God's Grace in Forgiveness

Sunday Scripture

and a

Song

"He does not treat us as our sins deserve 

    or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his love for those who fear him; 

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

Psalm 103:10-12

We need not live with regret over past choices.

We need only to ask God for forgiveness, and repent of our wrongdoing.

Then we will receive God's forgiveness,

and know His Peace.

Enjoy listening to Casting Crowns as Mark Hall sings of the grace of Jesus Christ who has forgiven all our sins.

Casting Crowns

East to West

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Spring has Sprung!

Under ominous skies, the first of our April showers approaches. But we don't have to wait until May for our flowers. Truth be told, the daffodils and tulips are already beginning to bloom, and some have shared their sweet palate of color with us for many days already.

Springtime beat the robins to my backyard this year. Usually, through the cold and blustery month of March, these harbingers of spring with their russet breasts and bright yellow beaks hop around last year’s lawn looking for bits of something to eat.

This year, we experienced an unusual warm spell in mid-March. Record-setting temperatures caused my white magnolia to bloom over a month early. Sadly its normally long-lasting tepals turned brown and blew off within days due to the extreme heat. It usually is not eighty degrees when my magnolia tree blooms! 

The return to more ‘normal’ temperatures (forty degrees colder!) under relatively gloomy skies, turned everyone’s feelings back to an internal winter. People seemed grumpy and sad. Though we knew the early warmth was unusual weather for these parts, we had reveled in the expectation of an early summer.

Winter hats, coats, gloves and scarves were discarded as we dug out our shorts and tank tops. I found the heat exhausting, too much too soon, but still didn’t want to complain. After months of cold, even a mild winter like last season’s can wear on you after awhile.

The gift of all of this warm weather has been the early flowers, and new leaves on the trees and shrubs. Green looks great on the natural world, especially after months of seeing only brown or white in the landscape. Several neighbors have already cut their grass. They seem to be enjoying getting their mowers out and thankfully storing the snow blowers for the warm seasons.

The bulbs we planted at our church with the Sunday school classes last fall are up and blooming earlier than planned, but since the return to cooler temperatures, the flowers are lasting longer and the blooms should last through Easter day.

Everyone at church is noticing the flowers and commenting on their beauty. We planted about 250 bulbs, about 75 of which were little crocuses. This year the crocuses came and went in a matter of days with the heat.

The tulips and daffodils are in their glory, and I’m amazed how many people have commented to me how beautiful the church grounds appear. While I am thrilled that people would notice our efforts  (and thankful that everything actually came up!) my real joy will be to see the children’s faces as they realize how they contributed to adding beauty to their church property. And not just for this season, but for many spring seasons to come.

Our heritage is in our children. Teach them to sow, and to reap. Teach them to sing, and to pray. Show them a merciful God who loves them unconditionally. And love them without reservation.  Let them know forgiveness, and teach them to practice it. Demonstrate compassion, and acceptance. The future of humanity depends on it.

Beauty from Ashes

Once there was a girl who dreamed great dreams. It was her way of escaping from the realities of life. She dreamed of great loves and new places and a happy life. She found relief from the adversity in her life by living inside of her mind, and she escaped into her fantasies whenever life got too tough.

She wrote stories, and poems that conveyed the emotions she tried to conceal. She sang and she cried, waiting for a time when life would offer her an opportunity to be free and live her life.

Though she suffered great emotional pain and torment, she survived, and with time she began to grow into the woman she hoped to be. There had been so many mistakes over so many years. She was still searching for that escape, and she carried the burden of her scars.

Time has a way of nurturing maturity, and over a half of a lifetime she would learn to grow from her mistakes. Still, there were times when her lack of belief in herself caused her once again to fall, floundering, gasping for life and begging her Savior for forgiveness.

As time wore on, she began to find hope, and she realized that indeed something beautiful was growing from the ashes of despair. As she placed her trust in the Lord, she found sturdier footing and began to climb out of the pit. Reaching her hands to the sky, she praised God for rescuing her and giving her new life; abundant life, and it grew day by day to be rich and full of Light.

Life is meant to be lived fully, reaching for hope and breathing in the possibilities. The reality is that this is the only life we get, and living fully in each moment is the only way to savor this one life.

We all fall down. Sometimes we are stuck in the mire and feel no way out. But there is a way, and it is through a relationship with Christ. Jesus is the way, the only hope of new life. Through Him we will know God, and know of this abundant life we have been given.

Even though we all suffer trials and setbacks, we keep moving forward along with the hands of the clock and each season of the calendar. We need to find a way to live fully in the moment, to grasp the absolute beauty of each day we have been given.

And even though we may have landed in the muck, when we reach out to the One who can rescue us and free us, even from our own poor choices, we find love and forgiveness and the opportunity for life in a brand new day.

  

Good vs. Evil

I’ve thought a lot about changes lately. Is it because of the new year and all the hype about resolutions and self-improvement? Perhaps that's a good thing. Maybe we need to have time to focus at least once a year on improving ourselves in order to get rid of bad habits or begin new, better choices that will benefit our health and our outlook on life.

