Category Archives: Forgiveness

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May 27, 2013

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Forgiveness, Holy Spirit

GENESIS WEEK

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with a willing spirit. [Psalm 51:10-12 (ASV)]

Thank you, God, for always taking me back when I’ve wandered away. May I be a better person today than I was yesterday and a better person tomorrow than I am today.

God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! [Psalm 51:10-12 (MSG)]

 

 

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May 16, 2013

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Forgiveness, God's Grace & Love, Today: Make it Count

GOD’S DELETE BUTTON

It is a great blessing when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done, when their sins are erased. It is a great blessing when the Lord says they are not guilty, when they don’t try to hide their sins. [Psalm 32:1-2 (ERV)]

God doesn’t just draw a line through the list of our sins; he doesn’t even use White-Out or correct tape. He uses the delete button and then empties the recycle bin in his heavenly computer. Our sins are completely wiped away; they are over, done with, and gone!

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of forgiveness and the blank document on which to write today’s story.

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April 28, 2013

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Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, Love & Works

LET GOD PICK OUT YOUR OUTFIT TODAY

So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it. [Colossians 3:12-14 (MSG)]

O Lord, help me be less concerned with what I put on my body and more concerned with what I wear in my heart.

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April 16, 2013

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Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, Forgiveness, God's Plan

WHERE WAS GOD?

Note: This was written the day after the Boston Marathon bombing, 2013

Why am I discouraged? What is my heart so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again – my Savior and my God! [Psalm 42:5 (NLT)]

Lord, I’m angry! Where were you when the bombs exploded yesterday? Where were you when the twin towers fell, or when people were shot in the theater or when children died in their school? I’m angry and discouraged because I don’t understand how our almighty and loving God can allow these terrible things to happen. I know I’m supposed to have faith and trust in you, but it is so difficult in times like these.

Thank you, God, for loving and forgiving me even when I have difficulty loving, forgiving, and even believing in you.

I believe in the sun, even when it is not shining. I believe in love, even when I feel it not. I believe in God, even when he is silent.[Words found scrawled on a cellar wall in the bombed ruins of Cologne, Germany, following World War II]

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April 6, 2013

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Church & Worship, Family, Friends & Fellowship, Forgiveness, Temptation & Sin

SOMETHING WE ALL HAVE IN COMMON

Healthy people don’t need a doctor – sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners [Mark 2:17 (NLT)]

Thank you, Jesus, for providing us with a church family. We can gather together, hear your word, offer prayers and praise, and even come together at your table. We are such a diverse group: young and old, wealthy and poor, coming from all walks of life. Some people are secure in their faith while others are filled with doubt. Yet we all share one thing in common: we all are sinners! Thank you for welcoming sinners into your family, and thank you for your healing hand of forgiveness so that we can begin each day anew.

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March 27, 2013

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Faith & Hope, Forgiveness, Holidays & Holy Days

DO WE EVER WE BETRAY HIM (MAUNDY THURSDAY 2013)

Now Jesus was deeply troubled, and he exclaimed, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me!” [John 13:21 (NLT)]

Not me, Lord, I wouldn’t and couldn’t betray you! Or would and could I? Have I ever betrayed my Lord as Judas did that night or denied following Jesus as Peter did that same evening? Have I become inattentive to His words as the disciples did in the garden? Have I ever abandoned Him as they did while He suffered on the cross? Have I ever doubted, yielded to temptation, or forsaken my Lord? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.

Fortunately, just as Peter and the disciples were forgiven for their lack of faith, so are we. Moreover, just as Peter and the disciples went on to accomplish great things, so can we!