Category Archives: Forgiveness

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March 25, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Forgiveness, Holidays & Holy Days, Peace of God, Salvation: A New You

HE WAS BETRAYED

On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.” [Mark 14:27-28 (NLT)]

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In the days leading up to his crucifixion, the people who claimed to love Jesus the most failed him in many ways. We know about Judas—the disciple trusted enough to carry the money bag who betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. That last night, the deceitful man had the audacity to have his feet washed by the Lord and to drink from His cup! But what of the other disciples? During that same meal, Peter vowed he’d never deny Jesus, even if it meant his death and the rest of the disciples echoed his pledge. Yet, within a matter of hours, those brave disciples would desert Jesus and Peter would deny Him three times. Even though Jesus asked Peter, James, and John to pray and keep watch with him in the Garden of Gethsemane, they fell asleep, not once but twice!

Where were the disciples when the mob shouted for Barabbas to be freed? For that matter, where were all of those people who had been healed or fed by Jesus? Just a few days earlier, a crowd had shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” Where were they? Why were they silent? Instead of calling for Jesus’ freedom, the mob called, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”

The disciples weren’t even there to carry the cross for Jesus; that task fell to Simon, a stranger from Cyrene. Only John, Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and some other women followers were at the foot of the cross when Jesus was crucified. Disillusioned and fearful for their lives, the other disciples were absent in His dying hours.

Rather than a disciple, it was a dying criminal who attested Jesus’ innocence, showed his faith, and asked the Lord, “Remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” When Jesus took His last breath and died, it was a Roman soldier and not a disciple who declared, “This man truly was the son of God!” The eleven remaining disciples didn’t even help bury their beloved rabbi. That responsibility was taken by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, members of the Jewish high council and secret followers of Jesus.

The disciples, confused and frightened, failed Jesus both as disciples and as friends. Nevertheless, despite the way they failed Him, Jesus didn’t fail them. Instead, after His resurrection, Jesus greeted them with words of peace and forgiveness. He then opened their minds to understand the Scriptures and charged these men—the same men who once failed Him—with the task of spreading the good news of His resurrection. Jesus knew it is better to be a believer who sometimes fails than not to believe at all.

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. [George Mueller]

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matthew 28-18-20 (NLT)]

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March 14, 2024

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Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Joy, Salvation: A New You, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

SHED THE SHROUD

Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!” [John 11:43-44 (NLT)]

roseUnlike Lazarus, we haven’t had a four-day encounter with death. Our family didn’t wash us with warm water, anoint us with myrrh and aloe, wrap us in a shroud with herbs and spices, lay us in a tomb, and mourn our passing. Most of us haven’t even endured a months-long coma, flatlined, or been brought back to life with an AED. How does such an experience affect someone? Without a doubt, the man who emerged from the tomb differed from the man who died four days earlier. Did Lazarus return to life with the 1st century equivalent of a “bucket list” of things to accomplish, places to go, things to do, and adventures to have?

When Jesus called Lazarus out of the tomb, the once dead man emerged from the tomb with his face wrapped in a head cloth and his body bound in burial garments. Jesus told the people to unbind him and free him from the trappings of the grave. Something tells me that, after four days in a tomb, Lazarus left behind more than some linen cloth soiled with the detritus of the tomb and death. While we don’t know what he experienced during those four days, He must have returned to life with a new perspective. As he walked into the sunlight he never expected seeing again and inhaled the air he never anticipated breathing again, can you imagine how much he appreciated his new lease on life? Given a second chance, Lazarus probably wasn’t about to bring any regrets, resentment, anger, or guilt with him. Raised from the dead, he probably shed much of his past along with that shroud as he stepped from the tomb’s gloom.

Unlike Lazarus, we haven’t physically died. Nevertheless, we were spiritually dead until we responded to Christ’s call. Now, born again into a new spiritual life, our grave clothes are no longer necessary. Lazarus shed his; have we? Even through we’re reborn in Christ, we tend to carry the detritus and debris of our yesterdays into our new life. After putting on the new clothes of salvation and righteousness, rather than leave our graveclothes behind, we drag along the shroud of the past—a shroud stained with betrayals, anger, disappointment, loss, or hurt and embellished with things like remorse and disgrace. Even when we think we’ve donned the fresh clothes of a new life in Christ, we often tuck a pang of guilt or shame into a pocket. We have trouble believing that we’re forgiven, but we are; that change is possible, but it is; that we have a relationship with the Creator of the Universe, but we do; or that He could possibly love us, but He does! Lazarus shed his shroud; so should we.

