It is often harder to forgive ourselves than others

It is often harder to forgive ourselves than others

by | Jun 18, 2021 | encouragement, forgiveness

The dictionary defines forgiveness as “The action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.”  The term “forgive” is defined as “stop feeling angry or resentful toward (someone) for an offense, flaw or mistake.”

“To cease to feel resentment against an offender: pardon (forgive) one’s enemies. To give up resentment of or claim to requital; to forgive an insult; to grant relief from a payment or debt.”

When we talk about forgiveness, we should also look at the reasons why we need to forgive.

Matthew 6:14–15 for if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your father will not forgive your sins.

Wow. By forgiving others, I can receive forgiveness.

Often, we are fighting our flesh when it comes to forgiveness. Someone has hurt us, but they are either unaware or they don’t feel as if they have done anything wrong. Therefore, they feel under no obligation to apologize or even ask for forgiveness. When someone does us wrong, we need to learn to forgive them WITHOUT trying to force them to ask us for it. We need to learn to forgive without requiring an admission of guilt; for our own benefit.

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

– Matthew 18:15 

It is nice for someone to realize they have hurt or offended us. It doesn’t mean that they always will. We are encouraged to approach the person who we feel has offended us in order to seek reconciliation and give forgiveness. Yet, it isn’t a requirement of forgiveness. Even in my own life experience, I have made mention to family members when they have hurt me; yet they didn’t see it as an offense. They were “doing the best they could”. I had to forgive them for my OWN benefit.

There may be times when we are, without realizing it, the offender. Learning to forgive the offender doesn’t mean forgetting the offense. However, we can grow from these experiences.

If you touch a hot stove, the chances are you won’t touch it again.

When you get burnt – the initial feeling is of shock. Burns take time to heal, and you can feel the pain long after the initial contact has been made. Even after the pain fades, there is often a remnant that remains; sometimes a scar that will brand you for the rest of your life. What you take away from the experience is what matters.

Do you avoid teaching others what happens when you touch something hot? Do you teach others how to avoid being burned? Can you help someone live with the pain and learn to accept living with the scars? Can you learn from the experiences of others who have experienced it?

Life events can change who we are at a fundamental level. They can also change how we deal with not only things, but people. Whether we reach out or withdraw. If we are willing to open up or if we shut down. There are so many factors that can affect the way we react. Yet, even when those things are self-inflicted; like touching an open flame – we need to learn how to forgive and move forward.

Forgiving ourselves can be much harder than forgiving others.

We are our biggest critics. Even those people you think have it “all together” don’t. Every person seems to have the innate ability to find their tiniest flaw and criticize themselves for it. Just some people may be able to not only hide it better but find self-acceptance easier. The fact is that we all are flawed. We get down on ourselves for bad choices we make, for physical attributes, for something that we “could have done better”, for missed opportunities, for failed relationships. There are so many ways we can “fail”.

However, by learning to forgive ourselves we can learn to truly forgive others. By accepting ourselves, we can learn to really accept others.

“Love they neighbor as thyself” – while it seems like a simple quote, the truth is that the complexity of genuinely loving ourselves can be one of the most difficult things to do. How can you love others if you can’t even love yourself? In today’s society, there has been an ongoing bullying phenomenon, especially targeting our youth. Children taunting other children to the point of kids thinking they are SO flawed they end their own lives.

Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

– Proverbs 17:9

We need to teach our children self-acceptance and self-worth. This is a practice that begins at home. We need to teach our children they are important. That they matter. That no matter what the situation is that they can speak to us. As Christians we need to do more to help save our children and our families. We need to recognize the enemy is ‘on the job’ – stealing, killing, and destroying.

The fact is that most bullies have been bullied by someone else. Whether it was another child, a sibling, a parent, a teacher, or someone else in a position of authority over their lives. Rather than being taught and learning how to deal with it, they turn these actions against others. It is an ineffective way of making themselves feel better. What they are really doing is making themselves, so they are not alone in their pain. That their self-worth is equal to someone else’s. If that person they bully commits suicide, they feel that they were just stronger. That the person should have been stronger too.  Or they could see it as an example of a way out.

