours when no loud music or generators are allowed to operate.

But instead of getting angry because someone was obviously not following the rules my mind went to kind thoughts. Maybe they’re new to camping and don’t know the rules, maybe they have a new baby and didn’t realize it would be this cold and needed the generator to operate their heater, maybe…just maybe…

Each time I woke I heard the word tenderhearted. Being sympathetic and empathetic are actions of a tender heart. Looking at the cause instead of the action is a tenderhearted perspective. If my heart can be tender toward someone in the campground who I don’t even know shouldn’t I be more tenderhearted when relating to those in my own family and among my close friends and fellow Christians?

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32 NLT

Christ paid the price for our sins long before we ever repented. His forgiveness and compassion aren’t based on our repentance, they come because of His unconditional love. Waiting for someone to say they are sorry before we forgive is selfish and not the way God forgives at all. We need to conform to His way of forgiving.

“Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2 NLT

Exercise kindness, tenderness, forgiveness this summer. By doing these things, we will be an imitator of our Father and an example of His love to the world.

Posted on

If Not For Mercy

Mercy is the word that was forefront in my thinking yesterday afternoon and all through the night. Not the mercy that I should extend to others but the mercy that has been lavished on me.

God is rich in mercy!

How many times have I been the receipient of His mercy? Countless! Many are the times I have failed, knowingly and unknowningly. His mercy is new every morning.

We all have seasons in our lives when we walk away from God. Our ambition leads us on a life of selfishness. Pride, self-reliance, justification, greed, anger, reckless living, bitterness, even low self-esteem all raise their ugly voices and scream for recognition.

Just like the prodigal son who walked away from his father’s house for a better life, we walk away thinking we can have it better on our own than we did living with the One who loves us most. Eventually, we come to the realization that life will be better with the Father. Ashamed and embarrassed we head home. Our speech is prepared.

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. 21 His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’ 22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, 24 for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.” Luke 15:20-24 NLT

Those words “filled with love and compassion” are the very essence of mercy. Notice the Father didn’t ridicule or lecture the returning son, He celebrated his return. Here we see both the mercy and the grace of the Father. He didn’t give the son the punishment or chastisement he deserved, mercy. Instead He gave him the blessing and favor he hadn’t earned, grace.

Mercy is life changing!

“But God is rich in mercy, and he loved us very much. 5 We were spiritually dead because of all we had done against him. But he gave us new life together with Christ. (You have been saved by God’s grace.) 6 Yes, it is because we are a part of Christ Jesus that God raised us from death and seated us together with him in the heavenly places. 7 God did this so that his kindness to us who belong to Christ Jesus would clearly show for all time to come the amazing richness of his grace.” Ephesians 2:4-7 ERV

Mercy and grace are God’s gifts to us, gifts of His kindness. Our Father wants us to be constantly aware of His love and forgiveness. This awareness isn’t so He can lord over us, reminding us of our past sins and failures. Not at all. Instead, it changes our hearts to be more like Him and we can extend mercy and grace to those who need it.

Let mercy change your life. Receive it from the Father and then give it to others!

Posted on

One More Time

This morning I want to spend a little more time looking at the Israelites when they first left Egypt. We see the cycle of joy and desperation repeated. I’d like to think that I wouldn’t have gotten drawn in to their murmuring and complaining but I just don’t know.

We all have areas of individual weakness, ways we act and react when we’re under pressure; anger, self-pity, denial, frustration, lying, criticism, worry, doubt.

The difference between us and the Israelites is their short comings have been written in down in the world’s best seller, the Bible, for everyone to read and hopefully learn from. Mine, on the other hand, are hidden in the recesses of my heart and only seen by a very few.

So let’s look at one more time when the Israelites murmured against God. One more time when they let doubt overcome trust.

“It was the fifteenth day of the second month after they left the land of Egypt. 2 And all the people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert, 3 saying, “We should have died by the Lord’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and ate all the bread we wanted. For you have brought us out into this desert to kill all of us with hunger.” Exodus 16:1-3 NLV

Quick recap of the last forty-five days: leave Egypt, see the Egyptians coming after them, COMPLAIN, cross the Red Sea on dry ground, Egyptian army destroyed, PRAISE GOD, go another few days, find bitter water, COMPLAIN, God makes the bitter sweet, PRAISE, go further and camp at an oasis, now 45 days in, COMPLAIN.

Oh my!

“The Lord said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the complaining of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘In the evening you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’” Exodus 16: 11-12 NLV

The Lord had never intended for them to starve or go without water. He always had a plan for their benefit but they failed to trust. How much better would it have been if they had come to Moses and said “We’re hungry, what’s God’s plan”? No complaining, just a simple question.

“The Lord gives righteousness and justice to all who are treated unfairly. 7 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us  as the east is from the west. 13 The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him.” Psalm 103:6-13 NLT

Our Father’s plan is to shower us with love and mercy. He chooses to forget our sins and to remove them from us, even the ones we repeat again and again.

What I want you to take away from the last few days is not how many times the Israelites failed but how many times God forgave and delivered them.

One more time – remember this:

“But the Lord has always loved his followers, and he will continue to love them forever and ever!” Psalm 103:17 ERV

Posted on

Receive then Give

Several years back I wrote a book, “The Best Gifts of Christmas”, and the subtitle is “Receiving and Giving God’s Best”. The title came from the realization that no matter how much we might want to give, we can’t until we first receive.

Someone who has never experienced love won’t be able to give love. Someone who has never received a kindness won’t be kind. A person who has never been forgiven won’t know how to forgive. You see where I’m going with this, right?

We receive and then we can give!

