Redemption Story

 


On Calvary's cross, Jesus paid the ransom for our sins and gave us freedom in Him (John 8:36). As our Refuge, He is our redemption and He replenishes, rejuvenates, re-establishes and restores us.

When our soul is in anguish and we see no way out, or when we are lost in a cave of darkness and are chilled to the bone, our God is right there with us (Hebrews 13:5).

Sometimes, our determination wanes and our body grows weary (Psalm 31:10). We may cause our self to suffer physical illness, if we do not surrender our disappointment and stress-filled life to God.

As we weary of living with the consequences of our mistakes, we stop attempting to live life for our own purposes, with our human resources and in our own power and effort (Psalm 31:14-20).

When we learn not to take even one more step in our human strength, we cast all of our cares on God and He proves His care for us by changing our life for the better (1 Peter 5:7).

Once we are surrendered to Him, even when our pillow is drenched with tears caused by physical, mental, financial and emotional suffering and disappointment, God is in control (Psalm 56:8).

We totally surrender to God, not holding back or relying on our self in any way. Then, our God of grace restores us and re-establishes our life in the center of His will (1 Peter 5:10).

We often look for fulfillment on this side of Heaven. We may succeed in certain areas, but complete fulfillment only happens for those who totally surrender to God and walk in His Spirit.

Sometimes, for His glory, God allows us to walk in continual trials until His ultimate healing in Heaven (John 9:3). Even then, we have the power of His Spirit within us to find His joy and contentment in our circumstances.

When we place our faith in God's faithfulness, His presence within us gives us His peace, wisdom and power, and He strengthens our body to accomplish those tasks, which He calls us to do (Proverbs 31:17).

Prayer:
Father God, Your Word is our truth and our hope (Psalm 119:114). Keep us safe from destructive people and accusing tongues (Psalm 31:20; Proverbs 29:25). Watch over us and shade us from the fiery darts of the enemy (Psalm 121:5). Continue to provide a refuge for the poor and needy all the days of our life (Isaiah 25:4).

When we serve You with our whole heart, mind, spirit and energy, You lift our burdens and bring us continual new life. We offer back to You the gifts, which You give to us, and we ask you to empower us to perform every ministry, which You lead us to do. Remind us to breathe out life's stresses and to breathe in Your calming presence all throughout the day.

Thought for the Day:
In this world, we are guaranteed to have problems at home, work and in society; but as we trust Christ's complete redemption, His joy is our strength, and He is our refuge and fortress forever. 
- John 16:33; Nehemiah 8:10; Psalm 18:2, 91:2

The Law of Generations

When people read the fact that the sins of the fathers are passed down to the third and fourth generation, they rail against God for what they view as His unfair practice to force someone to pay for their ancestor’s mistakes (Exodus 20:5).

In reality, this verse is telling us that our sins naturally affect people for generations to come. For instance, war is a decision made by a president, or dictator; yet, this sin affects countless generations, which reap the devastation of this heinous crime.

When a man abandons his wife, it also negatively affects his children, grandchildren and many future generations (Malachi 2:13-14). Divorce even affects parents, nieces and nephews, aunts and uncles, siblings and friends.

Murder, theft, sexual abuse, and all the sins we humans commit have far reaching affects for future generations. Sin rips the heart right out of all of these victims through no fault of their own.

The consequences of the sin we commit affect generations to come (Jeremiah 32:18). However, God also put into play similar generational affects to bless those who love and obey Him.

God blesses thousands of generations of descendants, for no other reason than as a result of our relationship with Him (Exodus 20:6; Deuteronomy 5:10, 7:9). I don’t know about you, but I want my successors to enjoy God’s blessings, not the consequences of my sins.

Prayer:

Father God, we so enjoy the blessings You bestow on us each day. Even when life throws trials and tribulation at us, as a good Father, You walk through them with us, helping us and encouraging us through the difficult times. You make Your presence even more real to us when we take the time to sit at Your feet (Luke 10:42). Remind us that You have a perfect plan for our life, and help us to obey Your Spirit’s direction through every moment of it (Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 5:16-25).

Thought for the Day:

Through all generations, the Lord shares His love and righteousness with those who fear Him. 

– Psalm 103:17

Don't Do Things the Hard Way

 

The Bible is full of stories of people who had to learn God’s ways through desperate trials and errors. I have never been a fan of suffering, so I usually obtain a multitude of counsel, starting with the Holy Spirit, before I do anything (Proverbs 15:22; John 14:24-26). We can also learn from the mistakes of others. For some people, it takes God longer to break the habit of self-reliance. For others, we quickly recognized the insufficiency of our own efforts and chose to rely on God instead. We are nothing without God. We put on the mind of Christ and follow His Spirit moment by moment throughout the day (Philippians 2:5).

