Category Archives: Forgiveness

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

April 16, 2013

Posted under

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]

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

April 6, 2013

Posted under

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.

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

March 27, 2013

Posted under

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!

Standard

Posted by

Posted on

March 27, 2013

Posted under

Attitudes & Behavior, Forgiveness, Obedience

GET RID OF IT!

Get rid of your bitterness, hot tempers, anger, loud quarreling, cursing, and hatred. Be kind to each other, sympathetic, forgiving each other as God has forgiven you through Christ. [Ephesians 4:31-32 (GW)]

Forgiveness: that’s not a suggestion, but an order! And while we’re at it, let’s remember to forgive ourselves. Forgiveness frees us from the past and gives us hope for the future!