Along with the idea of letting go, we embrace the positive aspect of new beginnings. Healthier eating habits are on many of our self-improvement lists, right along with exercising more regularly. These are certainly both at the top of my list.

Taking on a new life challenge may seem like just another thing to do. It isn’t until we embrace this new lifestyle that we begin to understand the rewards of changing our habits. Feeling slimmer and more energetic are the byproducts of healthier living choices, and who wouldn’t desire to feel better physically each day.

Our church has encouraged a similar philosophy when it comes to our Lenten season and indeed, our spiritual growth throughout the year. Instead of “giving up” something for Lent, we explore the option of “taking on” a new spiritual discipline. Perhaps it might be a small group study that will encourage us to read more or be in the Word on a regular basis. Accepting the challenge of self-improvement is exciting at the onset.

When we begin, we have high hopes for great change in our lives. It is when we try to adapt our lifestyles to accommodate our new ideas that we struggle. We still have the same time constraints as we had before, and now we are trying to cram in something more. While we know it is in our best interest, why do our best laid plans fall to the wayside as we choose instead to grab a bag of chips and plop down in front of the tv for our favorite program?

The self-improvement we seek cannot be considered for only the short term, and must reflect our desire for wholeness in all aspects of our lives. Weight loss is at the top of my list for this year, but so is spiritual growth. I am eating healthier and exercising. I love taking walks in nature and that is one kind of exercise I can easily keep up with.

Maintaining spiritual discipline in my life is so much harder. Not only do we have the busyness of our lives to deter us, but the evil one is so good at knowing our weaknesses and will dangle that golden carrot just beyond our noses for distraction. We can sense the aroma of something promised, something just beyond our reach, that seems so much better than what we have right in front of us.

What a challenge it is to discern if the desires of our heart are laid there by our loving Father or discretely placed by the evil one to sabotage any forward progress we are trying to make.  Both can appear to be our heart’s desire, and pull strongly on the direction of our lives.

How then can we know the difference? The answer is through prayer. Take your desires to the Lord and then wait for an answer. If it is the direction we should travel, the pull on our heart will feel stronger when we pray and lay our concerns at His feet.

If our pathway is divergent because of the glow of desire, it is probably our own insecurities reflecting off the golden carrot.  Satan is a master artist so do not be deceived. He can make something look so perfect and promising, when what he is really attempting to do is pull us away from God. 

I can speak from experience that he can make a choice in your life seem to shine like gold, and indeed seem to come from God Himself. Satan delights in putting a doubt within us that provides dissatisfaction in our lives, pulling us off our path and away from God.

We often can’t see the truth of the deception until we have chosen the wrong path and have begun to follow it. Then the devastating truth is revealed, and I hear Satan laughing with delight. But he will not have the final victory.

God is always there, waiting for us to return to Him. He is like a loving Father with outstretched arms and we only need to run to Him to be saved. The best time to turn to Him is before we make a decision that will change our lives. Pray for discernment, and for direction. And wait patiently for God to make clear the path He knows is best for you.

And if we err, as we sometimes will, and find ourselves on the pathway to destruction, cry out to Jesus to rescue you, and come to Him in repentance. Pray for forgiveness, and it will be given to you. Then pick up the pieces of your life and find the right pathway once again, the path that will lead you to happiness and peace, walking side-by-side with your Savior in harmony with all of creation. 

JESUS Came so You can Live YOUR STORY

While living in Texas years ago, I attended a Bible study in the home of a dear friend from church. My friend had a old, dirty, cracked flower pot on her table, and she shared that this can be how we feel about ourselves in our unworthiness before our Lord and Savior. Then she brought forth from the inside of the filthy pot a beautiful shining crystal vase, and told us all "this is how God sees you". It took everything within me to not run crying from the room and never come back.

I thought all God saw of me was my stains, my mistakes and my failures. I felt I was a fake to be putting on this façade of a strong Christian woman when inside I was so terribly broken. Perhaps some of you have felt this way, too.

This video, with footage from the movie “The Story” makes me weep. The lyrics tell the reason Jesus came; for us to live our story with all of our failures and brokenness. We come before our Lord and He sees only our possibilities. He sees our greatness and our potential. With lovingkindness and forgiveness, our Savior releases us from the bondage of our past. We are born again, made new in His sight. Our sins are forgotten; they are gone with the wind. And even if we make more mistakes, and we will, because we are human after all, we can come to our Lord and ask for forgiveness, and He will set our feet on the pathway to righteousness once again. 

Mac Powell of the band "Third Day" sings these words of truth: "Tell me your story, show me your wounds; and I'll show you what love sees, when love looks at you. Hand me the pieces, broken and bruised, and I'll show you what love sees, when love sees you."

No longer am I ashamed of what once defined me from my past. I am born again in the Spirit. I know Jesus as my Savior and my Lord. I am the daughter of a King! I am blessed. My friend, this is my Christmas wish for you, that you will come to know our Lord personally, and truly believe that you can made new.