Living in the fleshly, carnal way of life reaps corruption (Galatians 6:8). Living in the eternal, spiritual realm of life brings us a harvest of life and peace (Romans 8:6). We follow the leading of God’s Spirit through every issue we face during each day (Galatians 5:16,25). We do not internalize the negativity in the world around us, or those discouraging words whispered in our ear by Satan or planted in our mind by his emissaries. Instead, we think about whatever is true, holy, wholesome, divine, commendable or admirable (Philippians 4:8). Refuse to allow anything else to enter your thoughts or affect your attitude and mood.

Realize that the corruption going on at work, at home, in the community and maybe even in your church is from the pit of hell. Satan is inspiring the motives and attitudes in the hearts of those to whom you are relating. Rise above the ooze of profanity and degradation around you by keeping your mind on how good God is and that He has a purpose for you in this situation. His reason for you may be simply to earn a paycheck. It may be to live in such a way that the people around you will see God’s light shining within you. It may be to comfort a grieving workmate, family member or even a stranger with the love of God.

Obeying the Spirit is not always easy. We maintain our faith in Him even if He requires us to persist, suffer, make a commitment and give up what we hold dear in this life. He always pays us for each good thing we do, and blesses our faithfulness (Luke 12:32; Malachi 3:10). God created us in His image as a vessel, a branch, a slave, a light and the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Him we live, function and have our existence (Acts 17:28). Our purpose for living is to express God’s nature and character to the world around us.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, prior to knowing You as our Savior, our humanity held no good things. We were corrupt and evil and followed the leading of our father the devil (John 8:44-45). We thank and praise You with our whole hearts for giving Yourself as a ransom for us on Calvary’s cross. You were made sin, so that we may die to sin and live free from its curse and our bondage to it (Galatians 3:13). Now You dwell within the hearts of every Born Again Believer. Remind us that we owe You a debt we can never repay, and to realize that our life on earth is a very short time to serve You in return for what You did for us in eternity.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are without sin, and the fullness of His power to live righteously dwells within us. – Colossians 1:28

The Importance of Forgiving Yourself

"God remembers our sins no more.”
- Hebrews 8: 12

Sometimes it is easier to forgive others than it is to forgive our self. However, the same principles in God's Word concerning our responsibility to forgive others, also applies to forgiving our self. As humans, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes. You can eliminate self-rejection by reminding yourself that even in your failures God forgave you 2000 years ago. He took from you the burden of guilt for your actions and nailed it to the cross, because He already knew about and forgave you for what you have done. If God can forgive us, how can we do any less?

Sometimes, we even hold grudges against our self for our past disappointments, failures and mistakes. God holds no grudges. His steadfast love never ceases, His mercy never ends; in fact, it is new every single morning (Lamentations 3: 22-23). He casts the memory of our offenses as far away as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12). Think about that...when you travel east around the globe, there is never a point that you start traveling west. The east never meets the west. God gives us endless forgiveness (Hebrews 8: 12). If we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us every time. He will do one better than that! He will also sanctify and purify us from all unholy behavior, if we will let Him (1 John 1:9). As we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, we can let go of our anger against our self and forgive our self.

There is no way that we can truly love others if we do not first love God and then our self. Luke 10: 27 admonishes us, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’” God calls us to let go of our need to make an effort or to do penance to make up for our past offenses. Jesus already took care of the penalty for us on Calvary's cross (Acts 13:38). If you need to ask someone's forgiveness, or make amends for something you have done, now would be a good time to do that (Matthew 6:12). But even if they will not forgive you, God already forgave you, and Jesus shed His blood to guarantee your forgiveness. If God cares enough to forgive you, then you can forgive yourself too.

If you refuse to forgive yourself, then there are negative consequences ~ stress, inner turmoil, panic attacks, loss of sleep, irritability, chronic physical illnesses, anger, feeling overwhelmed and having strained relationships with others. If you do not forgive your self, you run the risk of more unresolved hurt, pain and suffering from self-destructive behaviors. You have guilt and remorse eating away at you from the inside out. Subconsciously, you may even be seeking revenge and paybacks toward yourself in a way that you are not even aware of. We have a putrefying wound that is never cured, until we accept God’s healing in this area of our life.

