Category: Forgiveness

Are You Prepared For the Inevitable?

Posted on by Paula

I love summertime! I love wearing dresses, seeing the sun shine and feeling the warmth radiate down to my bones. Summer means blue skies, sheets on the clothesline, watermelon, popsicles, lemonade, flip flops, fireflies, green leaves, bright sunshine and fresh air. Life is good in the summer, and I am happy, happy, happy!

My feelings for winter are quite the opposite. I loathe wearing long pants and bundling up. I have a difficult time emerging from under my electric blanket in the morning. I dread the dark, dreary days and the bitterly cold wind. Don’t even mention the “s” word (you know, that white stuff that looks all pretty falling from the sky but makes the roads slick and the floors muddy). All through the winter, I long for the warm sunshine to return.

No matter how much I want summer to last forever, winter always comes whether I like it or not. The warning signs always creep in. The winter clothes appear in the stores, the grass begins to die, and the leaves on the trees start changing their color. Then the frigid wind starts blowing from the north, and the sunshine hides behind the clouds. Some things, we cannot change. I can either prepare for winter or live in denial and get a rude awakening.

There is another fact of life that we cannot change, and this matter is much more serious. Whether we like it or not, we must face the reality that our life here on earth won’t last forever. Our bodies wear out, and eventually our hearts stop beating. For some of us that time arrives gradually and slowly; for others, that day comes suddenly and unexpectedly.

We don’t like to think about this, but as sure as winter always comes, the day will come when we will leave this world behind and stand before Almighty God. Romans 14:11-12 says, “It is written, ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” Though our physical bodies die, our souls will live on for eternity. We can either ensure that we are prepared for the day we meet or Maker or we can get a rude awakening.

You see, God created everything, and He created man in His image. All was good until we humans sinned by deciding to do things our way instead of God’s. (Adam and Eve ate from the tree that God told them not to eat from). God is holy, and sin separates us from God. The penalty for sin is death; all sinners are doomed. The wonderful news is that God sent His Son, Jesus, to provide a way for us to be made right with God again. Jesus became God in the flesh, lived here on earth and was tempted in every way just like we are, but Jesus never gave in to those temptations. He lived a perfect life without sin so that He could take the death penalty for us. He died on the cross in our place and rose from the dead, conquering sin and death. If we accept His gift of salvation & commit our lives to following Him, our slate is wiped clean. We can stand before God because we have accepted the gift of salvation through Jesus.

Jesus is Lord whether we accept it or not. Those who decide to surrender their lives to Jesus and follow his ways will receive the gift of eternal life with him in heaven. Sadly, those who choose to reject Jesus and his ways, will not be allowed to enter but will be forever separated from God and cast into the eternal torture of hell.

I do not say this to judge or condemn; I say this out of love. Just as God wants no one to perish but all to repent and be saved, I too cannot bear the thought of anyone being separated from God and cast into eternal punishment. Each of us will come face to face with Jesus & each of us will confess Him as Lord. If Jesus is tugging on your heart and calling you into a relationship with him, surrender your life and trust him. If you wait until that day when you are standing before him, it will be too late. Make sure you are prepared for eternity, and if you are prepared, make sure you tell others so that they can be prepared too.

The Hidden Injury Uncovered

Posted on by Paula

I was having a productive day and staying on task. As I was rushing, my foot hit a hole, twisted and caused me to lose my balance. Pain shot through the top of my foot. How could this happen? I had a lot to do, and I had also just gotten back into the swing of walking & dabbling with running after being in a bit of a slump. I was angry. My mind raced with thoughts that included all the reasons why an injured foot was NOT acceptable at this time.

Suddenly, the pain was gone. I truly believed that God had healed me. I thanked him excitedly and got back to business. I unloaded the groceries, shopped for a gift, mailed a package, stopped by Homewood for gift certificates (caved in for the coconut yogurt & mango Dole Whip while I was there!), delivered a thank you card, stopped by the insurance company, ran to the bank, dropped a load off at Silk Purse and went to help my niece with a favor. I was doing just fine! However, after going up & down my niece’s stairs, my foot hurt—just a little bit. I shrugged it off and drove back to town. As I walked a few blocks to finish the last errand, I felt like I might be limping. How embarrassing! I hoped no one would think that I was one of those ladies who can’t walk in high heels.