“Let me hear Your loving-kindness in the morning, for I trust in You. Teach me the way I should go for I lift up my soul to You.” Psalm 143:8 NLV

Each morning I spend time listening to the Lord. Each morning I thank Him for his unconditional love and kindness and each morning I ask Him to show me how to love others.

“My lips will praise You because Your loving-kindness is better than life. 4 So I will give honor to You as long as I live. I will lift up my hands in Your name.” Psalm 63:3-4 NLV

“Praise the Lord, O my soul. And forget none of His acts of kindness. 3 He forgives all my sins. He heals all my diseases. 4 He saves my life from the grave. He crowns me with loving-kindness and pity. 5 He fills my years with good things and I am made young again like the eagle.” Psalm 103:2-5 NLV

The Lord wants us to know, to experience personally, His loving-kindness. When we do, we can share it with others and He will receive the glory.

“I give you a new Law. You are to love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. 35 If you love each other, all men will know you are My followers.” John 13:34-35 NLV

Forgiveness is a tangible expression of loving-kindness. Love forgives, kindness embraces. One of the first expressions of God’s love we experience is forgiveness.

“You will tell His people how to be saved from the punishment of sin by being forgiven of their sins. 78 Because the heart of our God is full of loving-kindness for us, a light from heaven will shine on us.” Luke 1:77-78 NLV

I don’t spend time dwelling on my past failures and sins but I daily focus on the love and forgiveness I receive from the Father. I recognize that in His love He has chosen to forget my sins and that He nevers reminds me of them. When I stand in His presence He sees me cleansed from them all.

“I tell you, her many sins are forgiven because she loves much. But the one who has been forgiven little, loves little.” 48 Then He said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:47-48 NLV

Knowing I’m forgiven, I can forgive others.

Let the Lord remind you of His loving-kindness today. Reflect on your forgiveness.

What we have received we should freely give.

Posted on

Don’t Go to the Party

There are some parties that we should never attend. Specifically, the pity party.

The guest list is disasatrous: loneliness, condemnation, self-loathing, imperfection, and low self-esteem.

If you’ve ever attended a party like that or you might be today’s guest of honor, I have Good News!

“We sinned against him, but he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved. 11 His love for his followers is as high above us as heaven is above the earth. 12 And he has taken our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 13 The LORD is as kind to his followers as a father is to his children. 14 He knows all about us. He knows we are made from dust. 15 He knows our lives are shor… 17 But the LORD has always loved his followers, and he will continue to love them forever and ever! He will be good to all their descendants, 18 to those who are faithful to his agreement and who remember to obey his commands.” Psalm 103:10-18 ERV

Don’t go to the party!

It seems we fall prey to that destructive kind of thinking at one time or another. Do you know why?

We forget what God says about us. What’s the first thing that jumps from the page when you read the verses above? For me, it’s “he didn’t give us the punishment we deserved.”

Jesus died for my sins so I don’t have too. He knew I was incapable of living a sinless life so the Father placed the responsibility for my sin on Jesus! The Father showers me with love and kindness – my sin has been blotted out. My failure has been expunged! The handwriting against me has been cancelled!!

No pity party here – send the guests back to hell, that’s where they came from!

Each day we can walk free of condemning thoughts, low self-esteem, by reminding ourselves what God has done for us through Christ Jesus.

“So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Roman 12:1-2 ERV

The more we focus on God’s love, the less we will focus on our short comings.

“But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that people received from God was much greater. Many received God’s gift of life by the grace of this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. His free gift came after many sins, and it makes people right with him.” Romans 5:15 ERV

Tear up the invitation; don’t go to the party! Remember, “the LORD has always loved his followers, and he will continue to love them forever and ever!”

Posted on

Seek and Save

I have a friend who enjoys metal detecting. He has been doing it for years. It’s not really a spectator event. For the most part, it is a solo adventure.

I remember once he showed us how he cleans the items he has found. They are washed clean, then dried and sorted. He really doesn’t throw any of his treasures out. He has found innumerable pennies, nails, and cartridge casings but he has also unearthed coins, diamond rings and other valuable pieces.

His office houses numerous display boxes filled with buried treasure and he can recall the location and time of year when most of them came into his possession.

Seek and Save.

There is One treasure hunter I know who remembers exact times and dates of all He has acquired.

“Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today you and your family have been saved, because you are a true son of Abraham. 10 The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.” Luke 19:9-10 CEV

Each one of us was lost, missing out on the relationship that God the Father desired for us.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am not good enough to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to the workmen he owned, ‘Hurry! Get the best coat and put it on him. Put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet. 23 Bring the calf that is fat and kill it. Let us eat and be glad. 24 For my son was dead and now he is alive again. He was lost and now he is found. Let us eat and have a good time.’” Luke 15:21-24 NLV

Seek and Save.

Jesus came to earth to provide the way of salvation. The blood He shed on the cross cleansed us from our sin and brought us into right relationship. A relationship of joy and peace; a place of restoration.

“For if a man belongs to Christ, he is a new person. The old life is gone. New life has begun. 18 All this comes from God. He is the One Who brought us to Himself when we hated Him. He did this through Christ. Then He gave us the work of bringing others to Him. 19 God was in Christ. He was working through Christ to bring the whole world back to Himself. God no longer held men’s sins against them. And He gave us the work of telling and showing men this…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 5:17-21 NLV

The Father loved us even when we hated Him and had no regard for His love. Christ brought us to the Father, giving us new life and making us right with Him.

“But God showed His love to us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8 NLV

I’m so glad He came to seek and to save. I was lost but now am found!

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Posted on

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.

Posted on

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!

Privacy Policy Proudly powered by WordPress