Unresolved, unproductive and unnecessary anger, hatred and blaming of your self are counterproductive. It is a trick of Satan to make us pessimistic and negative. It stops our growth in our spiritual walk until we come to the place of forgiving our self. These buried emotions may even make us defensive and distant with other people. We carry our feelings on our shoulders and think other people are talking about us or have an attitude toward us, when all along we are the one sinning against our self. We live in constant fear of failure, of making more mistakes or repeating old mistakes, of being rejected or of not gaining the approval of others, when all along we are the one rejecting and withholding approval from our self.

Sometimes, Satan discourages me into thinking that I am too incompetent to help anyone else. I get disheartened and I want to give up. Whenever this happens, God never fails to send me reassurance through His Word or an encouraging remark from a friend or even a stranger. His perfect plan will use all of my foibles to help someone else in their time of need. Despite all of our failings, God gives us overwhelming victory through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:37). Even if everyone else is fighting against us, including our self, they shall not prevail. God is with us to deliver us in our times of need (Jeremiah 1: 19). The Lord forgives us and we can forgive our self as well as one another (Colossians 3:13).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we are so blessed, because You forgave all of our transgressions and covered all of our sins. You never count our sin against us again. On the cross, You paid the penalty of the sins of the whole world once and for all (Romans 4:7-8). Now, we can forgive and comfort those who sin against us, including our self, so that we will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7). In You, we have redemption through Your blood. You forgive all of our sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesans 1:7). We realize that since You forgave us unconditionally, we can follow Your example and forgive others and our self unconditionally as well.

Thought for the Day:

And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone (even yourself), forgive him/her (and yourself), so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." - Mark 11:25 

 

 

 

 

 

Overwhelmed by Excessive Sorrow

Read: Ephesians 1:7-8  

“Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.” - 2 Corinthians 2:7

If you have a hard time feeling joy in your heart, the first place to check is your attitude toward yourself and others. If you are harboring unforgiveness toward yourself or someone else, there is a root of bitterness that is sucking all the life right out of your soul – your mind, will and emotions. Sometimes it is easier to forgive others than it is to forgive our self. However, the same principles in God's Word concerning our responsibility to forgive others apply to forgiving our self as well.

How do we forgive our self? First, we realize that God created us as imperfect human beings. We all have faults and make mistakes and are full of weaknesses, fears and insecurities of one type or another - even if you think that you are the exception to this fact. There is also another concept to consider. We need to ask forgiveness from our self and those we harmed in either word or deed, even if our transgression was not intentional?

The second idea to accept is Christ's sacrifice on the cross for YOUR sins. Let go of the anger you feel toward yourself and others (1 John 1:9). God forgives our wickedness and remembers our sins no more (Colossians 3: 13). He actually casts our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). This is endless forgiveness. He remembers it NO MORE (Matthew 6: 12)! We rarely forget as God does, but we can follow God’s example to forgive.

Your past failures, errors and mistakes are just that…an oversight. Even if you did something intentionally, it is still forgivable. If you are serving a sentence in prison for your action, God still forgives you. So, forgive your self. There is no sin heinous enough that God will not forgive it. If He forgives, who are you to hold a grudge toward your self or someone else?

There is no way we can truly love others if we do not first love God and then our self (Luke 10: 27). Forgive and comfort others (and yourself), so that the offender will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow (2 Corinthians 2:7). When we have a festering wound in our soul, which we keep from the revitalizing power of God's healing, we suffer in so many ways. Stress, panic attacks, loss of sleep, inner chaos, grouchiness and strained relationships with others can all be signs of unforgiveness within us. We also run the risk of self-destructive behaviors. We can seek revenge toward our self in subtle ways that we do not even realize.

If you catch yourself getting angry with yourself or feeling self-hatred or blaming yourself, even if you call yourself names at times, this is a signal of unforgiveness. Cynical and distant conduct with others, pessimism, general negativity and a lack of spiritual growth can be indicators too. The overwhelming fear of failure, of making new mistakes, of rejection, of the lack of approval from others and of being hurt again will contribute to our hesitation to forgive.

Acts 13:38 states, “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone (even yourself), forgive him (yourself), so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." We are so blessed that our transgressions are forgiven and our sins are covered. The Lord will never count our sin against us, once it is repented of and forgiven (2 Corinthians 2: 7-8).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, help us to replace self-rejection by remembering that even in our failures You already forgave us 2000 years ago. You took from us the burden of guilt for our actions and nailed it to the cross. You already knew about and forgave us for what we have done. Help us to let go of our need to make up for our transgressions. Help us to stop punishing our self and to forgive as You readily forgive us.

