“Love does not keep a record of wrongs.”
I Corinthians 13:5 TEV
Do you remember the story about the man who was bitten by the dog? When he learned the dog had rabies, he began making a list. The doctor told him there was no need to make a will, that the rabies could be cured. “Oh, I’m not making a will,” he replied. “I’m making a list of all the people I want to bite.”
Forgiveness is not always something that comes easy but it can be a great faith exercise. In my own personal experiences, this is the case. It is so difficult for me to forgive people for things that have happened but it's made so much easier if you look to Christ and ask him for help. The example of the sinner that points out the sliver in one mans eye while he has a plank in his own can be applied to my own life. Theoretically, it should be very simple for me to forgive those that need forgiving. I sin every day and every day I need to ask God to forgive me for the things I've done wrong so I should be more than willing to forgive the person that makes one mistake that happens to effect me. Realistically though, it's not always that easy. I think our human nature is to carry around these grudges and wait for a chance to get our revenge. Forgiving requires so many things from Christ. We need the humility to understand and know we are no better. We need trust and self control to know that God is in control and it is not for us to make sure the person that wronged us sees their mistake. If we can use Christ as our example and show the love he shows us, it is so much easier.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Failures Are Not Fatal
Thursday, July 24, 2008
“We must pay more careful attention…to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
Hebrews 2:1 NIV
I don't want to say that Max seems to sugar-coat his messages because although it seems that way, he is just constantly giving us the message that God wants us to hear- no matter how often or how far we turn away from God, by his grace, our mistakes are not fatal. With that being said, our mistakes do have consequences. In Hebrews 2:3 it says: "So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation...". There are many things about God and his creation that are so far beyond us- things that are far beyond our comprehension but the guidelines he has laid down for us don't fit into this category. There is a logic to it. He gave us a set of rules to follow for our own good. As Max says, "If you lose your faith, you will probably do so gradually. You will let a few days slip by without consulting your compass. Your sails will go untrimmed. Your rigging will go unprepared. And worst of all, you will forget to anchor your boat. And, before you know it, you’ll be bouncing from wave to wave in stormy seas". God knows and we need to be aware that when we make one bad decision, it may seem like just that, one simple mistake that we can let go but there are consequences. This does need to be "the wrath of God"- look at drinking alcohol- too many drinks can seem like such a harmful and innocent mistake but there are so many consequences that we don't think of. Virtually every mistake we make, if we look at it carefully, we can see that there are consequences that result from it. Aside from the direct consequences of one mistake, we also start a process of moral decay that Max mentions- one mistake often leads to another. I know for myself this is so true. One day without prayer and devotion often leads to another and when I fail to include these things in my day, I notice the difference that day...funny how quickly the devil can get a hold on us. Thankfuly, God is always waiting at the door. We simply need to open it and let him back in!
“We must pay more careful attention…to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”
Hebrews 2:1 NIV
I don't want to say that Max seems to sugar-coat his messages because although it seems that way, he is just constantly giving us the message that God wants us to hear- no matter how often or how far we turn away from God, by his grace, our mistakes are not fatal. With that being said, our mistakes do have consequences. In Hebrews 2:3 it says: "So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation...". There are many things about God and his creation that are so far beyond us- things that are far beyond our comprehension but the guidelines he has laid down for us don't fit into this category. There is a logic to it. He gave us a set of rules to follow for our own good. As Max says, "If you lose your faith, you will probably do so gradually. You will let a few days slip by without consulting your compass. Your sails will go untrimmed. Your rigging will go unprepared. And worst of all, you will forget to anchor your boat. And, before you know it, you’ll be bouncing from wave to wave in stormy seas". God knows and we need to be aware that when we make one bad decision, it may seem like just that, one simple mistake that we can let go but there are consequences. This does need to be "the wrath of God"- look at drinking alcohol- too many drinks can seem like such a harmful and innocent mistake but there are so many consequences that we don't think of. Virtually every mistake we make, if we look at it carefully, we can see that there are consequences that result from it. Aside from the direct consequences of one mistake, we also start a process of moral decay that Max mentions- one mistake often leads to another. I know for myself this is so true. One day without prayer and devotion often leads to another and when I fail to include these things in my day, I notice the difference that day...funny how quickly the devil can get a hold on us. Thankfuly, God is always waiting at the door. We simply need to open it and let him back in!
Monday, July 14, 2008
God Forgets
Monday, July 14, 2008
"Bless the LORD,…who forgives all your iniquities."
PSALM 103:1-2 NKJV
Simple but hard to accept. Because of what Christ did for us, all we need to do is ask him and he'll completley take it all away from us. Too simple. It seems to go against our human nature. Even as I write this, I can think of those sins that I've asked God to forgive me for and I still have this feeling like he could use them against me at some point. Maybe because I do it all the time. As Christians, we need to forgive in the same way. When we accept him, he is in us and we are made new each and every time we ask him. I feel like we shouldn't forget though- we need to learn from our mistakes- I know that if I can remember how it felt when mistakes were made- that feeling of having drifted away from what I knew was right and what he wanted for me- I can remember this the next time I am tempted or am confronted with that same sin. I think the most important thing is that we realize God has completely forgiven us and we should not feel guilt for what happened in that past because if we do, we are questioning his word. We need to truly accept that the sins of our past and really gone. As with everything else that happens to us in our lives, God uses our sin and our mistakes to make us better. Max uses a great metaphor in his book "Come Thirsty". He tells the story of a group of fishermen and the local Inn after a day of fishing. One of the men is enthusiastically telling the story of a fish that got away. His wild arm motions knock the passing waitress's tea tray against a white wall, leaving a big brown stain on the wall. The owner comes over and sees the mark and complains that the wall will need to be repainted. An artist hears him and asks him if he can work with the stain and that maybe he won't need to repaint it. The artist ends up using the stain in the creation of a beutiful wild life painting, making the wall more beautiful then it was before. And that is truly amazing. Only God- only the one true God- could take the bad in us and use it for good!
"Bless the LORD,…who forgives all your iniquities."
PSALM 103:1-2 NKJV
Simple but hard to accept. Because of what Christ did for us, all we need to do is ask him and he'll completley take it all away from us. Too simple. It seems to go against our human nature. Even as I write this, I can think of those sins that I've asked God to forgive me for and I still have this feeling like he could use them against me at some point. Maybe because I do it all the time. As Christians, we need to forgive in the same way. When we accept him, he is in us and we are made new each and every time we ask him. I feel like we shouldn't forget though- we need to learn from our mistakes- I know that if I can remember how it felt when mistakes were made- that feeling of having drifted away from what I knew was right and what he wanted for me- I can remember this the next time I am tempted or am confronted with that same sin. I think the most important thing is that we realize God has completely forgiven us and we should not feel guilt for what happened in that past because if we do, we are questioning his word. We need to truly accept that the sins of our past and really gone. As with everything else that happens to us in our lives, God uses our sin and our mistakes to make us better. Max uses a great metaphor in his book "Come Thirsty". He tells the story of a group of fishermen and the local Inn after a day of fishing. One of the men is enthusiastically telling the story of a fish that got away. His wild arm motions knock the passing waitress's tea tray against a white wall, leaving a big brown stain on the wall. The owner comes over and sees the mark and complains that the wall will need to be repainted. An artist hears him and asks him if he can work with the stain and that maybe he won't need to repaint it. The artist ends up using the stain in the creation of a beutiful wild life painting, making the wall more beautiful then it was before. And that is truly amazing. Only God- only the one true God- could take the bad in us and use it for good!
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