As for bucket lists—they seem more a way of denying death than living life to the fullest. I don’t think Lazarus emerged from his tomb with a to-do list of things to accomplish before his next trip to that tomb. I suspect he emerged with a new appreciation for the everyday things of life—his family, the sound of laughter, the embrace of a friend, a sip of cool water, morning dew glistening in the sunlight, sunsets and sunrises, the chirp of a sparrow, worship at the Temple, the taste of a rip fig, a beautiful rose, a buzzing bee, the aroma of fresh baked bread, the earthy smell of rain, and a relationship with Jesus. Death taught Lazarus that he didn’t need more; he just needed to fully appreciate what he already had—Jesus and life!

Lazarus heeded Jesus’ call. When he stepped into the light from that dark tomb, he shed his shroud and embraced his new lease on physical life. When we responded to Jesus’s call, we were given a new spiritual life. Let us leave the despair, doubt, shame, sorrow, and sin behind as we clothe ourselves with the joy of life in Jesus Christ.

And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. [Galatians 3:27 (NLT)]

You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy. [Psalm 30:11 (NLT)]

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January 11, 2024

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Obedience, Salvation: A New You, Temptation & Sin

FORGIVENESS  (Matthew 18:23-35 — Part 2)

Then his master summoned him and said to him, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. [Matthew 18:32-35 (ESV)]

great blue heronAt first, it seems that the “Parable of the Unforgiving Servant” should be called the “Parable of the Forgiven Servant.” After all, the king forgave his servant’s debt of 10,000 talents—the equivalent of billions of dollars. While the first part of the parable illustrates the value and extravagance of God’s forgiveness, it takes a dark turn in the second part when illustrating the reciprocal nature of His forgiveness—something the servant learned the hard way!

After leaving the king, the forgiven servant went to a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii and demanded payment. Representing 100 days’ wages, this was a sizeable sum. Nevertheless, unlike the first servant’s massive debt to the king, it feasibly could be repaid in time. Just as his creditor had done with the king, this servant begged for patience and promised repayment. That the debtor was a fellow servant and an equal didn’t matter to his creditor. Moreover, the money he’d loaned hadn’t even been his—it had been money taken from the king! Unlike the king, however, this unforgiving servant had no mercy and put his debtor in prison until the debt was fully paid!

Wickedly, the unforgiving servant wrongly demanded more from his fellow worker than the king had asked of him. By throwing his debtor into jail, he acted as if he were more worthy of justice and repayment than was the king. Distressed at the man’s hard-heartedness, the other servants reported his behavior to the king. Enraged that his servant had not appreciated the gift of mercy he’d received by forgiving another servant in the way he’d been forgiven, the king sent the unforgiving man to prison to be tortured until his debt was paid.

Before trying too hard to read extra meaning into this parable, let’s put it in context. Peter had just asked Jesus how often he should forgive someone who sinned against him. While Jewish tradition valued forgiveness, the rabbis held that someone would be forgiven for the same transgression only three times. So, when Peter suggested forgiving seven times, the disciple probably thought he was being generous. When Jesus replied that he was to forgive seventy times seven, He wasn’t suggesting keeping count to 490 before quitting. His point was not to keep count at all! After all, if God stopped forgiving us at the 491st time we disrespected our parents, gossiped, lost patience with our children, lied, cursed, or failed to honor His name, we’d be goners! God is holding us to His standard and it was to illustrate the reciprocal nature of forgiveness that Jesus told this story.

If we take a good look at the king’s servant, we see that he never fully understood or appreciated the king’s mercy. When he promised the king that, with patience, he would repay the debt, he was delusional. The debt represented over 164 years of labor without a break! Although repayment was an impossibility, the servant never admitted his inability to pay such an enormous sum. His refusal to release a fellow servant’s debt shows that he neither understood nor appreciated his own forgiveness. The unforgiving man’s punishment makes it clear such unforgiveness is not what our King wants from His servants! He calls us to forgive with a heart of gratitude for the forgiveness that has been given to us. A person who sees the enormity of their own sins and appreciates the largess and forgiveness of his Savior will, in turn, be magnanimous and generous in bestowing forgiveness upon others.

The second servant’s debt was one six-hundred-thousandth of the amount owed by the unforgiving servant. Just as his debt to his co-worker pales in comparison to the unforgiving servant’s debt to the king, whatever wrongs (real or imagined) we have suffered from our fellow servants pale in comparison to the countless ways we sin against our King every day of our lives! Jesus taught the disciples to pray, “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,”  and this parable tells us we are to forgive our debtors as our King has forgiven us!