If you are struggling with inner demons, He is the one who can save you. You deserve to live a life free from shame. Jesus came for you to live your story. And His great love can help you live your life with gratitude and peace. Do not believe the lie that this promise is not for you. It will be yours when you ask Jesus to come into your life. You can share with him all of your failures and successes. You can learn about His life through reading the New Testament of the Bible, and you can come to know Him personally by coming to Him in prayer. Ask Him for the direction your life should lead. This relationship can be the guiding force of your life. And it can begin with a simple prayer asking Jesus to come into your life.

We all need more than the simple existence of living life on this earth. Our lives are filled with challenges and sorrows, sufferings and joys. God can help us turn our challenges into triumphs, and our sorrows and suffering can help us grow into a closer relationship with Him. Our joys will be filled with gratitude and our rough places made smooth through knowing that God is always with us. Emmanuel, God with us. That is why He came.

Hope through Forgiveness

We all make mistakes. Some are big, and affect our lives or our world for a long time while others are small, and impact us on the inside in how we view our place in the world.

One thing is certain, we can’t change the past. The laws of physics in our universe assure us of that. So what can we do, but move forward into a new day.

We can learn so much about ourselves by realizing our faults and human frailties. And it does us no good to berate ourselves for our mistakes. We need to learn what we can from our minor disasters and then learn how to move on.

First and foremost, if we have done harm to others, we must ask for forgiveness. If we are unable to do this face-to-face, we can bring our requests to God. After all, He is the master of forgiveness. Pray for forgiveness for your mistakes, and pray that God's comfort will be known to anyone you have caused to feel pain.

We should pray to God for forgiveness if our actions have taken us off the path He chose for us. We know when this is so because of the way we feel inside.  Sometimes our choices seem like a good idea at the time, but we realize later how self-serving they were and how wrong it makes us feel.

There are times when we feel anguish over our choices, like a pounding waterfall beating us relentlessly with torrents of regret and shame. These are the times to come before your Maker and confess your mistakes and pray for forgiveness and a new direction in your life.

Other times, our mistakes are smaller and not as far-reaching, though we feel the sting in our memory and wish we could right the wrong. Sometimes this can be achieved by facing our guilt straight on. Pray for direction in how to go forward. An apology can go a long way in bringing peace to your heart and to others if they feel wronged. Pray for grace, that God will help everyone involved respect and understand the humanness behind the error.

We will make mistakes. It is part of our human nature. Staying stuck in regret will not help us. We must learn what we can from the past, and move forward with new hope. Let the little things go by, as they are probably not a big as you think. And work through the big problems with an eye toward what you can do to right the wrong rather than dwelling on what you have failed to do.

Take time to understand why you made the choice you did, to help prevent making the same mistake again. Understand that we are all human, and God knows we will make poor choices at times. He wants us to live in freedom and in peace, so do what you can to makes things right, and then forgive yourself. This is usually the hardest part, but you can take this to God too. Ask for help. Pour out your heart to Him. His is listening. 

Let God’s grace shine in your life and live it as an example of how we should treat one another. And that includes loving yourself. Charity begins at home, and must extend to all the world. Let us find hope and peace through forgiveness and compassion, and allow it to spread throughout this world we share.

Finding Hope in Second Chances

I thank God for second chances

To take this life and all its messes

To slow me down, and turn me around

And make something blessed.

(from the song “Second Chances” by Colleen Reske)

Have you ever said something and then immediately wished you hadn’t?  Wished that you could just suck the air back in and the words would come along with it, and no one would ever have heard them? It would be nice if it worked that way, but of course it doesn’t. Once those words have left our mouth, they are out there for the world to hear.

But usually it isn’t the whole world who hears. It’s one person, someone you care about, and you’ve gone and done it again. Blurted out a reaction to a situation instead of thinking through your response.

And all you can do now is apologize. Yes, apologize. Don’t backtrack, don’t make excuses. Simply look this person in the eye and say, “I’m sorry”, whether it is a child or a spouse or a friend or a parent. It’s not always an easy thing to do, but it does get easier with practice. (Am I giving myself away here?)

Several things happen when you offer up an apology. First, you are clearly admitting your frailty as a human being.  Also, you give the other person an opportunity to do something even greater, and that is to offer forgiveness.

Receiving forgiveness is like getting a second chance. You can mend your fences and move on. And now you have the opportunity to work on your new way of speaking. That is, to think before you speak; or, as my mother likes to say, “Engage brain before opening mouth.” I love that one!

God is the best at giving second chances. He gives us a do-over when we mess up. When we come to him in our disgrace and our shame, we are showing Him our human frailty (with which He is quite familiar). When we ask for His forgiveness, it is immediately given. What a gift! And even greater, He forgets about it.

As humans, we can offer forgiveness, but the truth is we can never fully forget. Our God doesn’t work that way. He wipes our slate clean, and in our freedom we are ready to go forward again.

Is this to say that we should never think about our words or actions? Of course not. The humans with whom we share our lives would not be as understanding as God.  We must be accountable to ourselves, while always striving to please God.

There is hope in second chances, and we must try live the way God wants us to live. And truthfully, that simply means doing the very best we can.