In the past, I have been wronged by many people have never asked for forgiveness from me. As I think of my own story, I am reminded that everyone has been wronged, offended, and sinned against at some point. The question for you and I is different than the rest of the world because we are Christians. So we must ask; How are we as Christians to respond when such offenses occur? According to the Bible, we are to forgive all offenses. Ephesians 4:32 declares, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Colossians 3:13 proclaims, “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
The key in both Scriptures is that we are to forgive others as God has forgiven us. So, what is the reason that we forgive? Why do we forgive if people don't care if we forgive anyway? I think there are two answers.
1. Because we have been forgiven! Those who are not Christians, however, have not been forgiven by God and have neither the power nor the desire to forgive other people. Often times, it is simply the Holy Spirit that convicts us of our sin so without the Holy Spirit, a person my be totally blind to their wrongs.
2. Forgiving others frees us, not just them. If we are honest, our lack of forgiveness towards others has us absolutely enslaved to the hurts that have been done to us. We can't stop thinking about what has been done to us, we demand that we get justice for the hurt people have caused us. We wish the worse against the people who hurt us. And, all of that thinking keeps us a slave to our hurts and keeps us in bondage to our past.
Forgiveness would be simple if we only had to grant it to those who come asking for it and have repented. The Bible tells us that we are to forgive, without condition, those who sin against us. That goes for those who want our forgiveness and those who don't care if we forgive them. Refusing to truly forgive a person demonstrates resentment, bitterness, and anger, none of which are the beautiful traits of a true Christian. Jesus teaches us that, we are to ask God to forgive us our sins, just as we forgive those who sin against us (Matthew 6:12). Jesus also said in Matthew 6:14-15,“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” All this is saying that when you and I refuse to forgive others, it is a good eye opener that we are not aware of the depths of Gods forgiveness towards us.
When you and I can consider the extent to which God forgives all our sins, we realize that we do not have the right to withhold grace and forgiveness from others. We have sinned against God infinitely more than any person can sin against us. And I say that as one who has been been horribly sinned against by others. If God forgives us of so much, how can we refuse to forgive others of so little?
The big idea that I can't get away from is that in order to truly be free from our past hurts, we have to forgive others. God always commands us to do something because it is in our best interest to be obedient. God doesn't want us to forgive others for the sake of others. That may be a benefit, but not the main purpose. God simply wants us to forgive others because it is going to be most freeing for us. We are his children and he delights in freeing us from our bondage.
Jesus: Outrageous Claims
Of all the things that Jesus said during his 3 years of ministry on earth, nothing is as outrageous as his claims to deity. Here in John 5:1-24 we get our first glimpse of Jesus speaking as one who is equal with God. As a matter of fact, He was so persistent in his claims that the Jewish leaders went from persecuting him for his words to scheming on how to kill him. Beyond his claims to being one with God, he also claimed that whatever our view is of him, that is our view of God. In other words, unless we honor Jesus, we cannot honor God. This would be an outrageous claim if this were not true.
However, not only did Christ claim these things but he also proved it. He proved it through his power which he showed in his miracles. He proved it with his wisdom which showed his remarkable knowledge. And he showed it through his resurrection and assention which proved that he had power over life and death.
As outrageous as his claims were, they proved to be true. He is exactly who he claimed to be; God incarnate, the Messiah, the 2nd person in the trinity.
The Cycle of Belief
John 4:43-54
In the world that we live in, God has ordained certain laws and principles that exist regardless of our beliefs. The cycle principle simply says that in life there are series of events that come full circle and repeat itself. This is seen in depression; where depression will lead to fatigue which leads to isolation which turns into deeper depression. We also see this is addiction. When we are addicted to something we abuse it which leads to shame which leads to craving which leads to using again. Cycles can be a viscous thing and there are tons of them. Poverty leads to a lack of education which leads to limited job opportunities which leads back to poverty. Giving your body away sexually leads to feelings of guilt or shame which leads to the need to be loved which leads back to giving away your body as a way of attempting to feel loved. The cycle continues to go around until there is some sort of drastic event that stops it.
