Tag Archives: forgiveness

Your Refreshing Comes Daily

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“And then many will be offended and repelled and will begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.”   Matthew 24:10 Amp.

As you spend time daily, God washes your spirit from the trials and troubles of the previous day so you enter into the new day fresh.  Refreshing comes daily. When we take the troubles of the previous day into the next day, we have failed to cast our burden on the Lord.

Jesus said that in the last days many would become overwhelmed with the cares of the world.  When we become overwhelmed, it is so easy to become offended at others.  If you are looking at someone through their previous mistakes; after a week or so, it all adds up to a huge offense.  If you have been offended, you will find that all your thoughts are clouded and dictated by the offense.  The amplified Bible calls offenses, “snares and traps.”  So being offended is like stepping into a big trap that has been set up by the enemy.

Once you step into the trap of offense all your actions are dictated by the offense.  This is why Jesus warned His disciples in Mathew 24:10, “Many shall be offended and they shall betray one another and shall hate one another.”

I have stepped into this horrible trap before, and I know how hard it is to get out. But, Jesus made a way of escape out of the trap.  The way of escape is to forgive.

Today, forgive those who have offended or hurt you.  Begin fresh each new day.

Have you been offended? How to Deal With Offenses

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

dealing with offenseHave 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.

Forgiveness: Clean Out Your Filing Cabinet

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“Forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:32

No matter who you are or how long you have been a Christian, you will still have times when you get hurt and offended.  As a Christian, the goal is to learn how to deal with hurts properly.

Learning to respond instead of reacting is the key.  If you have been hurt in the same way before, then it will be easier to take on the offense and react.  The reaction will be based on a combination of the present hurt and the past hurts as well.  If you have learned to forgive when hurtful things happen instead of being offended, you will be able to respond correctly.  Forgiveness therefore, must become a way of life in order to be able to respond in a Christ-like manner no matter what the situation is.

The problem is that your soul has a filing cabinet where past hurts and offenses are stored that have not been dealt with properly. This is why when someone does something that hurts you; you will suddenly remember how many times they have done the same thing before.

The only way to be free from past hurts is to forgive. Ask the Lord to help you forgive. Forgiveness is releasing the person who hurt you, and releasing your right to hold the offense against them any longer. Forgiveness is not saying that what they did was not wrong; forgiveness is releasing them to God. You will not be free from the pain caused by the offense until you release the offender. Once you forgive them, your filing cabinet will be cleaned out and you can begin to deal with hurts on a daily basis instead of letting things pile up.

Forgiveness is releasing our right to demand payment for sins against us by surrendering to God and letting Him be the judge and jury.

How to Experience the Love of God?

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There was a wonderful Christian song written several years ago titled, “It’s My Fathers House.”  One line went something like this, “There is a big, big house with lots and lots of rooms and a big, big, table with lots and lots of food.  A big, big yard where we can play football…It’s my Fathers House.”

This song portrayed our Father God’s house as being home we can’t wait to go to.   Like coming home after a long journey, you can’t wait to get there and you can smell cookies baking even before you get to the front door.  When I am preparing our home for our kids to return, I make sure they feel loved with God’s unconditional love.

The prodigal son found God’s love as he walked toward his father’s house that day.  Even after he had squandered all his inheritance, he still saw his father’s loving arms reaching out towards him as he returned home.  His father represented our Heavenly Father, full of love, grace, and mercy.  Everyone needs to experience Father’s love and know that God loves them no matter what they have done.

 

Time Alone With God

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The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor;  he has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God;

To comfort all who mourn,  to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.” Isaiah 61:1-3

Time with GodTime alone with God has a divine purpose.

We set time aside for hair appointments, doctor and dentist appointments and they seem so important that we schedule them even months in advance.  However, time alone with God is where the real change takes place.

During our time alone with God, we are forgiven, released, refreshed, and renewed.  In the presence of God, we are healed, encouraged, restored and transformed.  A divine exchange takes place: beauty is given for ashes, strength for weakness and joy for mourning.  This divine exchange can only happen as you commit to spend time alone with God.