We need to forgive ourselves for not being an example.

It is easy to make excuses. It is easy to find a reason for allowing all this to happen. The reasons we give ourselves can be endless. It doesn’t stop us from looking for the opportunity to make sure we are open to helping. That if we see a someone in need we can intervene. Not only with children. There is no age range that stops us from doing what we need to do. We need to listen to the Holy Spirit and be guided in the direction that God wants us to go. We need to be willing vessels for change. We need to be willing to hear and follow. We may not be the right person for the job; however, we may be part of the process. We may be the one to till the ground or plant the seed. We may be the one to water with a bit of kindness and compassion.

You may never know how you touched someone else’s life. The ripple effect may go on for a long while. When you throw a rock into the lake, and it splashes falling beneath the surface, the ripples it makes come not only to the shore you are standing on, but they go out across the lake. They touch other ripples. They can end up as part of huge waves on the other shore. Touching places and things you will never see. Just know that your life touches others’ lives.

One simple change: forgiving yourself for your mistakes. Whether they are in the past or in the moment. Asking God to forgive you and help you forgive yourself; simple things that are difficult to do. We don’t want to humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are flawed. Yet, we are all sinners and have fallen short. It is why it is so very important to have Christ in our lives.

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

– Colossians 3:12-13

Forgiveness is not a weakness; it’s a strength.

Faith is a Foundational Belief That Gives Us Strength During Trying Times

Faith is a Foundational Belief That Gives Us Strength During Trying Times

by | Apr 17, 2021 | encouragement, faith, General

Where do we find faith? Is it in the smell of the freshly cut grass? The feel of the coolness of the breeze as it passes over us? The sound of lawn mower? The person reading a book?

The leaves dancing in the wind? The brilliant green of the grass or the dazzling blue of the sky? When we look around us, what is it we see with not just our eyes, but our hearts, our hopes, our minds?

There are little signs of faith everywhere. We have faith that all these things will be here tomorrow. Yet, tomorrow isn’t promised to us. No, tomorrow is a concept we hold onto. It is something we choose to believe in even though we can’t see it.

We control this moment in time. Only this one. We can plan for the next and the one after that, but we have no real guarantee that it will be there for us. That is faith.

However, spiritual faith is more than all these things. Faith is not holding the hope that these things will be there tomorrow, but if tomorrow isn’t here, we will be with the Creator of these things.

God is a brilliant artist. He loves us and gave us a beautiful world filled with wonderful things. Yet, there are also awful things in the world. Too many attribute these to God as well.

He gave us a free will on how we will live our lives. He gives us the opportunity to surround ourselves with positives. Even in the midst of the negatives. We are a light set upon a hill. How brightly do you let your light shine? With all the things that are happening in the world around us, it is easy to lose sight of what is important.

It is easy to allow ourselves to forget the promises of God. It is easy to forget we are just travelers here. It is easy to forget that this is not our home, it is just the place we are passing through, allowing our light to shine and point others to the joy that is in a relationship with Christ.

Faith is the glue that holds us together when we are struggling; when we don’t understand what is happening in the world around us or even our own world. When my husband died, that pain in my heart was beyond allowing me to feel as if I could breath. It was my faith that carried me through.

Faith has carried me through all the difficult times in my life. My strong conviction that God truly is in control. It is not an easy path. It would be much simpler to just blame God for all my sorrows and troubles. It would seem easier to just curl up and let the world pass me by.

Easy isn’t in our vocabulary. The path we follow can be extremely difficult. History has shown us time and time again what type of persecution we can expect. People who don’t understand our relationship or who want to proclaim themselves god – above others. They are being lied to by the enemy, who is out to steal, kill and destroy.

