Tag Archives: Forgiveness

Why Should We Be Nice?

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Why should we forgive?

Why should we be graceful?

Why should we be nice?

After all, there are some mean folks out there. There are some folks that don’t deserve our love and forgiveness. There are some folks out there that we shouldn’t have to be nice to.

Why should we be nice?

Today, in Luke 7, I feel like we get an answer to that:

47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little.’

To whom much has been forgiven, that person should show great love.

We don’t love because other people deserve to be loved. We don’t forgive because other people deserve to be forgiven.  We aren’t nice because people deserve that we should be nice.

We do these things because we have been forgiven.

We forgive because we have been forgiven. We love because we have been forgiven. We are nice, because we have been forgiven.

When we understand just have much we have been forgiven, we can’t help but love others. We can’t help but forgive others. We can’t help but show grace.

Even if they don’t deserve it. Because we don’t deserve God’s love, mercy, and forgiveness.

We haven’t earned it. We aren’t always nice people. And God gives it anyway.

So we should give to others.

To those who have been forgiven much, much love has been shown.

Why should we be nice?

Because God has shown us amazing love. And we should show that love to all that we meet.

Whether they “deserve” it or not. Because we have never “deserved” anything God has given us.

He freely gives. So should we.

Constant Forgiveness

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Today I was reading through one of my favorite Psalms.  And, I love the Psalms. They just speak to what is on our heart so many times. They are so honest, so full of emotion. Just like us, at times they are over joyed with God’s goodness. At times they are heartbroken over our sin.  They speak so many things we feel.

I was reading Psalm 25 when some verses jumped out at me:

7 Gracious and upright is the LORD; *
therefore he teaches sinners in his way.
8 He guides the humble in doing right *
and teaches his way to the lowly.
9 All the paths of the LORD are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
10 For your Name’s sake, O LORD, *
forgive my sin, for it is great.
11 Who are they who fear the LORD? *
he will teach them the way that they should choose.

There is this notion, that I’ve never really picked up until I read it this morning. The Psalmist says that God is with the humble and the righteous, that He leads and guides them.

So, you’d think the Psalmist was one of the humble and righteous that God guided, right?

Notice what the Psalmist says right after through – Forgive me of my sin, for it is great.

Then it hit me. Perhaps what it means to be righteous isn’t to be perfect.  If that were so, who could be righteous at all.  None of. Perhaps what it means to be righteous is understand our constant need for forgiveness.

Part of being rightoues is to understand we are sinful and we can’t statnd without God. That we can’t do it ourselves. That we need God. That our own strength and will is not enough to “make” us good. We need the power of God, the grace of God, the might of God.  We need His strength.

And, we need His forgiveness. Today. Everyday.

Part of being strong is to realize we are weak and frail and can’t do it.  And  when we think we are strong, we are headed for a fall.  When we think we’ve got it figured out, we make a fool of ourselves.

When we think we are righteous we fall into sin. When we realize we are weak and in need of God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness, we find His life. We find His power.  We find a new day, a new start and a new forgiveness.

I think part of what it means to be righteous is live under God’s constant forgiveness. And under His constant forgiveness, we find life we can’t find anywhere else!

Nothing

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If you’re like me, sometimes you enter into your time of prayer weary.  I come before God with the list of all the things I’ve done wrong. . . . .

All the ways I’ve not loved Him with my whole heart. . . . .

All the ways I’ve not obeyed. . . . . .

The the ways that I have done wrong. . . . .

It’s easy to just enter into prayer heavy.  Thinking to God, there’s so much more I ought to be doing. There are so many things that I shouldn’t be doing.  Oh God, I’m not who I ought to be.

I think that’s the thing that stops so many folks from praying.  Just that knowledge, that shame, that, whatever it is.

So today, I read these words from Paul in Romans 8. And, wow.  Just listen to what Paul says.

Really listen:

37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Did you hear that?  Nothing, nothing, nothing in all of creation can separate you from God’s love today.

Nothing.

Nothing you’ve done. Nothing you’re doing. Nothing you’re going to do.

Even if you’re as good as you’d like to be.

Even if you’re not as faithful as you’d like to be.

Even if you’re not doing everything exactly as you ought to be doing it.

Nothing can separate you from God’s love.

Wow. That’s awesome.

Today, don’t live like an abused servant.  Live like a loved child. That’s what you are.  You are a loved child of God.  Nothing can separate you from God’s love today!

Live with joy, with peace, with freedom.  You are loved!

Let go of your burden.  Live light!  Live in the light of God’s love and forgiveness.