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. [Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV)]

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January 8, 2024

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Bible Stories, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love

THE DEBT  (Matthew 18:23-35 — Part 1)

Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. [Matthew 18:23-24 (ESV)]

Jesus told several parables about the Kingdom of Heaven and, in Matthew 18, He compared it to a king who wanted to bring his accounts up to date with the servants who owed him money. The parable is pretty straight-forward; the king symbolizes God, the servant each one of us, and the debt our sins. One servant owed the king ten thousand talents but was unable to pay. There were serious consequences for not paying debts so the king ordered that the servant’s home and possessions be sold off and that the man and his family be sold into slavery until the debt was paid.

Jesus often used hyperbole to make his point but, unfamiliar with the talent or tálanton, 21st century readers may miss it, even when the debt is translated as several or even ten million dollars. Weighing about 75 pounds, the talent had the value of 6,000 drachmas or denarii, the Greek and Roman coins used in 1st century Judah. Generally speaking, one denarius was a laborer’s wage for a day. According to Forbes and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average hourly wage is about $28 and, figuring an eight-hour day, a denarius would be worth about $224 today. Since 6,000 denarii equaled one talent, a talent would be worth about $1,344,000 (6,000 days of work) in 2024. The servant, however, owed 10,000 talents and  his debt would require 60 million days of work. In today’s dollars, that is more than $13.44 billion. To put his 10,000-talent debt into 1st century perspective, the yearly tax revenue collected by Herod the Great was only about 800 talents!

Moreover, because “ten-thousand” was the largest number used in Jesus’ day, it also meant “beyond measure.” The servant’s debt was so enormous that it was incalculable. Although he promised to make payment, Jesus’ listeners knew the promise was absurd—repayment of such an astronomical amount was impossible!

Jesus deliberately chose such an outrageous number because there is absolutely no way any of us could ever work hard enough or give the Lord enough to repay Him for his never-ending mercies. This illustration makes it clear that, “The wages of sin is death,” because the enormous debt of sin never can be re-paid! Fortunately, the parable doesn’t stop there.

Asking for patience, the man begged for mercy and the king, filled with compassion, released his servant and forgave the debt entirely. The servant did nothing to deserve forgiveness; in fact, he may have incurred that debt through his mismanagement or embezzlement of the king’s funds. Nevertheless, as undeserved as it was, the debt was forgiven because of the king’s grace and mercy. While the wages of sin is death, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” [Romans 6:23]

When the king forgave the debt, however, the debt wasn’t paid; justice had not been served. The king remained 10,000 talents the poorer for it! When God canceled the payment due for our sins, however, justice was served because someone else paid our debt—Jesus! We are no more deserving of God’s forgiveness than was the king’s servant but, out of God’s merciful grace, our sin debt was paid in full by God’s only Son!

When the parable continues, it takes a dark turn but, for now, consider the first part of the story and the size of the servant’s debt—a debt so massive that it was incalculable—but was forgiven. Those, my friend, are our sins—countless sins forgiven by the grace of God!  Thank you, Jesus!

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. [Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)]

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. [Colossians 2:13-14 (ESV)]

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October 19, 2023

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Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Obedience, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Temptation & Sin

MAKING EXCUSES

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. [1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)]

canna - bandana of the evergladesWhen the woman joined our group at the table in the school gym, she said, “I got a late start so I was speeding to get here. If a cop stopped me, I was going to tell him I was doing the Lord’s work and, since God will forgive me, he should too.” She insisted that speeding for a godly purpose was a justifiable offense and, since God offers forgiveness, so should the police. Granted, we were doing God’s work by packing meals for the needy but, as the Blues brothers learned when they saved the orphanage, a mission from God is not a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.

Short of rushing someone to the hospital in a life-or-death situation, I’m not sure there is a valid excuse for speeding. While the bags we filled with rice, beans, and seasoning could be considered life-saving, some fifty of us packed food for over three hours so her tardiness had negligible impact on our work. If the woman’s speeding had caused an accident or injury, would she still consider her “mission from God” a valid excuse?

Having pointed my finger at this woman, two were pointed at me and I plead “guilty” as charged. None of us like consequences and so, like her, we all make excuses. In fact, a 2020 poll found that the average American makes six excuses a day! If not to traffic cops, we make them to our teachers, bosses, classmates, co-workers, neighbors, parents, children, spouse, and even to ourselves! We claim we ran out of time, forgot, were too tired, or having a bad day. Instead of blaming the dog for eating our homework, we blame the heavy traffic, the computer that crashed, or the bad weather.

Worse, even though I’ve never had to excuse my driving to the police, I’ve offered a variety of excuses to God for greater offenses! I don’t think I’m alone on this. Rather than a contrite confession, we probably offer a litany of excuses justifying our various transgressions. Like the child who cries, “He started it!” we hold others accountable, claim inexperience or naivete, defend our motives, or blame extenuating circumstances. If a rose by any other name is a rose, I suspect a sin is a sin regardless of how skillfully we try to justify or defend it!