Satan has been doing his job extremely well. Just look around at the world today and you can see it in almost every area of life. What kind of job are we doing? What kind of job am I doing? We are each responsible for not only our actions but our reactions in our lives. The way we deal with people, situations, troubles, burdens, etc.

I admit I don’t always handle situations in a manner that reflects well on my belief. Sometimes I just struggle with what is going on in my own little world, so much so that I lose focus. Happily, God remains on my side. He is faithful and just to forgive. I need forgiveness quite a bit.

None of us are perfect. We consistently fall short. We judge ourselves harshly and sometimes we judge others even more harshly. We need to find the balance in our lives. The Bible tells us to ‘judge not lest we be judged’ and ‘he who is without sin cast the first stone’. These are just gentle reminders that we are all sinners and fall short.

We live in a toxic environment; separated by politics, race, religion, and more. How do we change this pattern? We need to seek God’s wisdom. We need to not fall victim to the ideals of the world and find the seed of truth that God wants us to grow.

There is a truth that is buried in all our hearts – the value of a relationship with Christ. The connection that if we can make it, simply by asking Him into our lives and hearts, we will be able to learn to rise above differences and realize that we are equal in Him. That what the world says separates us, isn’t a truth. We aren’t separated by the color of our skin, we are only taught and told that, we choose what we believe.

We need to not allow ourselves to continue to be influenced by the world around us. We need instead, to influence the people in the world around us. Be that beacon of truth. Be strong in our faith and in who we are. Know who we are in Christ and believe in that relationship.

Faith is what helps to keep us on the right path, but faith without works is dead. We can’t just say we have faith, we need to act on it.

Will you do that today? After all, today may be all you have.

What Is a Journey Worth Taking?

What Is a Journey Worth Taking?

by | Apr 9, 2021 | encouragement, faith

A journey of faith starts with understanding what faith is. There is a lot of skepticism that surrounds ‘faith’. Faith as defined by the dictionary (2:2), “belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion.”

We understand faith as defined by the Bible, Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV), “Now faith is the [a]substance of things hoped for, the [b]evidence of things not seen.”

There are people who don’t understand this concept of faith, as they don’t believe in God. They believe He is a myth. Yet, there is a void inside them that they try to fill with everything but a relationship with their Creator. Or they want to declare themselves ‘god’ and not bow down to anyone. They want to create (by cloning, modifying DNA, etc.) to saythat that there is no difference between God and man.

Don’t look to fill your void with something else

Throughout history, we have seen the vanity of mankind in their attempt to fill the space that was meant for our relationship with God. The Tower of Babel, which is used as mythos as to why we speak different languages, was built with the intention of reaching the Heavens and preventing another flood. (God had already promised his people He would never destroy the world in this way again.)

The Golden Calf, created when Moses ascended the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments. When Moses came down from the mountain, he found Israelites worshiping the golden calf; breaking the first and second commandments.  Have no other God before Me, you shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below; don’t bow down to idols.  (Read Exodus 20)

God is a jealous God

He desires a relationship with us. He doesn’t want anything to interfere in that relationship. His desire is for us. Often it is difficult for us to focus on what we can’t see. So, we fall back into what we can see. This is where faith comes in. This is also how the journey of faith begins.

We need to “lean not to our own understanding, but in all our ways acknowledge Him and He will guide our path.” (Pro 3:5-6). The thing about faith is that when we first return to God, when we dedicate our lives to Him, when we decide we want that personal relationship; it is all about the journey. We believe that we are not part of this world, we are travelers passing through.

We recognize that we are not omnipotent; and although we can ‘create’, that there should be a line in what we create. God made us to be creative and inquisitive. It is in our nature to want to create: music, art, poetry, dance, inventions, etc. are all creative outlets after all.

Man Isn’t Meant to be God

Isn’t it odd that, on one hand, scientists are working to create embryos, that they are experimenting with human DNA to create ‘perfect’ children, while on the other hand, doctors are justifying abortion? This is man’s way of saying, we know better than God.

