John 2:9-10
After tasting the water which had now become wine, the master of the feast (having no idea where it came from, though it was clear to the servants who took the water out) sent for the newly- married man, And said to him, Every man first puts out his best wine and when all have had enough he puts out what is not so good; but you have kept the good wine till now.
It is amazing that no one at the wedding except the servants actually knew where the good wine was coming from. Neither the bride, nor groom, nor groom's family or guests knew where it came from, and maybe they never did. Mary did not toot a horn, neither did Jesus. The disciples knew, Mary, Jesus and the servants. Not our usual plan for evangelism.
Matthew 6:1-3
Take care not to do your good works before men, to be seen by them; or you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. When then you give money to the poor, do not make a noise about it, as the false- hearted men do in the Synagogues and in the streets, so that they may have glory from men. Truly, I say to you, They have their reward. But when you give money, let not your left hand see what your right hand I'd doing
This is so counter cultural today where people show and tell from their smallest to their greatest acts of kindness on Facebook, Twitter..etc, but Jesus says do not tell. Why? Because it keeps us humble. When people sing our laurels we actually believe that we are so great and forget that it all comes from HIM. We forget that whatever kindness we give is nothing compared to the salvation HE gave us for free.
Lord, I pray today for the Light of Your Holy Spirit to come and shine in my heart today. I pray that as your fire lights up my life, that it will also burn any hay, wood or stubble, any pride or show or need for man's approval. I want YOU to smile when you look at me.
Jesus, I love YOU.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Look Up to God for Direction: taken from Wisdom Hunters Devotion
Look UP! - taken from Wisdom Hunters
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. John 3:14-15
Life has a way of turning our gaze away from God. Instead of looking up to be loved by the Lord, we look around us and feel love’s absence. Instead of looking up to trust Jesus, we look at distrustful people and are disappointed. Instead of looking up for wisdom from God, we look at the world’s wisdom and find it wanting. Instead of looking up for direction from the Spirit, we look at the spirit of the age, and feel lost. Yes, abundant life comes from looking up to Christ.
Moses was a leader who wisely followed God’s instruction. He made sure to lift up what was important to the Lord, so His people could be healed. He didn’t argue with God about a better way, he simply obeyed. Time was short, so Moses quickly modeled the way to live for his followers. Similarly, we have a brief window of time to be a worthy example of obedience to Christ’s commands. Our family and friends look to us to learn how to best look up to the Lord.
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
What are you facing that invites you to look up into the loving face of your heavenly Father? If sorrow, refuse to stay stuck in grief, but look up to the One who wipes away your tears. If hurt by another human being, look up to the One who heals broken hearts. If uncertainty, look up to the One who is wisdom and generously gives wisdom. If fear, look to the One who controls circumstances and consoles souls. The world’s remedies lack, so look up to the Lord and live.
Most of all, we look at Jesus lifted up on the cross as the payment for our sins. We cannot begin to truly live until sin’s death sentence has been pardoned by God. The snakes’ venomous bites required the children of Israel to look up to the brazen snake on the pole to live. In the same way, sin’s poisonous infection can only be cured by looking up to Christ and believing in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. Look down, our hope dies. Look up and we live for the Lord--forever.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, by faith I look up to You for direction in how to live life for You.
Related Readings: Numbers 21:4-9; Proverbs 30:4; Psalm 5:3; Isaiah 45:22; Micah 7:7; Luke 9:62
info@wisdomhuntersdevotional.com / www.wisdomhunters.com
Moses was a leader who wisely followed God’s instruction. He made sure to lift up what was important to the Lord, so His people could be healed. He didn’t argue with God about a better way, he simply obeyed. Time was short, so Moses quickly modeled the way to live for his followers. Similarly, we have a brief window of time to be a worthy example of obedience to Christ’s commands. Our family and friends look to us to learn how to best look up to the Lord.
“And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32).
