Tag: forgivenss

Forgiveness came at a Price-Provided by our Good Shepherd

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The name for God that I chose for today is mostly found in the New Testament. However, one of the many prophecies about the good shepherd appears in Micah 5:2-5a.  “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    who are too little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
    one who is to be ruler in Israel,
whose coming forth is from of old,
    from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time
    when she who is in labor has given birth;
then the rest of his brothers shall return
    to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord,
    in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great
    to the ends of the earth.
5 And he shall be their peace. The Hebrew word for Good Shepherd is El Rohi.

We see in these verses that Jesus, the good shepherd, will be born in Bethlehem (2) and that his name and majesty comes from His God (4). Jesus was both man and God incarnate during his time on earth. He calls himself our good shepherd. John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” 14-15“ I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

Isaiah 40: 10-11 makes it clear that the Lord is the good shepherd to come. “Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense before him. 11 He will tend his flock like a shepherd;
    he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom,
    and gently lead those that are with young.”

What does this name mean for you and me? Both the Old and New Testaments tell us that God is the Good Shepherd. A shepherd loves his sheep, protects, feeds, defends and is willing to die for them. Jesus came willingly and died for us bearing our sins on the cross. If Jesus had not come and died on the cross we would still be dead in our sins, as HE provided forgiveness and atonement before the Father. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can know HE is this good shepherd and He made atonement for us and our sins so we can stand before God forgiven. He will care for us eternally holding us close to himself.

What an amazing thing it is to be loved and cared for by God! Hold on to this truth today and feel His loving arms around you as you go about your day. He is there and cares for you!

Linda

Taking Good Advice Pays Off

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When looking at Psalm 32, I searched various translations. The Message, though paraphrased, really hits the mark and plainly points to God’s truth about sin. The question you need to consider before you read this psalm is, what do you do about your sins? Do you ignore them, excuse them, blame them on others or do you own up and confess your wrong doings? You know what is right and failing to do it is sin according to James 4:17 “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be—
    you get a fresh start,
    your slate’s wiped clean.

2 Count yourself lucky—
    God holds nothing against you
    and you’re holding nothing back from him.

3 When I kept it all inside,
    my bones turned to powder,
    my words became daylong groans.

4 The pressure never let up;
    all the juices of my life dried up. Bottled up sin was ‘killing him’.

5 Then I let it all out;
    I said, “I’ll come clean about my failures to God.”

Suddenly the pressure was gone—
    my guilt dissolved,
    my sin disappeared. Confession brought blessed relief.

6 These things add up. Every one of us needs to pray;
    when all hell breaks loose and the dam bursts
    we’ll be on high ground, untouched.

7 God’s my island hideaway,
    keeps danger far from the shore,
    throws garlands of hosannas around my neck.

8 Let me give you some good advice;
    I’m looking you in the eye
    and giving it to you straight: Good advice.

9 “Don’t be ornery like a horse or mule
    that needs bit and bridle
    to stay on track.”

10 God-defiers are always in trouble;
    God-affirmers find themselves loved
    every time they turn around.

11 Celebrate God.
    Sing together—everyone!
    All you honest hearts, raise the roof!

His good advice was to not be stubborn and obstinate in our sin. Confess and get blessed relief. I love verse 10 God defilers are always in trouble- sin brings trouble, opposition to God brings disaster but knowing and loving God brings affirmation from God and you will see it all around you! I think the psalmist would agree. Because Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead, we can experience blessed forgiveness of our sins and live a full and redeemed life that looks forward towards eternity. The psalmist concludes that getting your soul right with God brings rejoicing, and joy enough to raise the roof top!

May you see the truth of the psalmist’s words and put them into practice so you may experience His love and forgiveness today!

Linda

Anger Issues? Beware and Alert

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It is convicting that many of the verses that are near and dear to the heart of my friends are about how best to live out the Christian life. My friend, Vivian, has chosen Ephesians 4:26-27 as verses that speak to her heart and remind her how best to live for Jesus. “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil.” These verses are situated in a paragraph that follows Paul’s command in verses 23-24 “ to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,”. He concludes that accepting Christ’s transforming, redeeming power in ones life will cause you to live a different type of life. Ephesians 4:25 then starts with Therefore. In scripture this means everything I’ve said before about living a transformed life is true and will lead to the following actions. Paul goes on to list what a redeemed life will look like.

Paul describes the transformed person as one who speaks the truth with his neighbor, may be angry but does not let it lead to sinful actions, does honest work,  speaks good positive words, is honoring to the Holy Spirit with their hearts and actions, endeavors to avoid bitterness and evil thoughts and is kind and forgiving of one another. (See complete text below.)

Vivian has chosen verses here that focus on not allowing anger she feels about people, circumstances, etc. to lead her to sin. Harboring resentment, being bitter or letting the anger fester will lead to a break or block in her relationship with the Lord and others. The reminder to not let the sun go down on her anger is so true. If you go to bed angry, you will awaken with that unresolved anger in your heart. It will begin to turn towards bitterness if you are not carefully aware. The wisdom of scripture here is practical and life changing if applied each and every day. Letting resentment and bitterness begin and holding on to unforgiveness gives the devil an opening to tempt us to sin. Sin produces an attitude that holds on to anger and can lead to ruined relationships, resentment and bitterness. Anger is a tricky emotion that can be good if used rightly but harmful if it is used for and towards selfish desires. Thoughts like “they are always against me”, “he really meant to do me harm”, ”look at how he/she made this my fault”…. All of these are thoughts that can easily come out of anger and lead to sin. Sin affects our relationship with God and blocks our full communication with Him and also can turn and undermine any relationship in which we are involved. I think Vivian is wise to remember these verses and strive to live with her anger being both well placed and under control.

I pray these verses will cause you to seek God in prayer and let the Holy Spirit help you examine your ‘anger issues’ before Him.

Linda

Here are a couple of other verses about anger from Psalm 37:8 and Proverbs 16:32 to meditate upon.

Ephesians 4:25-32 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.