It is the intricate diversity of humanity that makes us incredible – being imperfect, flawed. Yet, grasping the idea that we are supposed to love our neighbor (who may be totally different than we are) as ourselves, seems to have been forgotten.

Isn’t it interesting, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, His reply was (Mt 22:36-40) “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

The commandments were reduced to two things – loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves. Yet, what seems relatively easy and straightforward, people struggle with. They struggle with loving God because they don’t have a relationship with Him. They refuse to accept that there is a God and that they aren’t Him. They struggle with – wrestle with – both the spirit and the flesh. They let other things take over their hearts and minds thinking they know better.

In so doing, they aren’t able to do the second thing; love their neighbor as themselves. Why? Because they don’t truly love themselves. They love their flesh. They love the idols of the world. They love the idea of power. They love the idea of being better than others. They let their flesh rule them and ignore their spirit. They don’t want to live by faith. They want to feel in control of everything and not allow their lives to be ruled by anything other than their own wills.

Faith Makes Us Stronger

What they don’t realize is that faith is what makes us stronger. It is what heals both our spirit and flesh. It is what helps us to combine both parts of us. It is the balm to the wounds that we self inflict. Allowing God to lead us along His path is power. Giving up our will to allow God’s will to reign is true strength. Plus, the greatest benefit, God WANTS what is BEST for US.

God wants us to be successful. God wants us to have the desires of our heart. He wants us to do well. He wants us to have fiscal freedom. He wants us to be happy. Our happiness makes God happy. God doesn’t demand a lot from us, yet the world wants you to think that He does.

Perhaps you have heard this quote by Albert Camus “I would rather live my life as if there is a god and die to find out there isn’t, than live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is.”

Our faith tells us that there is a God. It is the foundation of our religion. Yet, people will fall on their swords before accepting Christ into their hearts or accepting the idea of their being a God in heaven? Why? I believe it is that we were created with the desire for communication with our Maker. This desire points to the fact that there is a God. Yet we were also born into sin, with human flesh and weakness; this means we were designed to seek our creator.

Trusting God in Adversity

Much like in the trials of Job, where the devil asked God to allow him to test Job’s faith in God, we will find ourselves in the midst of those trials. Will you turn back? Will you curse God’s name? Will you act as if He doesn’t exist? Will you blame Him for all your problems and struggles? Or will you, like Job, maintain your faith and conviction that God is God. That no matter the situation we are in, He is there.

It is due to Job’s faith that God blessed Him sevenfold. He increased his holdings, he blessed him with beautiful children. God was walking on the journey of faith with Job and He rewarded Job’s faithfulness.

Is this a journey worth taking?

 

For You I Am Praying – The Power of Intercessory Prayer

For You I Am Praying – The Power of Intercessory Prayer

by | Mar 12, 2021 | encouragement, peace, prayer

Intercessory Prayer is the opportunity to pray for others. It is when we act as a mediator when we go before the throne of God.  Whether we are praying for someone who is sick, or going out to a job interview, or for someone who doesn’t know the Lord – the reasons are varied. It’s when we come before the throne of God seeking intercession on the behalf of another. Powerful things can happen.

Intercession is defined as the action of intervening [come between so as to prevent or alter a result or course of events] on behalf of another.  When we intercede, we are following the example of Christ, who sits on the right hand of the Father, and the Holy Spirit, who intercede for us.

Most of the time, we will hear about parents or family members, who are praying for the salvation of a loved one. It can be difficult for a believer to accept that their family member doesn’t follow the same belief system they have. Whether it is out of sheer rebellion or the family coming to know Christ later in life, the reasons can be multifaceted.

There are also the prayers for the success of individuals, during meetings, speeches, political races, and more. Prayers for struggling business, communities, and families who have suffered loss. Sick family members or community members who are under attack. There are so many reasons for this type of prayer.

