10.28.09
Posted in Bible at 10:28 am by Administrator
I would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone that posted their comments on the topic of forgiveness and all the other topics that have been put up in the past.
The honesty is very refreshing because this is truly something that affects us all at one point or another in our lives.
So, is forgiving one another really easier said than done? What about statements such as “I have forgiven, but I can’t forget”, or better yet, “ I have forgiven, but I can never trust that person again”.
It is so interesting that after the topic was posted last week, almost every sermon that I heard, at church and on television, was about forgiveness, letting go of anger, loving our brethren and being a peace maker, so I asked myself – if God tells us in His word, over and over again to forgive, to love, to be even-tempered, to live in peace etc, how can we then say it is not practical, because He will never instruct us to do anything that He does not believe that we can do.
In Matthew 19:26 and Mark 10:27 Jesus tells us that on our own most things are impossible, but with God, ALL things are possible.
So when it seems as if walking in His will is too hard, we need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to rely on our own strength. We just have to draw that strength from the One that called us on this walk in the first place.
2 Peter 1:3 states “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness”.
Our God is always there for us and in Him, we have all that we need to do all that he has called us to do.
Share your thoughts that you might encourage your brethren.
In Christ,
The handmaid at His feet.
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10.21.09
Posted in Bible at 4:49 am by Administrator
It has been on my heart for some time now to write about forgiveness because I believe it is one of the main things that we Christians struggle with. I tried to shy away from it by telling myself that everyone has heard at least 101 sermons on forgiveness so we already know what we need to do. Then I rationalized that since it is such a broad topic that I would be writing for hours and this is not the forum for that. Then God, being God, gave me an opportunity to be a doer of the word and not just a hearer. I was about to have a face-to-face meeting with someone that I had not seen nor spoken to in a couple of years because we had ‘offended’ each other. I had already told myself that I had forgiven this person, but I did not know how they would act towards me and what type of reaction it would evoke from me. Then I prayed …………… and the spirit told me not to let the circumstances evoke a reaction, but let the spirit of Christ in me evoke a reaction.
The reason that I say that Christians struggle with forgiveness is because unforgiveness has a very subtle way of creeping into the hearts of men and it is usually preceded by one thing that humans feel very deeply: HURT. This emotion ‘hurt’ encompasses a lot of things: anger, physical pain, emotional pain, heart break, disappointment, betrayal, embarrassment, humiliation, degradation, rejection, disapproval and a host of other feelings. When we are on the receiving end of any of these feelings, it gives rise to indignation- and that voice tells us “Hey! you are the hurt party here!” Hence, the first seed has been planted. The heart is receptive when the response is “Yes, I am the hurt party here, I have a right to be upset”- the seed then begins to germinate. Now the deceiver has something to work with – to manipulate: and manipulate he will!
The Word of God does not compromise on the issue of forgiveness. Colossians 3:12-13 says “ Therefore as the Lord’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you”.
It is not our unforgiveness that punishes the people that have hurt us, because God tells us that it is His to avenge [Deut. 32:35]. If anything, our unforgiveness punishes us. Not only does it make us step out of line with the Word of God, but it keeps us from making progress with our own recovery. If He who was without sin could love and forgive us to the point of dying for our sins, who are we, who are with sin and continually ask for forgiveness, not to forgive?
When faced with a circumstance where we are required to forgive, let us embrace Philippians 4:13 that assures us that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
Share your thoughts that you might encourage your brethren.
In Christ,
The handmaid at His feet.
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10.13.09
Posted in Bible at 9:22 pm by Administrator
In the book of John, chapter 15 from verse 1-2, Jesus says” I am the true vine and my father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit “. From verse 5 He says ”I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned”.
As christians are we just blending into the crowd? Is there a noticeable difference in us from the way we were before we knew Christ? Now that we are taking Christ in, is there anything coming out that shows people that we are new creations?
A flourishing plant is usually not invisible. It tends to attract attention. A plant that bears fruit attracts people to it, some out of curiosity to see what type of fruit is being produced, and others who know the fruit and want to partake of it. In a nutshell, a flourishing plant does not go unnoticed.
Being a dormant Christian is no longer an option for God’s children. The Lord wants us to flourish. He wants all that we receive from Him to be visible to others by way of the fruit that it produces in us, thereby attracting them to Him. Jesus is telling us that if we truly abide in Him, by hearing his word and obeying His commandments, He too will abide in us by being our stronghold, the One that we depend on, and can rely on, then we will be as flourishing branches- because the Lord, His Father, our Father, the vinedresser- prunes us, watches over us, and takes away all those things that will stunt our growth, so that we can bear more fruit.
The branches that choose to bear no fruit are easily removed by the Father as they were never firmly attached to the vine in the first place.
So let us make that decision today to flourish, because it is our fruitfulness that makes us Christ’s disciples, thereby bringing glory to God our father.
Share your thoughts that you might encourage your brethren.
In Christ,
The handmaid at His feet.
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10.06.09
Posted in Bible at 9:48 pm by Administrator
I have come to find the story of Mary and Martha – taken from Luke 10: 38-42 – to be very inspiring. Now men, before you make an exit thinking that the message here just applies to women, read on because I believe the message is valuable for all God’s children.
The story is of 2 sisters, Mary and Martha. Martha invited Jesus to her home and then set about the traditional role of the hostess by cooking and making great preparations for Him. However, while she was busily doing this, her sister Mary made no effort to help, but instead, sat at the Lord’s feet listening to all he said. This infuriated Martha who then went to Jesus and asked Him to instruct her sister to help. The Lord then gave her a very interesting response. In verse 41 He replied ”Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, [42] but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken away from her.”
Christ was not being insensitive to Martha, or encouraging that Mary neglect her duties. On the contrary, He was pointing out that when it is time to receive Him, to heed His call, to reach out and take his hand, everything else is secondary. He was also pointing out that when He’s speaking to us, we need to be still and listen. Christ came for one reason, and one reason only, our salvation. So when He makes himself available to us, at that time nothing else should matter more that listening to Him, receiving from Him, and receiving of Him.
All Mary cared about at that moment was her Savior and she wanted to take in as much of Him as she could.. All the fanfare and hustle and bustle meant nothing to her. All she wanted was Jesus and that was why the Lord said in verse 42”Only ONE thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better.” Mary chose salvation over the things of the world, she chose spiritual food over earthly food, she chose the company of Christ over the company of men, and that was why Jesus said that it would not be taken from her.
The demands of life will always be there, but the time we have on earth to gain salvation is limited. So let us choose as Mary did, and it too will not be taken away from us. .
Let’s take a moment to encourage our brethren.
Share your thoughts: What can we do in our daily lives that would make us more like Mary?
In Christ,
Handmaid at His Feet
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