There is however a beautiful cycle that God has put into place as a means of increasing our faith and belief in Jesus. In this John 4 we see this cycle taking place in the life of the official who's son was on the verge of dying. Jesus takes this man from a place of shallow belief, to simple obedience, which leads to a greater life which then leads to deeper belief. In other words there is a cycle of belief that says belief in Jesus that leads to obedience to Jesus, leads to a life full of Jesus which then increases our belief in Jesus. Then the cycle starts over again as our belief, obedience and joy continue to grow.
This is exactly the cycle that God uses in our sanctification. Belief leads to obedience which leads to greater life which leads to greater belief. That greater belief then leads to greater obedience which leads to even greater life which further increases our belief. Its a beautiful cycle. Jump on board....
In the world that we live in, God has ordained certain laws and principles that exist regardless of our beliefs. The cycle principle simply says that in life there are series of events that come full circle and repeat itself. This is seen in depression; where depression will lead to fatigue which leads to isolation which turns into deeper depression. We also see this is addiction. When we are addicted to something we abuse it which leads to shame which leads to craving which leads to using again. Cycles can be a viscous thing and there are tons of them. Poverty leads to a lack of education which leads to limited job opportunities which leads back to poverty. Giving your body away sexually leads to feelings of guilt or shame which leads to the need to be loved which leads back to giving away your body as a way of attempting to feel loved. The cycle continues to go around until there is some sort of drastic event that stops it.
There is however a beautiful cycle that God has put into place as a means of increasing our faith and belief in Jesus. In this John 4 we see this cycle taking place in the life of the official who's son was on the verge of dying. Jesus takes this man from a place of shallow belief, to simple obedience, which leads to a greater life which then leads to deeper belief. In other words there is a cycle of belief that says belief in Jesus that leads to obedience to Jesus, leads to a life full of Jesus which then increases our belief in Jesus. Then the cycle starts over again as our belief, obedience and joy continue to grow.
This is exactly the cycle that God uses in our sanctification. Belief leads to obedience which leads to greater life which leads to greater belief. That greater belief then leads to greater obedience which leads to even greater life which further increases our belief. Its a beautiful cycle. Jump on board....
So, you want to date my daughter?
Loved this so much, I had to re-post it on my blog.
By: Jared Wilson
So, You want to date my daughter???? OK, read below.....
1. You must love Jesus. I don't care if you're a "good Christian boy." I was one of those too. So I know the tricks. I'm going to ask you specific, heart-testing questions about your spiritual affections, your daily devotional life, your idols, your disciplines, and the like. I'll cut you a little bit of slack because you're young and hormonal and your pre-frontal lobe isn't fully developed yet, but I'll be watching you like a hawk. I know you. I was you. You will think you can fool me, and you likely have fooled many other dads who didn't pay much attention to their daughters' suitors, but I will be on you like Bourne on that guy whose neck he broke. Which guy was that? Every guy. So love Jesus more than my daughter or go home.
2. You will install X3Watch or Covenant Eyes on your computer and mobile devices and have your regular reports sent to me.
3. I will talk to your dad and tell him I will hold him responsible if you don't treat my daughter like a lady. If he thinks I'm a crazy person, you fail the test and won't get to date her. If he understands what I'm saying, that bodes well for you.
4. You will pay for everything. Oh, sure, every now and then my daughter can buy you a Coke or something and a gift on your birthday and at Christmas. But you pay for meals, movies, outings, whatever else. Don't have a job? I'm sorry, why I am talking to you again?
5. You will accept my Facebook friend request.
6. If it looks like you need a belt to hold your pants up, I will assume you don't have a job. See #4.
7. Young people dating are putting their best face forward, so if you appear impatient, ill-tempered, or ill-mannered, I know you will gradually become more so over time. I will have no jerks dating my daughters.
8. If I am not your pastor, I will talk to the man who is. If your pastor is a woman, why I am talking to you, again?
9. You don't love my daughter. You have no idea what love is. You like her and you might love her someday. That's an okay start with me, so put the seatbelt on the mushy gushy stuff. Don't profess your undying love, quote stupid love song lyrics to her, tell her you'd die for her, or feed her any other boneheaded lines that are way out of your depth as a horny little idiot. A lady's heart is a fragile thing. If you play with hers, I will show you yours.
10. If you ever find yourself alone with my daughter, don't panic. Just correct the situation immediately. If I ever catch you trying to get alone with my daughter, that would be the time to panic.