By the time I got home, the pain had definitely returned. I had a big knot on the top of my foot and pain going up my leg. Because I had broken the same foot before and had ended up with a blood clot at that time, I thought I should get it checked out.

The doctor suspected a broken foot and ordered an x-ray. By the time I went back for that, I was unable to put my foot on the floor to walk. Reluctantly, I agreed to being pushed in a wheelchair. Sigh…

The doctor came in with the results. She was surprised that the foot wasn’t broken in the swollen area but asked if my big toe hurt. The x-ray showed it was broken.

I was confused, because my big toe was fine, but after thinking a while, I remembered it hurting really bad back in February when I dropped a heavy stool on it. I thought back then that it might be broken, but I didn’t figure anything could be done with a broken toe. I rested my toe that day and the next, but made myself get back on the treadmill the following. I had been faithfully walking six days a week for over a month at that time, and I was not going to let this get into my way. I pushed myself to walk in pain but could only manage to walk about 20 minutes. The next day was my normal Sunday day of rest. Monday, I pushed myself for 30 minutes. Each day, I could walk longer with less pain until there was no pain or limitation on how long I could last.

So, yeah, I guess I did break that toe back in February, but it seemed fine now. The doctor said I didn’t need to do anything since it no longer hurt but added that I might have arthritis in it someday.

As for the new injury, the doctor told me that it was probably a sprain that could last a few days to a couple of months. I left on crutches, thinking of all the reasons why this absolutely could not last for a couple of months and continuing to beat myself up for stepping in the hole. I went home that Friday night determined that I would be better by Monday and running by Friday even though I couldn’t put any weight on the foot at all. The next morning, I could put a little weight on my heel. I ran errands on crutches and rested my foot in the afternoon and all day the next day. By Sunday evening, I could hobble. By Monday, I was able to take a 50 minute morning walk and another walk that evening. By Friday, I ran!

I am so thankful that I can walk and run just a week after the injury and I am glad that I went to see what the problem was. However, I wouldn’t have known my toe had actually been broken back in February if I hadn’t gone in June for the injured foot.

This whole scenario made me think about old wounds we can have deep down. Feelings of resentment, unforgiveness, guilt, bitterness, anger and hopelessness if not dealt with can be buried and hidden away in denial. Everything might look fine on the outside, but on the inside we know that we have broken fellowship with God or someone who was once close to us. Another incident can pop up that needs attention, and during that time of examining the new incident, the old hurt is exposed and brought to our attention.

When we don’t deal with our hurts but choose instead to ignore the pain, our relationship with God or someone here on earth can become damaged. Sometimes, when that old hurt is brought to the surface again, we are able to properly deal with it and find complete healing. Other times, we have waited too long and must learn to live with whatever consequences result. The important thing is that we eventually come to terms with that hurt.

Maybe someone has hurt you, but you haven’t forgiven them. Jesus said, “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). If you’re having trouble forgiving someone, ask God to help you forgive.

Maybe you are the person who needs to ask forgiveness. If pride has been getting in your way of asking forgiveness, humble yourself and apologize.

Some relationships will heal quickly, some may take time and others might not mend at all if the other person chooses not to accept your apology. However, no matter how the other person responds, you can have peace in knowing that you did your part to make things right again; unforgiveness on the other person’s part is sometimes a consequence that you must live with. However, when it comes to God, He is always ready to forgive. “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).

So when an injury takes place, the best thing to do is address it and take the necessary measures for healing as soon as possible. If by chance you do examine yourself and find that you have hurts that you’ve been ignoring and trying to bury deep where they can’t be seen, give them to God. Remember that God’s forgiveness and grace are always available. You just need to ask. He will also enable you to forgive those with whom you’ve been holding a grudge. Let your hurts come to the surface and find peace through God.

The Love that Changed My Life

Posted on by Paula

As I watched “The Passion of the Christ” with my high school students on Good Friday, I was hit pretty hard. I watched with a heart that broke as Jesus was mocked, spit upon and beaten. I could barely hold back my tears as I saw his flesh cut into and torn as he was whipped. I was deeply convicted as the nails were hammered into his hands. He was innocent; he didn’t deserve any cruelty. It was my sin that drove the whips and hammer, but it was his obedience and love that compelled him to suffer and willingly give his life to take away that sin. His suffering and death paid the price for every single one of my sins, every single one of your sins and every single sin that has ever been or ever will be committed.

