Thursday; July 11

Do we really believe in forgiveness?  The reason I ask this question is because we often pay lip-service to a faith in forgiveness, but have we accepted the fact that God can, will and even wants to forgive us?  Sure, we cognitively assent to a belief that God paid the ultimate price to forgive us through the death of His Son, but are convinced that His forgiveness covers us ... and covers ALL we have done?  Guilt can be a powerful tool of satan to keep us confused about our status before God.  God has promised to forgive us, but satan keeps waving doubt in front of us.  He doesn’t have to convince us that God can’t or won’t forgive us to make us susceptible to his temptation to give up hope – all he has to do is plant a seed of doubt and that might be enough to make us miserable.  When we buy into the devil’s ploy we might doubt God’s commitment to us which can lead us to abandon hope.
Conversely, God has made it a point to let us know that forgiveness is available to those who want it.  In fact, Scripture teaches us that God is so willing to forgive us that our forgiven sin is eradicated from our lives.  David put it this way, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm  103:12).  History teaches us that David knew all about sin, but the Bible reminds us that he also accepted God’s grace – and that may have been a part of why David was considered to be a man after God’s own heart.
Are we willing to accept God’s forgiveness?  God is willing to bless us if we are ready to trust Him.
          Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more