Forgiveness

A Man of Unclean Lips

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ ” – Isaiah 6:6,7 Yesterday, we saw God’s love and mercy extended to His servant, Isaiah, the prophet who was dedicated in service to the temple of the Lord. His whole life changed after one moment in the temple where God in theophany appeared. His reaction: “Woe is me. I am a man of unclean lips.” Today, I want to share that as a teenager, I would teach our small high school Bible study from this passage in Isaiah Chapter 6. I thought that “unclean lips” meant he cussed, so I would teach my peers not to use foul language. I have

January 21, 2023 1 Comment

The Slate is Clean

“ ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ ” – Isaiah 6:5 Over the next few days, we will catch a glimpse of God’s love through His servant Isaiah. Isaiah, who later becomes a prophet, is in the temple as a faithful and religious man, performing his priestly duties. I imagine up until that point in Isaiah’s life, as found in Chapter 6, he feels like he’s in pretty good standing with God. Most of us subconsciously keep a moral report card. Maybe Isaiah hopes to be a B-minus or higher like most of us. Perhaps you don’t live like a saint full time, but you’re a relatively all-around good person, someone you would have a cup of coffee with or trust

January 20, 2023 No Comments

Draw Near to Him

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ ” – Luke 5:20 It’s interesting to me that many people today don’t genuinely know how to get into Heaven. I think most people in America believe in God and an afterlife, but they’re unsure what the “rules” are. They ask, “How do I get in?” Many Christians also wonder, “Did I lead a good enough life to still get in?” It’s not about you leading a good enough life, and that’s comforting news. It’s really about who you trust. If you lived an imperfect life but were friends with Jesus Christ, He will let you in. If you led a flawed life but knocked on His door and said, Can I come in? He will welcome you with a warm hug. The Bible says that if you draw near to Jesus, He will draw near to you.

December 30, 2022 No Comments

What Forgiveness is Not

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” – Luke 18:7 On this Veterans Day, we are grateful for those who have served our nation and fought for our freedoms. May God bless you and your families. Today we continue our series on forgiveness. Many of us misunderstand what forgiveness is, so the thought of letting go of the wrongs done to us sounds awful, even painful. However, it’s important to know that when we talk about not holding onto offense, we are not pretending that nothing ever happened. I talked to my mentor (who’s also a therapist), Bill Gaultiere, about this years ago, and he shared with me three things that forgiveness is not. I think it’s important to understand these before we talk about what forgiveness really is. First of all,

November 11, 2022 No Comments

Seventy Times Seven

“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.’ ” – Matthew 18:21,22 Today, we continue examining forgiveness. Did you know that in Jesus’ day, Rabbis used to teach that you forgive your brother three times and that’s it. Although it sounds absolute, this is one of the reasons I like Jewish Rabbis — they are very clear — three times only, no more and no less. When Jesus came along, he began teaching that you forgive more than three times, which was quite a controversial thing! Peter, Jesus’ disciple who is known for being exuberant and impetuous, was the first one we know of who specifically inquired of Jesus about the matter of forgiveness. Thinking of himself as being very generous,

November 10, 2022 No Comments

Funnels of Forgiveness

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” – Matthew 6:14,15 Today, we will continue our series on forgiveness. If you’ve grown up in church, you’ve probably heard the Lord’s Prayer repeatedly, and you have likely said again and again, “forgive us our offenses (or debts) as we forgive those who have offended us.” Although the words may have become routine, think about what they mean. In essence, when you pray that sentence, you are saying, Lord, forgive me to the same extent that I have forgiven others. This is how Jesus teaches us to pray. He then goes on to say, “For if you forgive men their sins, your Heavenly Father will forgive you of your sins, but if you do not forgive

November 9, 2022 No Comments

Forgiveness is a Great Gift

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” – Luke 6:37 Every good relationship consists of two people who are good at forgiving. When we live with others and do life with them, we will have to forgive offenses, whether large or small, in order to have joyful, fruitful connections. All of us have people in our world who can be challenging at times, but we need to release them to God. Especially since we ourselves can be challenging at times, so we want grace to be extended to us as well! Whether a roommate, spouse, best friend or colleague, Jesus’ forgiveness is a great gift. As we learn to be like Jesus we learn to have a merciful response to everyone we do life with. God has forgiven you for all of the

November 8, 2022 No Comments

Change Your Philosophy

“…for, ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 2:16 Change your philosophy to get the life you want. We each have ideals, standards, or beliefs that have become our personal philosophies. Your philosophy is perfectly designed to give you the results you’re getting. Yes, that may sound harsh. I’m not saying this to judge anyone. I’m saying this to encourage you. We are always tempted to blame others when we’re not quite where we want to be. Change your philosophy today. You have the power in you, through Jesus, to build any kind of life you want. He’s laid it before you, but it is easy to place the blame on others. Nobody plays a video game and blames the dragon who’s guarding the princess by saying, there’s a dragon in my way, that

September 1, 2022 No Comments

A Life of Peace

“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” – Romans 14:19 As we continue our series on eternal living, the second element that eternal living gives you is a life of peace. Peace with God, and peace with your neighbor. So many of the compulsive behaviors we have in life are because we don’t have any peace. Yes, we’re not at war physically, and we’re not involved in hand-to-hand combat, but inside our minds we carry a lot of turmoil. This is why we run to drugs, alcohol, or that old relationship we shouldn’t go to. Sometimes we give up on life, or we fall into other traps that will entangle us and keep us from tranquility. We don’t have peace within. How can you have peace in God’s world if you’re not at peace with God? You have to be at

August 27, 2022 No Comments

It Didn’t Exist

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1:9 Today I want to share a story that illustrates God’s forgiveness. I was visiting with a very good friend of mine and his daughter, who live out of state. I don’t mean to freak anyone out here, but he told me a story about demon possession. Back in the 1980s, he was having a worship gathering at his home, and in attendance was a man who claimed to be a demoniac — a demon-possessed person. In the middle of this worship service, this man began to manifest this demonic spirit to the point where he was writhing, screaming, and foaming at the mouth. It took four grown men to hold him down, in an effort to pray for him. Just before they prayed, my

August 23, 2022 No Comments

A Man of Unclean Lips

The Slate is Clean

Draw Near to Him

What Forgiveness is Not

Seventy Times Seven

Funnels of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a Great Gift

Change Your Philosophy

A Life of Peace

It Didn’t Exist

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