Monthly Archives: August 2010

Deal With Offenses by Magnifying The Lord

Posted on by

“Oh, Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 34:3

Have you noticed the increase in the opportunities to be offended? Even after 25 years of marriage to my husband, I sometimes get offended by what he says. As a wife, I may know he doesn’t mean something the way I took it, but I still feel a huge pull to be offended. I believe in the day we are living, the days prior to the return of the Lord, there will be a greater pull than ever before to be offended. Jesus taught us in Mathew 18:7 that offenses will surely come. In Mathew 24, when the disciples asked Jesus what the signs of His return would be, He said in verse 10, “And then shall many be offended…” So we should not be surprised when we feel the pull to be offended. The question is: how fast do you move past an offense? Jesus made it possible for us to be able to move past offenses very quickly.

I must constantly remind myself that we are in “the time,” the days before Jesus returns. Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, that there would be a great falling away in these days. I believe the falling away is due to being offended. If your love waxes cold according to Mathew 24, you will fall away.

I know when I am offended, I must quickly forgive. Forgiveness is the only answer! It is the way of escape! The quicker I forgive, the quicker I come back into my right mind. When I am offended my soul is in control. When I forgive, my spirit rises up above my soul and takes back over.

I have learned that when I am offended everything is distorted and even my emotions become out of control. When I am offended at a person I will see them in a distorted way, bigger than they really are. I will become overly focused on them. They become the center of attention and all I talk about for days. Every conversation even goes back somehow to what offended me.

The more we put our focus on those who offended us, the more magnified they become. This could cause our heart to wax cold and may lead us to sin against God. He is the only one we are to magnify. When we focus on others and what they did to offend us, we make them bigger than God.

Oh, Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. (Psalm 34:3).

So right now press the minimize button and minimize the person who has offended you. Bring them down to the right size and forgive them. Remember, if it were not for the grace of God you might have done the very same thing

Hold On To Hope

Posted on by

“We who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope that has been appointed for us” (Hebrew 6:18).

What are you hoping for: a new job, a husband, a wife, or healing of a loved one? For that which you are hoping, let me encourage you to tighten your grip. It is time to securely grab hold of whatever the Lord has promised you. Don’t let it slip out of your hands and don’t give in to even the slightest disappointment. Spend time with the Lord and this is what happens: “We who have fled to Him for refuge might have mighty indwelling strength and strong encouragement to grasp and hold fast the hope that has been appointed for us” (Hebrew 6:18).

There is something God has appointed for you. When you give-in to disappointment you are in essence saying, “I no longer believe that what God has appointed for me, will take place.” Disappointments will cause you to let go of the hope. It is like you have been swinging on a rope across a huge cannon, and you let go of the rope right before you get to the other side. When you give in to disappointment, you can feel yourself sliding down the rope. If you give in, your strength will grow weary and you will completely let go.

I know this is how it works. Right now I have burn marks on my hands from letting the rope slip through my hands. Disappointments are coming from every side. I have been so bombarded by disappointments that I gave in to them. When a friend pointed out that I was disappointed, I said “You better believe I am disappointed”. I began to give her a list a mile long. I wanted her to understand all the things that disappointed me.

But the Lord would not allow me that privilege. He lovingly said, “That is what you receive when you are in kindergarten.” Then I remembered. In kindergarten when it rained and we were disappointed because we could not go outside and play, my teacher would give us a sucker. The Lord reminded me, “You are not in kindergarten and you cannot give in to disappointments.” I must adjust my grip and hold on. Paul said it in Hebrews 6:18, “hold fast to the hope that is appointed for us.” The word appointed means it has been prearranged and set before me. All I do is grab it and hold on tight to Hope. Hope is the anchor of my soul.