Prayer is a powerful communication with God.

Intercessory prayer is the same communication on the behalf of others. Yet, why aren’t we praying?

We know the devil comes to ‘steal, kill and destroy.’ Most of the time we think of this as just destroying the physical into which the spiritual will also be affected. If you deprive someone of “things” or “possessions,” they may get depressed.

If you remove close family members, friends or loved ones, the difficulty to overcome grief can be crippling. When these things happen, our first response is generally NOT prayer. Many people no longer react by praying. Instead, we allow ourselves to be drawn down the rabbit hole.

This is where intercession becomes an incredibly important tool. Not only are we supporting our friends and family, by being there for them physically, we are also supporting their spiritual nature as well. Giving strength in the spirit to help themover come the physical.

We are living in a world that seemingly has turned away from God

By the actions of those in the world around us, the worship of ‘Gaia’ – whom they call ‘mother earth’ is prevalent. There have been several times throughout history where the masses have turned away from God and toward other things. Whether it is money, power, oppression, or the ideal of what will get them there.

Historically, the church hasn’t helped in these matters. The wars done ‘in the name of God’ where people were killed because they refused to be forced to give up their own beliefs. The Monarchs, who claimed godhood for themselves, and forced their people to have the same beliefs or die. The Inquisition. These are some of the things that we know, throughout history, have been done in the name of religion – forcing true believers into hiding in order to survive.

Even in today’s society, the word “Christian” often receives a negative connotation. Add to this, the fact that over the last year, it became (in essence) ‘illegal’ to congregate, taking away religious freedoms under the guise of ‘public safety’; meanwhile strip clubs and other such establishments were allowed to remain open.

Though some churches did manage to remain steadfast and open to their congregation through various means, the response was small in comparison to those who were willing to stay below the radar in ‘order to survive’. Have we so lost faith in our God?

Even for times such as these, God gave us His word to guide us:

2 Chronicles 7:14

14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

I have mentioned this passage several times in the last few months as a reminder. We are called to prayer. We are called to intercede on the behalf of not only our churches, our communities, but our country.

We are called to stand fast. Be unmovable. We are called to PRAY. Everyone can pray. Prayer doesn’t discriminate. Prayer doesn’t have an outline. Prayer doesn’t require a calling. Prayer is our communication with an omnipotent God. Prayer can move mountains. Prayer can change communities. Prayer can change governments. Prayer can HEAL OUR LANDS.

There is nothing in this world quite as effective as prayer

One of the great things about prayer is that it can be done anytime, anywhere, in front of anyone. Prayer doesn’t have to be spoken out loud – like when Hannah prayed for a child. Her lips were moving but no words were heard. You don’t even have to move your lips. You can just pray from the heart inside of yourself.

Prayer will help you feel better. It will help you find solace and guidance. It will give you strength. It can change the world. No one can stop you from praying. Well, except you. You can stop it from happening by not doing it.

If we believe God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. If we believe that He keeps His promises. If we believe His Word never changes. If we believe He is our Rock. If we believe He will keep us under His wings of protection. If we believe He will send His angels before us. Then why can’t we believe in the power of prayer? There is no real reason.

The world is filled with fear. Fear that holds us in place. That locks down not only our feet but our hearts. Overcoming and/or facing our fears can bring people to tears. The idea can be daunting and overwhelming. This is why psychiatrists will tell people to ‘face their fear’. Once it is faced (and it may take multiple times), the fear will lose its power.

When someone has a fear of spiders, they will tell you to start with little ones first. If you can deal with these teeny, tiny spiders, you have made a baby step forward. Then gradually these baby steps, lead to full on strides, where you overcome the fear of bigger spiders – like tarantulas. There is a difference between being fearful of something and respecting it. In other words, you may overcome the fear of spiders, but still have a healthy respect that a black widow or recluse has a bite that could kill you.