What are you facing that invites you to look up into the loving face of your heavenly Father? If sorrow, refuse to stay stuck in grief, but look up to the One who wipes away your tears. If hurt by another human being, look up to the One who heals broken hearts. If uncertainty, look up to the One who is wisdom and generously gives wisdom. If fear, look to the One who controls circumstances and consoles souls. The world’s remedies lack, so look up to the Lord and live.
Most of all, we look at Jesus lifted up on the cross as the payment for our sins. We cannot begin to truly live until sin’s death sentence has been pardoned by God. The snakes’ venomous bites required the children of Israel to look up to the brazen snake on the pole to live. In the same way, sin’s poisonous infection can only be cured by looking up to Christ and believing in Him for the forgiveness of our sins. Look down, our hope dies. Look up and we live for the Lord--forever.
“In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious” (Isaiah 11:10).
Prayer: Heavenly Father, by faith I look up to You for direction in how to live life for You.
Related Readings: Numbers 21:4-9; Proverbs 30:4; Psalm 5:3; Isaiah 45:22; Micah 7:7; Luke 9:62
info@wisdomhuntersdevotional.com / www.wisdomhunters.com
Saturday, March 22, 2014
I Choose to Jump – By Margaret Thomas
2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) – For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but
of power and of love, and of a sound mind.
It was late one night as we sat in a small booth at a local McDonalds. It was a school night and our kids were up way past their usual bedtime. But, after an especially hectic day, my husband and I had decided to disregard the time, let someone else prepare dinner, and just sit for a while. After a quick meal, we sent the kids into the restaurant play area and then settled in to discuss what was at the forefront of our minds. We were, once again, facing several big life decisions that would soon require a definitive answer. As we talked through the pros and cons of each scenario, we found ourselves asking the same questions over and over: What is God’s will in all of this? Does he want us to move forward or to stay where we are? What if we step out in faith believing this is His will, and it’s the wrong decision? What if we are repeating the mistakes of the past? Those questions had been discussed endlessly in weeks past and we weren't any closer to a solution. That night was no different. We still had no clear answers.
As the hour grew later, we began to recall some of the different times we had moved out of state due to my husband’s job and the decisions, both good and bad, that led to each move. Each move required major life changes as we uprooted our growing family, said goodbye to beloved friends, and tried to replant and bloom in completely different cities.
The second time we made an out-of-state move for his job, we left behind a thriving church, a close knit community of friends, and a beautiful home we loved. I vividly remember the day the movers came to pack our home. I stood there and watched as piece by piece our life was packed into boxes, and struggled to come to terms with an overwhelming sense of loss. I knew we were leaving a community that was very special. In my heart, though, I also felt a sense of hope. I believed that we were in God’s will and He would provide other close friends, another great church, and a beautiful home just like what we were leaving behind. I fully expected to put down “roots” and to thrive in this new place.
Little did I know that day as we followed the moving truck out of that small Texas city, that the next 8 years would be some of the toughest we had ever faced. Several corporate layoffs later, resulting financial stress, and two additional major moves for other job opportunities that did not work out, all merged together into one long nightmare of disappointments and broken dreams. On top of that, in each new place, we struggled to develop friendships that went beyond the “surface level”, and to find a church home that ministered to our entire family.
During those difficult years very little seemed to go right for us in these areas. Throughout that time, we experienced a roller coaster of emotions as we struggled to make sense of why all of this was happening. I tried so hard not to doubt God, but failed miserably time and time again. It was hard to move past the job/life mistakes we seemed to keep making, when at the time, we had made those decisions based on what we believed to be His will.
That night over chicken nuggets and cold French fries, what had seemed so confusing for so long suddenly shifted into focus. We both realized that we had been missing something very key: we were allowing doubt, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and fear of missing God’s will, to paralyze us. You see, during those years as things had fallen apart time after time, we had begun to allow fear to replace faith and slowly weave itself into the pattern of our lives. The more things spiraled downward, the more this fear took root. So, instead of truly relying on God and trusting Him completely in all things, we had unknowingly begun to make these big decisions based on the worst reason of all: fear. This time was no different, we were once again allowing fear, not faith, to affect our decisions.