God doesn’t need to be told what we’ve done—He already knows that. He doesn’t want excuses because there is no excuse for sin. He wants us to repent of our sins and turn to Him! The Greek word translated as repent is metanoeó  which is more than regretting one’s sin. Its literal meaning is to think differently afterwards. Eerdmans Bible Dictionary defines repentance as “a complete change of orientation involving a judgment upon the past and a deliberate redirection for the future.”

That change of direction can’t happen if we rationalize our sins by blaming others or validate them with excuses. Until we honestly recognize and admit our sins, we’re not likely to repent of them. We can’t turn away from what we’re unwilling to acknowledge doing! Unacknowledged is unrepented!

Although being on a “mission from God” is not an excuse for sin or law-breaking, part of the woman’s theology is correct—God will forgive her! She was, however, totally wrong about why. God doesn’t forgive us because of our good works or great excuses. It is only by God’s grace and our faith in Jesus that we are forgiven. It is when we truthfully look at our sins, contemplate how pitiful and unworthy we are, and offer our failures in their naked ugliness without excuse that we can understand how loving, compassionate, generous, and forgiving our God really is. It is only then that we truly appreciate the gift of God’s forgiveness Jesus gave us on the cross.

True repentance is no light matter. It is a thorough change of heart about sin, a change showing itself in godly sorrow and humiliation – in heartfelt confession before the throne of grace – in a complete breaking off from sinful habits, and an abiding hatred of all sin. Such repentance is the inseparable companion of saving faith in Christ. [J.C. Ryle]

I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent. [Luke 5:32 (NLT)]

Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. [Matthew 3:8 (NLT)]

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August 7, 2023

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Attitudes & Behavior, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Obedience, Temptation & Sin

MEASURING OTHERS

Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. [Matthew 7:1-2 (ESV]

yellow-crowned-night-heronIn a classic Peanuts comic (drawn by Charles Schulz), the meek Linus asked his bossy big sister Lucy, “Why are you always so anxious to criticize me?” She answered, “I just think I have a knack for seeing other peoples’ faults.” When Linus queried, “What about your own faults?” Lucy replied, “I have a knack for overlooking them.” Along with her over-sized ego, Lucy has what psychologists call “fundamental attribution error.”

Fundamental attribution error is the tendency people have of attributing other people’s actions to their character flaws while ignoring any impact the situation might have on their behavior. Rather than considering how circumstances can affect a person’s actions, we tend to think people do bad, rude, thoughtless, or foolish things simply because they’re bad, rude, thoughtless, or foolish people. On the other hand, although we attribute other people’s faulty behavior to shortcomings in their character, we typically attribute our failings to the challenges of our situation.

It’s not just Lucy who makes this error! When someone cuts us off, forgets something, or has a fit of pique, they’re a jerk, inconsiderate, or unpleasant but, when we do the same things, we excuse or defend our behavior because we were rushed, over-committed, or under stress! Flawed beings that we are, even the best of us manage to screw up now and then—let’s show some grace when others do! “Stop having a measuring rod for other people,” said Oswald Chambers before adding, “There is always one fact more in every man’s case about which we know nothing.”

When Jesus referred to measuring people, He was borrowing from a Jewish proverb usually applied to the markets: “It is measured to one according to the measure by which one measures.” In Jesus’ day, a  Roman inspector of measurement and weights (an agoranomos)  would be stationed in the marketplace. His measuring table and scale weights were used to calibrate vessels and balances to a standard measure. Rather than an agoranomos keeping watch on the fairness of our weights and measures, we have God. If we measure ourselves in yards, we can’t measure others in fractions of an inch and, if we round up when appraising ourselves, we can’t round down when appraising others! If we use a short measure or light weight when judging others, God will use that same short measure or balance when judging us! The standard we use for others is the standard God will use for us and I suspect the way we extend grace to others may affect the amount of grace He extends to us, as well.  

 There is a Chinese proverb that says, “Deal with the faults of others as gently as your own.” Rather than dealing with our faults, however, like Linus’ big sister Lucy, we have an uncanny knack for overlooking them completely. Jesus, however, tells us to deal with our own faults before we begin to deal with anyone else’s. Let us remember that the first principle of judgment is to start with the logs in our eyes before concerning ourselves with anyone else’s specks!

It is the peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others and to forget his own. You can‘t clear your own fields while you’re counting the rocks on your neighbor’s farm. [Cicero]

Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. [Matthew 7:3-5 (ESV)]

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