Nothing can separate you from that love today.  Wow.  Live in that knowledge.

There is Hope

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Today as I was reading and praying, I read these words from Matthew:

40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so for three days and three nights the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth. 41 The people of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the proclamation of Jonah, and see, something greater than Jonah is here! 42 The queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to listen to the wisdom of Solomon, and see, something greater than Solomon is here!

Jesus is speaking to the religious leaders and telling them that they must repent. They are asking Him for a sign earlier in the passage, but He says none will be given, for they have among the greatest sign – Himself.

And He gives reference to those in the Old Testament that have repented and received new life.  He says that those that turn receive new life, but they must be willing to turn and live.

There is no one beyond God’s grace. I believe that with every fiber of my being.  There is no one that can’t start again, today.  There is no one that can’t know God’s forgiveness.  No one is beyond the pale, if they are willing to turn back.

I’ve seen recently in some ways and in some lives the power of sin to destroy what is good.  Sin is a destructive force that seeks to take away all that is good.

And one of the things that sin takes away is hope. The hope that it can be different.  The hope that it can change.  The hope that life can begin again. The hope that today is a new day.

Sin beats us down.  It breaks us apart.  It robs us.

It wants us to think that change can’t happen. That there is no hope for things getting better.

That is not. Where there is repentance, there is forgiveness. Where there is grace, there is new life.

Where there is God, there is hope.

Today, no matter what sin and the devil whisper in your ear, there is hope.

This is a new day. Things can change.  You can be different.

God and goodness will win.  Sin will not.

Today, there is hope.  You can change.  You can life.

Through God’s grace. Today, there is hope.

Get Back Up!

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One of my mentors said something in class once which has always stuck with me – Bible Characters weren’t always Bible Characters.  They were real folks, like me and you. And, somehow along the way, we’ve forgotten that. What do I mean by that?

Each of them, they each made terrible, terrible mistakes. They were human as we are. That means they were not perfect. They did dumb things, just like we do dumb things. They fell down, as well fall down. They were imperfect, and God loved them anyway. Just like He loves us.

Paul reminds us today in 1 Timothy:

12 I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, 13 even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, 14 and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the foremost. 16 But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.

Paul, this great man of faith, this man that started church after church, this man, led by the Holy Spirit, this man that wrote over half of the New Testament, says that he was unworthy of doing what God had called him to do.

He had fallen down, he had made mistakes.  He had done things he should haven’t done.

But, while he was unworthy, God had judged him worthy.   He didn’t deserve the grace God gave him.  No one does. That’s why it’s called grace.  It’s undeserved, it’s freely given.  No matter what we’ve done, we are loved. And forgiven.  And treasured by God.  No matter what.

You are loved.

Yes, your past is your past.  Yes, you (and I) have fallen down.  So, what do do we?  We get back up!  We fall down, we get up. We fall down, we get up!  Because God’s grace is bigger than any mistake we could make. God’s grace is bigger.

Remember, you are loved today.  God used someone even like Paul.  He can use us too. When we fall down, by His grace, may we get back up!

Mercy

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As I was reading a portion of Psalm 78 this morning, the last passage really spoke to me:

38 But he was so merciful that he forgave their sins
and did not destroy them; *
many times he held back his anger
and did not permit his wrath to be roused.
39 For he remembered that they were but flesh, *
a breath that goes forth and does not return.

This Psalm recounts how the people of Israel turned from God again and again and again.

It tells of how God brought punishment to them over and over for their sin.  And how, after a time of repentance, He forgave.

But, they would fall down again and again and again.

And each time, He would forgive.

This last passage tell us why. He remembers they, and we, are just flesh.  God knows our strengths.  And He knows our weaknesses.

Do we think He is surprised by our faults and frailty?  Do we think He is stunned when we fall?  Do we think that God didn’t see out mistakes coming?

He created us.  He knows us better than we ever know ourselves.  He knows all there is to know about us.  He knows our mistakes before we even make them.  He knows we are sinful and weak and frail.

And He loves anyway.  He loves you.  He loves me.  He loves in spite our mistakes.  He loves us in spite of what we’ve done wrong.  No matter what it is. God loves us.

No.  Matter.  What.

He doesn’t love us for our strength or despise us for our weakness.  He loves us.

He is a God of Mercy.  May we rejoice because of that. And may we understand today just how much we are loved.