Thankfully, our incredible God is a God of second, third, fourth and twenty-fifth chances. Now, as I look back over those broken years, I can see that even in the times we didn’t make the right decisions or walk through the right doors, He used each mistake, each trial, to mold us and change us for the better. He brought every loose thread, every seemingly random path all back together and wove them into a diverse and beautiful tapestry that now makes up the fabric of who we are. And, He always managed to bring something good out of every bad situation.
I don’t know what future plans God may have for our family. Today, however, I choose to not live in fear. I choose faith. I choose to trust and commit my ways to the Lord. Whether I succeed or fail; whether I lose everything I hold dear, I choose to believe in the One who knows so much more than I do. I choose to forget the mistakes of the past and be willing to step out into the unknown. I choose to jump. And in the process, believe that His will is going to catch me each and every time...no matter what.
It was late one night as we sat in a small booth at a local McDonalds. It was a school night and our kids were up way past their usual bedtime. But, after an especially hectic day, my husband and I had decided to disregard the time, let someone else prepare dinner, and just sit for a while. After a quick meal, we sent the kids into the restaurant play area and then settled in to discuss what was at the forefront of our minds. We were, once again, facing several big life decisions that would soon require a definitive answer. As we talked through the pros and cons of each scenario, we found ourselves asking the same questions over and over: What is God’s will in all of this? Does he want us to move forward or to stay where we are? What if we step out in faith believing this is His will, and it’s the wrong decision? What if we are repeating the mistakes of the past? Those questions had been discussed endlessly in weeks past and we weren't any closer to a solution. That night was no different. We still had no clear answers.
As the hour grew later, we began to recall some of the different times we had moved out of state due to my husband’s job and the decisions, both good and bad, that led to each move. Each move required major life changes as we uprooted our growing family, said goodbye to beloved friends, and tried to replant and bloom in completely different cities.
The second time we made an out-of-state move for his job, we left behind a thriving church, a close knit community of friends, and a beautiful home we loved. I vividly remember the day the movers came to pack our home. I stood there and watched as piece by piece our life was packed into boxes, and struggled to come to terms with an overwhelming sense of loss. I knew we were leaving a community that was very special. In my heart, though, I also felt a sense of hope. I believed that we were in God’s will and He would provide other close friends, another great church, and a beautiful home just like what we were leaving behind. I fully expected to put down “roots” and to thrive in this new place.
Little did I know that day as we followed the moving truck out of that small Texas city, that the next 8 years would be some of the toughest we had ever faced. Several corporate layoffs later, resulting financial stress, and two additional major moves for other job opportunities that did not work out, all merged together into one long nightmare of disappointments and broken dreams. On top of that, in each new place, we struggled to develop friendships that went beyond the “surface level”, and to find a church home that ministered to our entire family.
During those difficult years very little seemed to go right for us in these areas. Throughout that time, we experienced a roller coaster of emotions as we struggled to make sense of why all of this was happening. I tried so hard not to doubt God, but failed miserably time and time again. It was hard to move past the job/life mistakes we seemed to keep making, when at the time, we had made those decisions based on what we believed to be His will.
That night over chicken nuggets and cold French fries, what had seemed so confusing for so long suddenly shifted into focus. We both realized that we had been missing something very key: we were allowing doubt, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and fear of missing God’s will, to paralyze us. You see, during those years as things had fallen apart time after time, we had begun to allow fear to replace faith and slowly weave itself into the pattern of our lives. The more things spiraled downward, the more this fear took root. So, instead of truly relying on God and trusting Him completely in all things, we had unknowingly begun to make these big decisions based on the worst reason of all: fear. This time was no different, we were once again allowing fear, not faith, to affect our decisions.
Thankfully, our incredible God is a God of second, third, fourth and twenty-fifth chances. Now, as I look back over those broken years, I can see that even in the times we didn’t make the right decisions or walk through the right doors, He used each mistake, each trial, to mold us and change us for the better. He brought every loose thread, every seemingly random path all back together and wove them into a diverse and beautiful tapestry that now makes up the fabric of who we are. And, He always managed to bring something good out of every bad situation.