There are many dangers in the world in which we live. Our fears can also be overcome in another way. We can “cast all our cares” on the Lord. We can learn to lay these fears at his feet. We need to recognize that not all fear is physically induced. Remember, we are both a physical being AND a spiritual one. Some of the fear we need to fight is in the spiritual realm. Some of it has to be overcome with prayer. It is the one thing that the enemy doesn’t want us doing.

The benefits of prayer are multifold

When you pray, things happen. I remember reading Frank Peretti’s book, This Present Darkness (and Piercing the Darkness). Even though this is a fictional novel, one of the things it did for me, was bring to light an idea about angels. That when we prayer, we give strength to the angels to fight battles in the spiritual realm.

Imagine this: an angel leaning against the wall, its head bowed, its wings folded… waiting. Now, imagine when you pray, you infuse that angel with heavenly power. His head pops up, his wings spread out, the light surrounding him shines brightly. The sword at his side glows brilliantly. He takes flight on a mission, set in motion, by your prayer. Wow!

Can you see it? The power of YOUR prayer. What is the mission? What did you prayer for? Was it for someone who needs guidance? Was it for the leaders of your community? Was it for a sick friend? Was it for yourself?

The thing is, there is no wrong way to pray. Prayer has power. Words have power. The Bible has numerous passages where it mentions the power of your words. Why it is so important how you speak. Proverbs 15:4 “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.”

Make Prayer a Part of Your Daily Life

I would just like to encourage you to make prayer a part of your life. Whether you pray for yourself, things in your life or others, prayer is a gift given to us. We should use it. Not just to build up our faith. Not just to support ourselves and others. We should pray to draw ourselves closer to God.

Prayer is ultimately our ability to communicate with God. We pray, “in Jesus’ Name” as He is always interceding on our behalf.  Know that if Christ, who died for us, is willingly, lovingly interceding for us, then we can do it for others.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;

 

Love is a Gift Freely Given in Tangible and Intangible Ways

Love is a Gift Freely Given in Tangible and Intangible Ways

by | Feb 26, 2021 | encouragement, Family, love

When you mention love, there are two things that generally come to mind: God’s love and romantic love. Love is a word that is often bandied about without much thought. It is something we are taught to say. “I love you.” Often without giving it much thought or even putting emotion behind our automated responses, we say “I love you” – “I love you too”.

It is important to take time to think about and understand not just the concept of love but the depth. God gave His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON because He Loves Us. He wanted to bring us (you and me) back to Him. God gave the ultimate sacrifice to us, for us, out of love.

Love is the glue that binds

There are so many articles, sayings, mentions of love –  yet the practice of love is falling short. Instead of reaching out, in love, with an open mind and heart; people are standing on the sidewalks watching humanity go by and making judgements. Instead of encouraging resolution and discussions of our differences; people are throwing rotten fruit.

When we look in the news we see riots, dissension, racism and reverse racism, in full bloom. Things that will tear not only a family, but a nation, apart. When we look to the Bible for guidance, we see Paul saying, “I become all things to all people.” He goes to explain why he does this.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

19 Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Does this mean that we revel in our diversity as a means to condemn others? No. It means that we open our hearts and minds to understand how others think so that we can sway them toward Christ. We show them LOVE. We show them compassion. We open a dialogue that allows each person to speak their mind and come to the table. We don’t cast them out because of these things. We don’t force feed them our beliefs.

Storge Love is familial love

It is the love of parents and children. The love of siblings. It is the love shared with those who have a commonality that binds them together. This is brotherly love. It seems to be an easier love than the one we really need to “love thy neighbor as thyself”. This type of love is difficult for multiple reasons. First, we might not like our neighbor. The second is that we might not like ourselves.

Fortunately, learning to love ourselves and our neighbor isn’t dependent on liking anyone. We can ‘love the sinner and hate the sin’. This doesn’t just apply to ‘others;’ it also applies to us. WE are all sinners. We have all sinned. We need learn to love ourselves (the sinner) and hate our actions (the sin). Then we need to take that seemingly huge step –  yet it really isn’t that vast –  and forgive ourselves for the sin. (Move out of it and on to God’s path.)