Thought for the Day:

Jesus already paid the price for your mistakes and your vile actions…all of them.

How to Feel God's Love

(P.S. If you did not read the prior blog with the dandelion photo, read that one first. Then this one will make even more sense.)

What if You Do Not Feel the Love of God?

Every human being can find fulfillment in the love of God. We do not need to depend on other people for our validation. What if you do not feel the love of God; how can you feel it? There is no path to follow, or certain steps to take to earn God’s love. His love is a free gift.

One way to feel God’s love for you is to feel love for God. God longs for us to love Him in complete surrender, without any limits or hesitation. Surrender means to give up, to relinquish, to yield and to capitulate. There is no self-effort involved in surrendering. Surrender is actually the opposite of control. It means to sit back, throw up your hands and give up all of your control to God.

So, how do we connect with God? It is quite simple, really. Begin each day by sitting at His feet, loving Him and learning from Him. Still the chaos in your body and soul - your thoughts and emotions. Take your focus off of the demands of your day and talk to God about your cares and concerns, listen to Him as He instructs you with His wisdom, read His Word and meditate on what you read, praise Him for His work in your life and wait on Him.

The Gospels tell us two commandments that are considered the greatest of them all. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind”; and then, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27, Mark 12:30 and Matthew 22:37). Jesus tells us how to love the Lord completely and unreservedly; then He gives us two commands in one phrase: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Love is more than a feeling. It is also an action. Once we love God, we turn this same spiritual love towards our self and everyone He brings into our lives. Jesus points out in this phrase that there is no way we can love other people if we do not first love our “self”. I am not referring to self-centered, selfish love, but to regarding our “self” as having worth and value in Christ, because God and Christ first loved us.

God’s unconditional love is constant and it makes room for mistakes. Once we see our self as God sees us, then we can love our self as He loves us. Only then can we love others in the same way. God did not spare Himself for us and He longs for the same total commitment from us toward Him.

God desires for us to eagerly and unreservedly throw ourselves into His waiting arms, to give up control of our lives and to completely surrender our life to His will for us. In return, we enter into a union with the supreme ruler of the universe who takes up residence within us. God gave us His all, and He wants all of us. The smallest hesitation on our part wounds Him deeply.

One of the biggest hindrances to our love for the Lord and to us feeling His love for us is the “idols” in our life, which we cling to so desperately. Initially, you may not even recognize them; however, as you sit quietly before the Lord in prayer, He will make you aware of them.

An idol is anything that comes between you and your worship of God. They come by many different names: success, independence, materialism, a particular person and busyness name just a few. A friend pointed out to me that self-reliance is one of the largest idols in many lives. Once we relinquish each of them to God, we experience complete surrender.

As you leave this sacred place of daily quiet time with God and enter into the routine of your busy life, continue communing with God throughout your day and night. God never, ever leaves us (Hebrews 13:5). He never slumbers nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4). His grace enables us to successfully meet all of life’s demands as we accomplish them in Jesus’ name (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, as we come to truly know You, we find a warm, committed relationship growing between us that is built on faith and trust. You prove to us all day long that You love us. Help us to do the same for You. Thank You for giving Your life on the cross as a ransom to pay the debts we owe. Help us to walk worthy of Your love as we live in Your Spirit.

Thought for the Day:

God spends every second of His time showering us with abundant love. We just have to take time to notice it. It is not enough just to know that God loves you. It is a gift to be felt continually, moment-by-moment as we walk in His presence and act on that love throughout the day.

Falsely Accused

Read: Matt 26:59-60a

“For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them.” - Acts 25:11 (NKJV)

There is nothing that upsets me more than a false accusation. I make so many mistakes, for which others can justly accuse me that I hate to receive false accusations as well. One day, during my devotion time, God reminded me that the Jews falsely accused Paul and Jesus also. Therefore, I am in good company.

Biblical characters used a soft answer to turn away wrath (Prov 15:1). So from their example, I endeavor to learn that humility is always the best way to diffuse a tense situation. Now, when someone falsely accuses me, I remember that as long as God knows the truth, the false opinion of others makes no difference in my life. I do not need to use one breath in my defense, because God is my judge (Romans 14:4) and Jesus is my advocate (1 John 2:1).

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for giving us Your Word to teach us to see both sides of the coin. Help us to make wise judgments and never to accuse anyone falsely.

Thought for the Day:

The mouth of the righteous man speaks only wisdom and justice and never makes a false accusation.