Recently, I was reading through Jennie Allen’s study guide, “Restless”, and thought the following statements beautifully encapsulate what God was teaching us through those desert experiences:
“God’s will is like a loving dad in a swimming pool asking his little
child to jump into his arms. And whether that child jumps really far or barely
scoots on his bottom into the pool, that dad will move to catch him. Fear of messing up the will of God will
paralyze us. There is no need for that
fear. If we will just jump, his will is going to catch us. Let him be God, move ahead with what you
know, and quit overanalyzing what you don’t.
So rather than be paralyzed with fear that you might move when you
should have stayed or you might stay when you should have moved, pray and
commit your ways to the Lord. And then go do
something.” (p.105)
I don’t know what future plans God may have for our family. Today, however, I choose to not live in fear. I choose faith. I choose to trust and commit my ways to the Lord. Whether I succeed or fail; whether I lose everything I hold dear, I choose to believe in the One who knows so much more than I do. I choose to forget the mistakes of the past and be willing to step out into the unknown. I choose to jump. And in the process, believe that His will is going to catch me each and every time...no matter what.
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Cross Pointe Women - The Cross Does Interfere - A.W. Tozer
"Things are really annoying when religion is permitted to interfere with our private lives." These are words uttered by an Englishman.
To which we reply that things have become really annoying when an intelligent man living in an Evangelical country could make such a remark. Had the man never read the New Testament? Had he never heard of Paul, or Stephen? or Peter? Had he never thought of the millions who followed Christ cheerfully to violent death? Sudden or lingering because they did allow their religion to interfere with their private lives?
I have long believed that a man who spurns the Christian faith outright is more respected before God than the man who pretends to have faith but refuses to come under its total dominion. The first is an overt enemy, the second a false friend. It is the latter who will be spit out of the mouth of Christ; and the reason is not hard to understand.
One picture of a Christian is a man carrying a cross. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”. The man with the cross no longer controls his destiny; he lost control when he decided to pick up the cross. That cross immediately became to him an all absorbing interest, an overwhelming interference. No matter what he may desire to do, there is but one thing he CAN do; that is to move forward to his crucifixion.
The man who will not tolerate interference is under no compulsion to follow Christ. “If any man will”, said our Lord, and thus He freed every man and placed the Christian life in the realm of the voluntary choice. Yet, no man can escape interference. Law, duty, hunger, accident, natural disaster, divorce, illness, death, all intrude into man’s plans, and in the long run, there is nothing he can do about it. Long experience with the rude necessities of life has taught men that these interferences will be thrust upon them sooner or later, so they learn to accept what they know is inevitable. They learn to stay within the narrow path where the least interference is to be found. The bolder ones may challenge the world, enlarge the circle somewhat and so increase the number of their problems, but no man invites trouble deliberately. Human nature is not built that way.
Truth is a glorious but hard mistress. She never consults, bargains or compromises. she cries from the top of the high places, "Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.” After that, every man is on his own. He may accept or refuse, receive or set as naught as he pleases; and there can be no attempt at coercion, though the man’s whole destiny is at stake.
Let a man become enamored of eternal wisdom and set his heart to win her and he takes on himself the full-time all engaging pursuit. Thereafter he would have room for little else. Thereafter his whole life will be filled with seeking’s and findings, self repudiations and disciplines and daily dying as he is being crucified unto the world and the world to him. Were this an unfallen world the path of truth would be a smooth and easy one. Had the nature of man not suffered a huge moral dislocation there would be no discord between the way of God and the way of man. I assume that in heaven the angels live through 1000 serene millenniums without feeling the slightest discord between their desires and the will of God. But not so among men on earth.
Here the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the other. In that context there can be only one outcome: we must surrender and God must have His way. His glory and our eternal welfare requires that it be so.