Humility and Leadership

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It seems like the readings each day from 1 Peter are really speaking to me. Today, as a I was reading, 1 Peter 5 spoke to me:

1 Now as an elder myself and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as one who shares in the glory to be revealed, I exhort the elders among you 2 to tend the flock of God that is in your charge, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion but willingly, as God would have you do it -not for sordid gain but eagerly. 3 Do not lord it over those in your charge, but be examples to the flock. 4 And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away. 5 In the same way, you who are younger must accept the authority of the elders. And all of you must clothe yourselves with humility in your dealings with one another, for
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”
6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time.

As I was reading through this, what spoke to me was this notion of humility. That is a virtue that our culture doesn’t really care for. And, honestly, its a culture that we as Christians don’t always care for.

And I’ll be even more honest its a virtue that is easy to forget.  I do a lot of reading in Church Leadership. I’ve been through a lot of teaching in Church Leadership. And I’ve very thankful for it, because I think it’s made me a better leader.

And the think that being a leader (either in church, in work, in your family, in the school, wherever) can whisper to you is this – “It’s all up to you!”

We can buy into the myth of our own self importance.  We forget to humble ourselves.

With all that I’d been taught, I’d forgotten that.  I’m not really all that important.  I’m really not.  The fate of the free world is not upon my shoulders. The future of the church is not dependent upon me. Sometimes, I forget.  I forget those things.  I think it all depends upon me.

We need to remember who we are.  We are not as strong or as important as we think we are.  We are not.  None of us.

Now, that sounds depressing, doesn’t it?  That sounds like we are not much.  Quite the contrarey. Since we aren’t much, there’s a freedom there that comes from just depending and trusting in God.  A freedom that says, I’m not much God, but I’m yours.  I’m not much, God, but I am who you want me to be.  I’m not much, but I’m your child.

And, if we are child of the King, what more could we want to be?

It isn’t until we submit the King, though, that we remember that we are His.

Today, remember, God is bigger that you. And it’s not all up to you.  Humble yourself. Trust.  Depend.  Listen.  Pray.

God is bigger.  May we humble ourselves before Him.

Why am I so Stupid?

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Today I was praying and thinking about the inability to stop doing stupid things.  You know how it is, you know what I mean. We, as humans, don’t learn our lessons well sometimes. We keep making the same mistakes over and over and over again. We keep falling in the same holes, we keep getting tripped up by the same things.

As I asked God this morning when I was praying, “God why am I so stupid?”  That’s how I feel sometimes.  I think we each feel that way sometimes too.

Then, I was reading the assigned Psalm for today’s morning office, Psalm 103.  Here’s the part that most spoke to me:

1 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and all that is within me, bless his holy Name.
2 Bless the LORD, O my soul, *
and forget not all his benefits.
3 He forgives all your sins *
and heals all your infirmities;
4 He redeems your life from the grave *
and crowns you with mercy and loving-kindness;
5 He satisfies you with good things, *
and your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 The LORD executes righteousness *
and judgment for all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moses *
and his works to the children of Israel.
8 The LORD is full of compassion and mercy, *
slow to anger and of great kindness.
9 He will not always accuse us, *
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, *
nor rewarded us according to our wickedness.
11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, *
so is his mercy great upon those who fear him.
12 As far as the east is from the west, *
so far has he removed our sins from us.
13 As a father cares for his children, *
so does the LORD care for those who fear him.
14 For he himself knows whereof we are made; *
he remembers that we are but dust.
15 Our days are like the grass; *
we flourish like a flower of the field;
16 When the wind goes over it, it is gone, *
and its place shall know it no more.
17 But the merciful goodness of the LORD endures for ever on those who fear him, *and his righteousness on children’s children;

There seems to be two refrains. We are weak and frail.  Our lives are but a whisper. We are the grass of the field. We are temporary. We will not be here for long. We are weak.  We are clumsy.  We fall down.

God is eternal.  God is love. God longs to show mercy to His children.  Why we are here for just a moment, God was here before we got here and will be here after we leave.  He is before and after us.  He is God.

And, He knows we are frail and weak.  He knows we are clumsy.  He knows we fall.  He knows we get tripped up.  He knows we are from the dust.

And He loves us anyway.  He loves us in spite of our weakness.  He loves us.

His love is greater than our mistakes. His strength is stronger than our weakness.  His mercy is deeper than our sins.  No matter what we’ve done.  He loves us.  He loves you today, no matter if you’ve done the same dumb thing yesterday that you’ve done for years.

He might not like what you’ve done.  He might not delight in your sin.

But He loves you.  He delights in you.  You are loved, no matter what.

I don’t know about you, but I needed to hear this Psalm today. It’s a good thing to know that I’m loved, no matter what.  So are you today.  You are love, in spite of it all.

Live in that knowledge.