Forgiving Others

Forgiving others is a challenge. Advising others to forgive someone can set off a canon. Nevertheless, I have found that learning how to forgive does more good for us than holding on to grudges, and having bitterness. No one likes to be wronged, but it is going to happen to all of us. Being unforgiving is unhealthy for us. The longer we hold on to the wrong that has been done to us the more it becomes a chain we can't break free from.

So here are just a few tips to remember when someone has wronged you.
1. FORGIVE QUICKLY
The best way to do this is to think about forgiveness from God's perspective. If we don't see forgiveness from God's perspective we can easily justify harboring ill feelings and try to make someone pay for what they did to us. We want to make sure certain conditions are met, that the person will never do it again.  That's why we need to think about it from God's perspective. Have you met the standard that you put on others when it comes to wanting God to forgive you? Or let me ask it this way, what if God put the same standard on you as you do with others before you forgive them? Would you ever experience God's forgiveness?

bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Colossians 3:13 

2. YOU ARE GOING TO NEED FORGIVENESS EXTENDED TO YOU AT SOME POINT
We often forget that we are going to wrong others. Maybe not intentionally but it will happen, and we will need someone to forgiveness to us. And of course we will need God to extend forgiveness to us. Sometimes we dwell on the wrongs that have been done to us that we tend to forget or think lightly of the wrongs that we have done to others. Jesus put it this way:


Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.
Luke 6:38 

3. FORGIVENESS IS A LIFESTYLE
Extending or receiving forgiveness goes on constantly in our lives. As we remember to see things from God's perspective, and as we see our need for forgiveness, we begin to make forgiveness a lifestyle. We learn to not hold grudges. We extend forgiveness to others and others extend forgiveness to us. 


Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

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When Life Doesn't Go As Planned

There are times in our lives where we get an idea that comes from God about something that we can accomplish. Maybe it's a promise from God about things getting better or certain situations changing in our lives. Then as things get complicated or it looks like it won't happen or things get worse we give up.

Let me encourage you today that nearly every person you read about in the Bible experienced things not going as planned or things getting worse before they saw the realization of the promise.

Here are just a few examples:

1. Joseph was promised he would rule over his brothers. But as his life unfolds he is sold into slavery by his brothers, lied about by a woman and winds up in prison for years. Initially forgotten by a person who was set free from prison . But eventually through a turn of events Joseph became second in charge in all the land.

2. Moses was told that God would use him to deliver His people . But when he goes to pharoah and tells him to let God's people go things got worse and pharoah increased their workload. There were many other setbacks before pharoah released the people.

3. David was anointed to become the king of Israel, but he experienced years of being on the run from the current king as that king sought to kill David. Eventually though David became king.

4. Mary was told by a angel that she would give birth to the Son of God. Instead of a palace she had to give birth in a manger. Instead of a life of triumph and ease she had to watch her son die on a cross. But He did rise from the grave.

I could go on and on about people in the Bible who had similar experiences. I would just like to encourage you to not give up on your God given promises. Just because things get difficult doesn't mean it won't happen. 

Here is how another person in the Bible summed up things as he was getting ready to die :

“"Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the LORD your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.”

Joshua 23:14

Not one word failed which God spoke. They experienced difficulties and hardships and setbacks, but God was faithful to His Word. 

May I encourage you today to let you know that God is faithful. He doesn't promise ease, but He will be faithful. Things won't happen as you think , but He is faithful. There will be setbacks ,but He is faithful. Don't give up on Him.

Troy

Grace Notes: God Loves Us At Our Worst

Grace Notes: God Loves Us At Our Worst

Life Is Short

"Life is short even in its longest days"

John Mellencamp 

The above line is a line from one of my favorite John Mellencamp songs. The first time I heard it the truth of it resonated with me. 

The Bible has many verses that talk about the brevity of life. 

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.”

James 4:14

Whether you are a believer in a personal God or not you can relate to the truth that life is short. All of us can relate to the idea that playing with childhood friends or our days in High School though they may have been decades ago at time they seem just like yesterday. 

I read a quote the other day that talked about life being short and some actions we can take:

"Life is so short. Grudges are a waste of time. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and trust God with what you cannot change."

Glenn Burris 

In my 20 some years of ministry I am constantly amazed at how many people I run into who are holding grudges. Some are short, some have been holding these grudges for years. Yet, they can't see that it's not accomplishing anything good in their lives. Most of them don't see the damage that it is doing to their lives and others who are close to them. 

Laugh, apologize, and trust God I believe is some good advice to follow with our time we have been given. 

Let me sum all this up by saying that since life is short let's be encouraged to choose our actions wisely with the time we have been given. Let's enjoy life and not waste our time with actions that in the long run really don't bring anything good into our lives. 

Troy 

The Danger Of Shortcuts

and after getting into a boat, they started to cross the sea to Capernaum. It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. John 6:17

We've all seen the ads

"Learn a instrument in 30 days"

"Teach yourself a new language in a month"

"Lose 20 pounds in a week and keep it off"

And so on and so on.

Most of us are looking for shortcuts, the easy way to accomplish something. Yet the irony is, whatever we have accomplished we know it didn't come easy. We are full of ironies. When someone tells me they bought a book to learn guitar in 30 days, I know it can't be done, and yet, I will look for a shortcut to accomplish something I haven't accomplished yet.