Another reason that religion must interfere with our private lives is that we live in the world, the Bible name for human society. The regenerated man has been inwardly separated from society as Israel was separated from Egypt at the crossing of the Red Sea. The Christian is a man of heaven temporarily living on earth. Though in spirit divided from the race of fallen men he must yet in the flesh live among them. In many things he is like them, but in others he differs so radically that they cannot but see and resent him. From the days of Cain and Abel the man of earth has punished the man of heaven for being different. The long history of persecution and martyrdom confirms this. But we must not get the impression that the Christian life is one continuous conflict, one unbroken irritating struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. A thousand times NO.
The heart that learns to die with Christ soon knows the blessed experience of rising with Him and all the world’s persecutions cannot still the high note of holy joy that springs up in the soul that has become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
Founder and President
To which we reply that things have become really annoying when an intelligent man living in an Evangelical country could make such a remark. Had the man never read the New Testament? Had he never heard of Paul, or Stephen? or Peter? Had he never thought of the millions who followed Christ cheerfully to violent death? Sudden or lingering because they did allow their religion to interfere with their private lives?
Maybe he had expressed openly what we feel secretly. Just how radically has our faith interfered with the neat pattern of or lives? Perhaps we need to answer this question.
I have long believed that a man who spurns the Christian faith outright is more respected before God than the man who pretends to have faith but refuses to come under its total dominion. The first is an overt enemy, the second a false friend. It is the latter who will be spit out of the mouth of Christ; and the reason is not hard to understand.
One picture of a Christian is a man carrying a cross. “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me”. The man with the cross no longer controls his destiny; he lost control when he decided to pick up the cross. That cross immediately became to him an all absorbing interest, an overwhelming interference. No matter what he may desire to do, there is but one thing he CAN do; that is to move forward to his crucifixion.
The man who will not tolerate interference is under no compulsion to follow Christ. “If any man will”, said our Lord, and thus He freed every man and placed the Christian life in the realm of the voluntary choice. Yet, no man can escape interference. Law, duty, hunger, accident, natural disaster, divorce, illness, death, all intrude into man’s plans, and in the long run, there is nothing he can do about it. Long experience with the rude necessities of life has taught men that these interferences will be thrust upon them sooner or later, so they learn to accept what they know is inevitable. They learn to stay within the narrow path where the least interference is to be found. The bolder ones may challenge the world, enlarge the circle somewhat and so increase the number of their problems, but no man invites trouble deliberately. Human nature is not built that way.
Truth is a glorious but hard mistress. She never consults, bargains or compromises. she cries from the top of the high places, "Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.” After that, every man is on his own. He may accept or refuse, receive or set as naught as he pleases; and there can be no attempt at coercion, though the man’s whole destiny is at stake.
Let a man become enamored of eternal wisdom and set his heart to win her and he takes on himself the full-time all engaging pursuit. Thereafter he would have room for little else. Thereafter his whole life will be filled with seeking’s and findings, self repudiations and disciplines and daily dying as he is being crucified unto the world and the world to him. Were this an unfallen world the path of truth would be a smooth and easy one. Had the nature of man not suffered a huge moral dislocation there would be no discord between the way of God and the way of man. I assume that in heaven the angels live through 1000 serene millenniums without feeling the slightest discord between their desires and the will of God. But not so among men on earth.
Here the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; the flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh and these are contrary one to the other. In that context there can be only one outcome: we must surrender and God must have His way. His glory and our eternal welfare requires that it be so.
Another reason that religion must interfere with our private lives is that we live in the world, the Bible name for human society. The regenerated man has been inwardly separated from society as Israel was separated from Egypt at the crossing of the Red Sea. The Christian is a man of heaven temporarily living on earth. Though in spirit divided from the race of fallen men he must yet in the flesh live among them. In many things he is like them, but in others he differs so radically that they cannot but see and resent him. From the days of Cain and Abel the man of earth has punished the man of heaven for being different. The long history of persecution and martyrdom confirms this. But we must not get the impression that the Christian life is one continuous conflict, one unbroken irritating struggle against the world, the flesh and the devil. A thousand times NO.