11. It may sound like I'm joking in threatening you harm, and while I might not physically hurt you if you offend my daughter or violate her honor, when I am addressing the issue with you, you will not be laughing.
12. You may think all this sounds very legalistic. That's fine. You can be one of the many antinomians not dating my daughter.
By: Jared Wilson
So, You want to date my daughter???? OK, read below.....
1. You must love Jesus. I don't care if you're a "good Christian boy." I was one of those too. So I know the tricks. I'm going to ask you specific, heart-testing questions about your spiritual affections, your daily devotional life, your idols, your disciplines, and the like. I'll cut you a little bit of slack because you're young and hormonal and your pre-frontal lobe isn't fully developed yet, but I'll be watching you like a hawk. I know you. I was you. You will think you can fool me, and you likely have fooled many other dads who didn't pay much attention to their daughters' suitors, but I will be on you like Bourne on that guy whose neck he broke. Which guy was that? Every guy. So love Jesus more than my daughter or go home.
2. You will install X3Watch or Covenant Eyes on your computer and mobile devices and have your regular reports sent to me.
3. I will talk to your dad and tell him I will hold him responsible if you don't treat my daughter like a lady. If he thinks I'm a crazy person, you fail the test and won't get to date her. If he understands what I'm saying, that bodes well for you.
4. You will pay for everything. Oh, sure, every now and then my daughter can buy you a Coke or something and a gift on your birthday and at Christmas. But you pay for meals, movies, outings, whatever else. Don't have a job? I'm sorry, why I am talking to you again?
5. You will accept my Facebook friend request.
6. If it looks like you need a belt to hold your pants up, I will assume you don't have a job. See #4.
7. Young people dating are putting their best face forward, so if you appear impatient, ill-tempered, or ill-mannered, I know you will gradually become more so over time. I will have no jerks dating my daughters.
8. If I am not your pastor, I will talk to the man who is. If your pastor is a woman, why I am talking to you, again?
9. You don't love my daughter. You have no idea what love is. You like her and you might love her someday. That's an okay start with me, so put the seatbelt on the mushy gushy stuff. Don't profess your undying love, quote stupid love song lyrics to her, tell her you'd die for her, or feed her any other boneheaded lines that are way out of your depth as a horny little idiot. A lady's heart is a fragile thing. If you play with hers, I will show you yours.
10. If you ever find yourself alone with my daughter, don't panic. Just correct the situation immediately. If I ever catch you trying to get alone with my daughter, that would be the time to panic.
11. It may sound like I'm joking in threatening you harm, and while I might not physically hurt you if you offend my daughter or violate her honor, when I am addressing the issue with you, you will not be laughing.
12. You may think all this sounds very legalistic. That's fine. You can be one of the many antinomians not dating my daughter.
Why did Christ have to rise? (Easter)
Easter Sunday is the most exciting day in the Christian Faith. Of all the things that Jesus did; loving his neighbors, changing the course of our calendar, the miracles, etc...Nothing compares to His resurrection. His Resurrection is the crux of the entire Christian Faith. But why? Why did he have to rise? Wasn't his death enough? What did his death accomplish for us?
In the introduction to Peters first letter to Asia Minor, he records the answer to this question. 1 Peter 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
In these three verses we see that through faith in the resurrection of Jesus, He has opened up an opportunity for us to receive Mercy from God, New Birth From God and an Inheritance from God. This is great news. No longer do we have to strive for perfection in order to receive these things, but instead we simply trust in Christ's perfection which has been given to us through faith. This is grace, and grace is a gift that must be received. So today, receive God's grace by trusting in the resurrection of Jesus and make this Easter the best Easter you've ever had.
In the introduction to Peters first letter to Asia Minor, he records the answer to this question. 1 Peter 1:3-5 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,4to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
In these three verses we see that through faith in the resurrection of Jesus, He has opened up an opportunity for us to receive Mercy from God, New Birth From God and an Inheritance from God. This is great news. No longer do we have to strive for perfection in order to receive these things, but instead we simply trust in Christ's perfection which has been given to us through faith. This is grace, and grace is a gift that must be received. So today, receive God's grace by trusting in the resurrection of Jesus and make this Easter the best Easter you've ever had.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)