The above scripture comes from a time when Jesus withdrew from the crowd had sent the disciples away and told them that He would meet them later. But as how life goes it begins to get dark and Jesus hasn't shown up yet . Not only that, the Bible says:

The sea began to be stirred up because a strong wind was blowing. John 6:18

I think this is something we can all relate to. The situation is getting rough we are counting on Jesus to show up to help, but even though things are getting worse He hasn't showed up yet. Our lives at times can read like the above scripture: 

It had already become dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. John 6:17

There aren't shortcuts to the meaningful things in life. There aren't any "overnight" success stories. It's especially true in our spiritual walk. Sadly, there are many books in the "Christian" market that promise shortcuts. They may help, but they don't get us to the deeper places in life. 

The truth is life is hard. There is death, loss, heartbreak, unfairness, and the list goes on and on. They are all a part of the human experience. We can't escape them. Oh we try to, but in the end our plans don't work out. 

Some have asked me," but if you are following God with your life isn't He supposed to keep that stuff away from you?"

I simply reply, "No. I wish that were the case but when I read the Bible I see that it is not."

The people in the Bible went through the same junk we go through. I feel this is important to share with people, because many believe that if they are experiencing problems there must be something wrong with how they are living, or how strong their faith is. Granted, sometimes we do experience problems because of our lack of trust or how we are living, but it is not the reason all the time. Many times having problems shows we are on the right path.

In this incident with Jesus and the disciples, Jesus does show up. But He shows up in a way the disciples weren't expecting. In fact, the disciples almost missed Him. Again, isn't that so true of our lives ? We can miss Jesus even when He does show up. Why? Because He shows up in a way we weren't expecting.

How did Jesus show up for the disciples? Walking on the water!!!

They definitely weren't expecting that.

The disciples were expecting Jesus to show up in the daylight before the storm. Instead, it got dark and there was a storm and no Jesus. And though the disciples didn't know it, it was all part of the plan. 

If things had gone the way the disciples wanted they would have missed out on the chance to see Jesus walking on the water. But by going through without the shortcut they learned Jesus was faithful. They learned Jesus had power and glory that they never realized. Because of that there was given to them an opportunity for their faith in Him to grow. 

Looking for growth without the experience is tempting but in the long run its not the same as getting the experience. As humans we are tempted to escape all hardships. Though I don't like hardships I do realize that some are necessary. 

Shortcuts can be helpful at times, but if we find we have to go through without the shortcut may we trust God knows what He is doing even though we may not understand. He has a plan.

Just because God hasn't shown up yet, it doesn't mean He won't . Let's also remember He may show up in a way we aren't expecting.

Troy

Letting Go Of Our Agendas

We woke up today with a plan for the day. We have a plan of how to get through the day. In some ways we have an intentional plan, while in other ways we operate out of habit. Even though we have things all planned out and are prepared to face the day, may I suggest that we remember to let go of our agenda and leave room for God's agenda. Sometimes we can miss what God wants to do in our lives because we won't allow Him to disrupt our plans. When God wants to let us in on His agenda often it looks like an inconvenience to us.

I'm reminded of the story of Moses. It's says one day he was walking and noticed a bush burning and not being burned. The Bible says the following .....

So Moses said, "I must turn aside now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up." (‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬ NASB)

Moses could have kept walking. He could have stuck to his plans for the day, but no, he allowed his plans to be interrupted. He turned aside.

Look at what the Bible says happened next...

When the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." (‭Exodus‬ ‭3‬:‭4‬ NASB)

Notice when God saw that Moses turned aside, God began to speak to him. This whole scenario was the beginning of God telling Moses that he was the man who was going to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let God's people go. And it all started with Moses turning aside.

Be encouraged today, if God interrupts our plans it's a good thing, and there is probably a good reason. I can't guarantee that everything in your life will go smooth and you won't have any problems in your life by allowing yourself to be open to God's agenda, but you can go through life having peace knowing you are trying your best to follow what God wants to do in your life. 

Troy

God Loves Us At Our Worst

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)


 There is a huge misconception when It comes to following Jesus with our lives. Generally, most of us feel that we aren't good enough. We have thoughts like, "I need to clean my act up first",or "God would never accept me the way I have lived" and so on and so forth. What we don't realize is that what we are really saying is that... at some point we can be good enough for God. Somehow we feel that we can earn Jesus dying on the cross for us. We somehow forget that our sins have separated us from God and that we needed Jesus to restore the relationship.

 

 Basically I have found we usually fall into one of two camps when it comes to our sins:
1. the idea that they really aren't that bad or,
2. the idea that our sins are so awful that even God can't forgive them.

 We are wrong on both accounts. Romans 5:8 shows us that we are sinners, but the good news is that it shows us that even though we have sinned, Jesus still died for us. He didn't wait until we cleaned up our act. While you and I were doing those things that we are so ashamed of, that is when He died for us. As the verse says this is how God has demonstrated His love towards us.
In my 20 + years of following Jesus I have studied all the world religions and
beliefs etc... One thing that separates following Jesus from every other religion is that in the other religions we have to become good enough to be accepted. We have to attain to some level. We have to reach up to whatever the diety is. In following Jesus, we find that we are accepted not because of what we did, but because of what Jesus did. He came to us!!!

 Be encouraged today, God has demonstrated His love towards YOU!!! He sent Jesus to die for YOU!!!. And He didn't wait until you were "good enough" He already did it !!! Remember, God doesn't just love us when we are at our best, He also loves us at our worst!!! "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
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