The heart that learns to die with Christ soon knows the blessed experience of rising with Him and all the world’s persecutions cannot still the high note of holy joy that springs up in the soul that has become the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.
Dr. Laila Risgallah PhD
Not Guilty for Family DevelopmentFounder and President
Saturday, March 8, 2014
Divine Mentor- The Veil Is Gone! by Deena Serafin
DM Reading: Deut. 7-9; Mark 15
Scripture: Mk. 15:38 "Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
Observation : At the moment of Jesus's death, God ripped the veil which had separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. This was a huge deal! One minute the High Priest was the only person who could go behind the veil and only once a year. As Jesus took His final breath, every believer would forever have complete access to God- the Holy of Holies!
Application: This is what happened when I surrendered the living of my own life to Jesus. His mercy saved me, and His grace gave me personal access to the Holy and Righteous God.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for loving me enough to give me a personal, intimate relationship with You. Never let me take this for granted! Amen.
Scripture: Mk. 15:38 "Then the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom."
Observation : At the moment of Jesus's death, God ripped the veil which had separated the Holy of Holies from the rest of the temple. This was a huge deal! One minute the High Priest was the only person who could go behind the veil and only once a year. As Jesus took His final breath, every believer would forever have complete access to God- the Holy of Holies!
Application: This is what happened when I surrendered the living of my own life to Jesus. His mercy saved me, and His grace gave me personal access to the Holy and Righteous God.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for loving me enough to give me a personal, intimate relationship with You. Never let me take this for granted! Amen.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
The Divine Mentor – The Power of Forgiveness - by Margaret Thomas
Today’s
Reading: Numbers 34 - 36, Mark 11
God has extended forgiveness to us, so we must extend it to others. It’s not always easy, but if we will choose to place each situation in His hands, and trust Him to do the rest, He will give to us the freedom we long for. We can't change the past, but we can forgive and let go. It may not happen all at once, but with God's help, we'll get there. Forgiveness… how precious it is. It’s such a beautiful gift; one, with the power to bring healing and restoration to your soul.
Mark
11:25-26 (NASB)
– “Whenever you stand praying, forgive,
if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will
also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will
your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
Unforgiveness.
It’s an unpleasant word with far-reaching impacts. I’ve often heard it compared to a deadly poison
that slowly destroys you from the inside.
I’ve listened to and read many messages on unforgiveness and felt like
this was something that I had a clear handle on. I know God won’t forgive my
sins if I refuse to forgive others, so I need to extend forgiveness in order to
have a clear, unobstructed relationship with Him. It sounds fairly easy and straightforward,
right?
Today, however, I
couldn’t seem to move past these two scriptures. I wasn’t sure why, because as
far as I knew, my conscience was clear. As I mulled over these words, I began
thinking of the frustration and confusion I had recently experienced during my
prayer time. It felt as if my prayers were
being blocked, unheard or delayed. Why was there no clear answer? Or, when I thought I
received an answer, why didn’t it make sense?
Why did it feel as if God was turning a deaf ear to every request?
As a
Christ-follower, I do believe God is sovereign and there are times He chooses
not to give us an answer, or doesn’t answer a prayer in the way we want. He always has a reason, even if we don’t
understand it. In this situation, though, I knew there was something else I was
missing. I began to search my heart and ask
myself some hard questions. Were my prayers being hindered (stopped,
delayed, or obstructed) due to the sin of unforgiveness? If so, who did I need to forgive?
Almost immediately,
a specific situation popped into my mind.
Memories, long buried and almost forgotten, began to flood back into my
consciousness. It was overwhelming.
Suddenly, I was there, once again. I could clearly see every heartbreaking,
hurtful thing that had happened. I could
feel the deep anger and resentment boil to the surface as the sense of
injustice and betrayal seemed to sear my soul.
Every emotion I felt, every tear I shed, every sleepless night I spent
tossing and turning as I struggled to forget, all merged together in a kaleidoscope
of mental snapshots that replayed over and over in an endless cycle. It felt just as raw, just as real, as if it
had happened yesterday.