We weren’t called into a place of judgement

“Judge not lest you be judged.” “Let him who is without SIN throw the first stone.” Why are these statements even mentioned? I think it is that sometimes it is easy to distance ourselves from what we are and what we were. We accept Christ into our lives and then think that we are without stain. We’ve accepted the call to be washed ‘whiter than snow’. Psalm 51:7-12 Then there is another step, “create in me a CLEAN heart and renew a right spirit within me.”

We are both a physical AND spiritual creation. Our physical nature is the one we fight with. Our spiritual nature is the one we need to learn to lean and rely upon. In other words, being ‘washed’ is something that is done to the physical. We use baptism as a representation of this. We are being ‘reborn’ in a physical way to give our spiritual man a fresh start. This doesn’t mean we will be able to change who we are instantly.

This is God’s love

He has offered us a way to Him. Yet, we still ‘fall short’ along the path. That is why we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. We also have the gift of prayer – that which allows us to go before our Father and ask for guidance. To ask for strength to help us to move forward in our lives, to love those with whom we don’t agree, and to learn to forgive. Forgiving doesn’t mean forgetting. Forgiving means giving up the emotions that are entangling us. We give up how we feel; angry, bitter, resentful, and allow ourselves to move forward.

Sometimes these emotions are what cause us to react negatively in a situation. We lose our cool. We lose control of our feelings. We let them take us over. That is okay, because we aren’t perfect. We will fall short. However, this is an opportunity, to pick ourselves up to learn to react out of love. This isn’t an easy thing. It is much simpler to type the words here than to act on them. It takes lots of practice, trials, failure and opportunities to grow.

Love is the guidepost we need to learn to use

We need to learn to NOT react out of hate or judgement. We need to learn how to NOT criticize someone within the first 30 seconds of meeting them. We need to open our minds and hearts to the possibility of getting to know an incredible person who may be wrapped in something we don’t like or deem unworthy based on how they look. Most of the time, the outside of the book isn’t a reflection of what is on the inside. If we don’t give that a chance then we may miss some great opportunities. Remember, sometimes people come into our lives for a short season to help us to grow.

Sometimes you may be there to plant the seed. Sometimes you may be there to water it. Sometimes you may be there to reap the harvest. How can you plant a seed if you are unwilling to till the soil to see what is beneath? To see if the ground is good or rocky? We weren’t called to hate. We were called to love. “For God So LOVED the world…” What example will you use? The one you see emulated in the media and in social media? Or will you allow yourself to be open to the truth. That not everything we see or hear is what is real.

God called us to love

He has given us a great example of how to love. He has given us reminders of what it is to love. He left us not only His written Word but also the Holy Spirit which dwells in us. He allows us to come to Him in prayer; to seek His guidance. We can cast all our cares on Him. We may not understand what is going on. We may not know where the path leads. We do know Who has laid our path before us. We need to continue to trust in that. We need to continue to have Faith. We need to continue to show love and be that light.

My prayer for you today is to continue to seek God in these troubling times. To open your hearts and minds to be allowed to be used in a way that will help stem the tide. That that destruction happening around us doesn’t define us. It took one person to start a movement to take prayer from the schools. One person can do a lot.

Pray. Laugh. Have Faith. Love.

Our Hope is Ever Present Real and Powerful

Our Hope is Ever Present Real and Powerful

by | Jan 29, 2021 | encouragement, hope

There are many times in life when we will face an unknown obstacle. We don’t see it coming. We aren’t prepared for it. Then out of the blue it hits us quicker than a snake can strike. Then there are other times where we can see what is going to happen. It starts like a slow motion movie. We see the actions that will cause the outcome. We try to change it, but suddenly we find ourselves in the midst of the flood up to our armpits in murky water. We struggle to stay upright. We wonder if and when we will be able to drag our feet to shore. It seems so close yet also so far away. We fight to keep going. Suddenly, we are thrown a rope from the river bank. We grab on to it, clinging tightly as we are slowly dragged toward the shore.