When my husband and I got married, our minister gave us a poster with “the love passage” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). It was the first thing I saw when I got out of bed each morning and that last thing I saw as I laid down to sleep each night. Sadly, I didn’t really understand the fullness of the message that is so often read to brides and grooms. The tragic thing is that when I read the beautiful words, the only things that came to my mind were the ways I thought my husband wasn’t loving me. I would get upset because I didn’t feel like I was being loved the way I was supposed to.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8, painted by my daughter Jessica, now hangs on my office wall to remind me to love with the perfect love of Jesus.

One day, I was reading through the verses, having a pretty good pity party and pointing out to God the ways that my husband wasn’t loving me. That’s when God gently pointed out to me that I wasn’t living up to that passage. I had never questioned my love for my husband. I thought I was doing a great job. That day, however, God opened my eyes to see that I was definitely keeping “a record of wrong” and I was also “self-seeking.” Furthermore, when I didn’t think my husband was treating me right, I would retaliate. When the Holy Spirit convicted me, those words I had read over and over became life-changing to me. I finally realized that the great “love passage” not written to tell me how I should be loved; those words were written to tell me how I should love.

The love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is the same love manifested when Jesus died on the cross for my sin. It is a love that isn’t dependent on whether or not the recipient is lovable or worthy. It is a selfless love that comes from our obedience to God’s commands. Some of Jesus’ last words to his disciples before dying on the cross were, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:12-13).

I am to love with the love of Christ regardless of how I am being loved. Learning this truth has made a huge difference in my life. Just as Jesus laid down his life for me, I too am to lay down my life. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

I am ever thankful for a God who loved me enough to die for me. I am thankful that when I gave my life to him, he sent his Spirit to live in me. I am thankful that his Spirit enables me to love others with the same love in which he loves me. I am ever thankful to know and experience his love which is the greatest most perfect love there is. I am thankful that my life is forever changed because of him.

 

There Was No Other Way

Posted on by Paula

He knew what was coming that Thursday. He fell with his face to the ground and prayed to the Father 3 times asking if it was possible to take away the cup of suffering that he had been asked to drink. And though his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground, his earnest prayers of anguish ended with, “Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

He was full of love, grace and compassion. He was a man of honor and truth. He healed the sick and gave sight to the blind. He was a friend to sinners, the poor and those who others shunned. There wasn’t a mean or selfish bone in his body. He spent his life serving those around him and doing the will of his Father. He never committed a single sin. He didn’t deserve this cup, but he knew that we were separated from God by our sin. He understood that the only way to get rid of our sin was by shedding the blood of a sinless man. There was no other way. He was willing to take the blame, willing to suffer, willing to die. He accepted the cup.

A large crowd arrived that night with clubs and swords. For thirty pieces of silver, he was betrayed with a kiss, and his closest friends deserted him. He was handed over for questioning, accused of blasphemy, spit on, beaten and ridiculed. He was completely innocent, but he didn’t defend Himself.

Then came Friday. Over and over, the whips beat upon his back until it became a mass of torn, bleeding tissue. He was stripped and dressed in a scarlet robe. A crown of thorns was twisted and placed on his head. They put a staff in his hand, knelt in front of him and mocked him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” They spit on him, took the staff and beat him on the head over and over. Then they put his own clothes back on him and led him away to be crucified.

As he hung on the cross, the people continued to mock him. “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God! He saved others, but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

After hours of suffering, he cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He cried out again, and then he gave up his spirit.

The kind, compassionate, loving, giving, completely innocent man died. The crowd deserved to die. I deserve to die; you deserve to die, but he is the one who took the punishment.

He was buried in a tomb. A stone was rolled in front of the opening, and guards were posted to ensure that no one took the body. It seemed like hope was gone, but that wasn’t the end of the story….

“After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.’” (Matthew 28:1-6).

Jesus Christ died for our sin and has is risen! Do you believe?

“If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). Just as Jesus laid down his life for you, won’t you lay down your life for him? Turn away from your sin, turn to him and accept his gift of eternal life.