I was stunned. All
this time, I had deceived myself into thinking I had moved past this situation. In reality, I had simply buried it deep within
the recesses of my mind. It was still there,
festering, right below the surface. I had never truly let it go. And suddenly I knew, because of my
refusal to forgive, I was being held captive.
I was the reason God wasn’t answering my prayers!
In that moment of
clarity, I made a choice. I dropped to
my knees and began to pour out my heart to Him. I resolutely placed every dark memory, every deep
hurt, and every bruised and battered emotion into His loving hands. I made a
commitment to finally let this go. It
was difficult, but also liberating. Did it change what had happened or negate the
guilt of the other party involved? No. Forgiveness changed me. It released me from the mental and emotional chains that were holding me back. I chose to trust Him to heal
me completely; to enable me to truly forgive.
As I surrendered, a
deep healing peace began to soak into my soul.
For the first time, I experienced freedom from the prison of those unpleasant memories; they no longer had the power to constrain me. The weight of unforgiveness that had hung like
a millstone around my neck, was gone. I
forgave, and trusted God to do the rest.
God has extended forgiveness to us, so we must extend it to others. It’s not always easy, but if we will choose to place each situation in His hands, and trust Him to do the rest, He will give to us the freedom we long for. We can't change the past, but we can forgive and let go. It may not happen all at once, but with God's help, we'll get there. Forgiveness… how precious it is. It’s such a beautiful gift; one, with the power to bring healing and restoration to your soul.
Saturday, March 1, 2014
Divine Mentor- Convicted by True Compassion. by Deena Serafin
DM Scriptures. Numbers 28-29; Mark 8
Scripture: “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat."(Mark 8:2)
Observation: Jesus had 3 short years to reach these people with God's message of love, repentance, and forgiveness. Now he felt compelled to feed them! Granted, it wasn't a big deal for Jesus to feed 5000 men and all their women and children, but shouldn't they have brought their own food?
Application: We feed people at church so they will come. We serve coffee before services as an added incentive for them to choose to worship with us. We have pizza parties for the youth and snacks for the adults whenever we gather together. We know from research and experience that offering food and drink brings people and encourages them to come back. We do it, not as a bribe, but because we truly care about their souls and want them to hear our story and know the Jesus we know; HOWEVER, that is not why Jesus fed them. It wasn't so they would remember Him, or so they would come back, or even to perform a miracle for the benefit of his disciples, although these would have been good reasons. Jesus had compassion on them- he knew they were hungry, and he was afraid they would faint from hunger on their way home (v.3). I am convicted by this pure compassion.
Prayer: Jesus, I find myself so far from true compassion. I talk, I share, I take meals, I serve, I do the things for people I know I am supposed to do because You love them and I am Your hands and feet; however, if I am truly honest with myself, I admit that I am far from the compassion You have for them. I want to love as You love. Please help me.
Scripture: “I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat."(Mark 8:2)
Observation: Jesus had 3 short years to reach these people with God's message of love, repentance, and forgiveness. Now he felt compelled to feed them! Granted, it wasn't a big deal for Jesus to feed 5000 men and all their women and children, but shouldn't they have brought their own food?
Application: We feed people at church so they will come. We serve coffee before services as an added incentive for them to choose to worship with us. We have pizza parties for the youth and snacks for the adults whenever we gather together. We know from research and experience that offering food and drink brings people and encourages them to come back. We do it, not as a bribe, but because we truly care about their souls and want them to hear our story and know the Jesus we know; HOWEVER, that is not why Jesus fed them. It wasn't so they would remember Him, or so they would come back, or even to perform a miracle for the benefit of his disciples, although these would have been good reasons. Jesus had compassion on them- he knew they were hungry, and he was afraid they would faint from hunger on their way home (v.3). I am convicted by this pure compassion.
Prayer: Jesus, I find myself so far from true compassion. I talk, I share, I take meals, I serve, I do the things for people I know I am supposed to do because You love them and I am Your hands and feet; however, if I am truly honest with myself, I admit that I am far from the compassion You have for them. I want to love as You love. Please help me.
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