This is hope. God is the anchor on the shore with so much strength to pull us out. He not only makes sure we make it safely, He then covers us under His wings where we are protected, warmed, and have a safe place to ride out the storm.

It is has become too easy to sit back and watch the skies, waiting for the clouds to appear, expecting it. Then hiding under a lean-to, as we hope that it will pass us by, untouched. We think we are safe –  when suddenly a strong wind comes and carries away our little roof we thought would protect us. When we need to realize that our only real protection in this world is our Savior.

I know it’s hard to believe at times. We are taught to hope in God. Without a personal relationship with Him, this is hard – if not impossible – to do. The world around us has hope too. Their hope is intangible. It doesn’t offer something very real and powerful to cling to. We can always have hope, no matter the situation or circumstances. We are never without it, even in what others might see as a ‘hopeless’ situation. When people become depressed and give up hope they also become willing to give up their lives. Hope BRINGS life.

God created our world for us to enjoy. He created people so we would be able to share our hope and joy and not live in loneliness. Solitude brings with it desolation and despair. These things lead to people wanting to, and sometimes acting upon, a desire to end their lives. We are blessed that we have people who believe like we do. There are people –  brothers and sisters in Christ – who are like-minded, who not only can, but will, encourage us  – to build us up and who help strengthen the hope in our hearts and minds. We are not alone.

We know the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. It doesn’t take much to look around our world and see the ramifications that are happening all around us. Those who have willfully fallen by the wayside. Those who do not know or who have turned not only their backs, but their minds and wills, away from our Creator. No, you can’t force someone to accept your belief system. Then we would be taking away free will. A gift we were given. The opportunity to choose. All you can do is continue to be a light in an ever darkening world.

I know the world seems dreary. Every time you turn around, there is something out there coming your way. Sometimes, it is the slow flow of the water, and sometimes it is the fast rushing of rapids, spilling down over falls. There are sharp rocks and unknown depths below. There are people who are waiting for us to stumble. There are people who are daring us to stand firm in our beliefs. They want to mock us and tear us down. They want to destroy us. Thankfully, there is HOPE.

OUR HOPE. Our hope is concrete. It is strong. It is enduring. It is built on the fact that this is not our home. This is not our permanent place. This is not where our story will end. This is just our beginning. We will struggle to stand up. We will grow weary and tired in the fight. We will question. We may wander off the path. Yet, our Father, who is patient and loving, will be standing waiting for us. He will rejoice when we return and throw a feast in our honor. This is Who our hope is in. This is our Rock that we have built our house on. It is solid. It doesn’t waiver. It doesn’t break when the storms crash against it.

I want you to be encouraged that the God of our fathers is the same yesterday, today and will be the same tomorrow. I know I have written this before, but it bears repeating in these troubled times. What can you do? Stand up! Be counted! Be encouraged to be faithful and unwavering. When you need to rest, rest in His love. When you need to hide, hide beneath His wings. Let His Angels protect you and keep you. Be willing to trust in the Lord with all your heart. Know that He is always there.

You may not feel him, but do you feel the air all the time? Only when the wind moves it or the air conditioner blows it. Sometimes all we may feel is stifling hot and sweaty. That doesn’t mean that the air isn’t there. We just don’t feel it moving. It is ALWAYS there. We wouldn’t be able to live without it. We trust that it is there. We trust that it is good enough for us to breathe. We hope that it will always be clean and allow us to be healthy.

Know that you are loved. You have a community of people who share your beliefs. You don’t have far to go to find them. For some, it is the simple matter of walking into the next room, making a phone call for others; it is finding a church, a body of believers with which to connect. Rest assured that God has your best interest at heart. You are not hoping in vain. Your hope is eternal.