Forgiveness

Matthew 18 is the chapter we studied in BSF this week.  The first part speaks of humility.  A humble heart makes a person great in the Kingdom of God. The second section is about seeking the lost. The third section is on church discipline and the fourth speaks about forgiveness. Jesus relates the Parable of the Unmerciful Servant. Essentially a slave is forgiven by his master for an unreal amount of money--10,000 talents. The slave in return refuses to forgive another slave his debt of some $20.00.  There are some lessons we learn here.

First, God is angry at the lack of forgiveness in our lives. We who have been forgiven much should forgive much. Second, forgiveness is an act of the will and not an emotional decision. We shouldn't wait until we FEEL like forgiving an offender. We do it in obedience to the Lord who has forgiven us so much!

Third, forgiveness means that we don't bring the issue up to the offender or any one else. It also means we don't dwell on it ourselves.  It releases the offender to the Lord and frees us in the process. Bitterness builds a prison that encloses its own architect.  Fourth, true forgiveness requires much humility.  It releases not only the offender but the offended. Such an act screams to the world's  "get even" or "some one is going to pay" mentality that Jesus Christ lives. He works through the hearts of His own. Is there someone for whom you harbor bitterness? Don't waste any more time. Offer a full pardon now with a concise yet sincere "I will forgive you" and thus be pleasing to the Lord.
  

Bite and Devour One Another

Most of you know that I have two dogs. Kellie, the smaller, possesses the deviousness of a dachshund, the visual acuity of a miniature pincher and the heart of a Rottweiler.  Spirit, the larger, wasn't the smartest pup in the litter but she certainly is the sweetest.  It must be the Labrador retriever in her.  She's a committed scent dog since she is mostly an American foxhound. Today we went walking. As is our typical pattern Kellie's looking around for trouble, Spirit has her nose to the ground trailing who knows what. I am the holder of the leashes.  Kellie spied another dog which usually means Spirit has come and bail her out.  Like I said Kellie has the heart of a Rottweiler in a much teenier body.  Spirit got so flustered she rammed into Kellie causing her to roll down the hill for a bit.  She didn't mean to do so. She just got excited in her big lug kind of way. While these two were engaged in rough and tumble the other dog walked calmly away.

This is not an example of Galatians 5: 15: which says: "But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another." That could have occurred had Kellie or Spirit gotten closer to the other dog.  Gratefully Kellie took a tumble down the hill and that innocently so.  I've seen some real bad clashes in the dog world.  In fact, last week a friend and I were walking our dogs in the park.  Both of our dogs got rather viciously attacked by unknown dogs.  It is a scary happening and hard to watch. Gratefully both of the other owners came and got their dogs--which were unleashed by the way (ahem).  The biting and devouring is an ugly scene remembered for a long time.

It's the same way in the church. I've been involved in some pretty nasty church splits.  It shouldn't be that way.  But when the flesh or the enemy gets any ground it can be brutal.  Many people get hurt and some for a long time. I've known bitterness between two parties to span decades and I think that may be part of what the verse means when it says "Take care that you are not consumed by one another."  Unresolved bitterness only destroys the one who holds it in.  One of the ladies at my BSF group said it thus: "Bitterness is when you take the poison and expect the other person to die."  Let that be a good reminder for us all to take care not to bite, devour or be consumed by one another. Rather let us be consumed by God's "one another commands He expects to be a deep part of the local church.

The Damage of Sin

I spent some of my day taking down holiday adornments at a local care facility. I remember how carefully and beautifully the Activities Director did everything.  She spent many a late night getting everything ready.  It was wonderful and the comments from residents, family and friends continued throughout the season. But it took two of us roughly 4 or 5 hours to undo every beautiful thing she had done.  Things were taken down, arranged for easy access next year and packed in a crate.  One swoop through and it was all over.  It was almost as though it never happened in the first place. But pictures and people's memories were too strong for that.

It reminds me how sin can swoop through a life and make it seem as though everything that went before didn't matter.  It's not true but a person's reputation, lifelong reputation, can be destroyed with one scandal.  A sin can wipe out any of the good works that truly may have been done through the Lord's Spirit. It can ruin a testimony and cast doubt on the Lord.  I've been sharing with the Lord how much I desire to bring Him glory. He's been sharing with me my past and present failures.  Not to beat me up but to encourage me to repent because He loves me. 

It's a hard process for sure. Not one anybody really wants to go through. But is is the pathway to holiness and that's God's goal for us this year and until we see Him again.  So while it's hard, I continue on baby step after baby step. Setting my face like flint even for a brief moment but willing to keep turning toward Him countless times throughout the day.  It would be much easier if I could just hold my face toward Him for a longer period but prayerfully that will happen in time.  Until then I take my little baby steps, turn my face repeatedly and trust Him to take away my mourning over sin and give me joy.  I solicit your prayers as I fight. 

Fullness of God's Forgiveness

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. " I John 1: 8-9

 ^"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, ¹⁴ having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2: 13-14

The Bible is replete with God's promises to forgive those who confess their sin and repent.  The verses above are two of hundreds but they reveal the scope of God's forgiveness.  Note however, that true biblical forgiveness comes only through God's Son Jesus Christ.  God's is not a cheap grace. It may be free but it is not cheap.  When we confess known sin, He cleanses us from all unrighteousness. The Believer's Bible Commentary say of verse 9 in I John:

In order for us to walk day by day in fellowship with God and with our fellow believers, we must confess our sins: sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of throught, sins of act, secret sins, and public sins.  We must drag them out into the open before God, call them by their names, take sides with God against them, and forsake them.  Yes, true confession involves forsaking of sins. Proverbs 28:13: "He who covers His sins will not prosper; but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy."