Somebody did you wrong.
What is your first reaction?
Hurt? "I thought you were my friend?"
Unbelief? "Why would you say that? How could you do that to me?"
Anger? Vengeance? Bitterness? Holding a grudge?
The core question: How long will you torment yourself by someone else's actions?
Because that is the true result of a trespass when you get right down to it.
Nelson Mandela once said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for it to kill your enemy."
Unforgiveness only hurts ourselves. We imprison ourselves with emotions.
And I know that from personal experience.
Unforgiveness will cripple your soul. The only way to move forward is to let go and forgive. I had to come to a realization that when someone does me wrong, God Knows. He saw the whole thing. He heard the whole conversation. He saw the smirk the person gave you, heard the unkind words spoken to you. He knows. Let Him take care of it.
So what do we do?
Ephesians 4:32 says, "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
It's not easy. But when you do what is right according to God's Word, your heart will follow and will heal.
After all, shouldn't we forgive for the simple fact that we, ourselves, have been forgiven?
"Forgiveness-when God buries our sins and does not mark the grave." Louis Paul Lehman
I don't know about you, but I want to leave yesterday's offenses behind, so I can move forward.....but, that's just me.
Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Scars
A friend recently shared a blessing. She was able to go with her adult daughter to her hair appointment. Why was this such a blessing? Because two and a half years ago, her daughter had a horrific accident. Her hair caught fire from a simple candle's flame. Can you imagine for a moment, the pain? The terror? For the past two and a half years, her daughter has had to go through multiple treatments, endure multiple infections, and live the trauma from this event. So to be able to go with her daughter to get her hair cut, was a blessing and a milestone in her daughters healing.
But even though the infections have passed, and her hair is now growing, she will forever live with the scars from this accident.
But we all have scars.
Webster's Dictionary defines scars this way:
1-A mark remaining as on the skin after injured tissue has healed.
2-a mark left on a stem or branch where a leaf or fruit has separated.
3-a mark or indentation, resulting from damage or wear.
4-a lasting moral or emotional injury.
If we were to read each definition, we would see that we all bare scars.
Maybe from an accident. Maybe someone you love has left you. A friend betrayed you. You were abused. Or maybe you are just worn out from the constant physical or mental pain you endure every day.
Maybe your scar was inflicted on you by someone else. Or maybe, your scar was self-inflicted.
Maybe our scars are obvious, or maybe they are hidden. Visible and invisible scars. We all have them.
No one can live in our world and not be scarred.
Not even God.
Isaiah 53:5 says, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
May the scars in our lives remind us of the Grace so freely given by our Saviour.
Henry Longfellow once said, "Every man has secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."
May God help us see others through His eyes of love, so we can make a difference in the life of someone who is hurting.
I know I want too.....but that's just me.
But even though the infections have passed, and her hair is now growing, she will forever live with the scars from this accident.
But we all have scars.
Webster's Dictionary defines scars this way:
1-A mark remaining as on the skin after injured tissue has healed.
2-a mark left on a stem or branch where a leaf or fruit has separated.
3-a mark or indentation, resulting from damage or wear.
4-a lasting moral or emotional injury.
If we were to read each definition, we would see that we all bare scars.
Maybe from an accident. Maybe someone you love has left you. A friend betrayed you. You were abused. Or maybe you are just worn out from the constant physical or mental pain you endure every day.
Maybe your scar was inflicted on you by someone else. Or maybe, your scar was self-inflicted.
Maybe our scars are obvious, or maybe they are hidden. Visible and invisible scars. We all have them.
No one can live in our world and not be scarred.
Not even God.
Isaiah 53:5 says, But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
May the scars in our lives remind us of the Grace so freely given by our Saviour.
Henry Longfellow once said, "Every man has secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad."
May God help us see others through His eyes of love, so we can make a difference in the life of someone who is hurting.
I know I want too.....but that's just me.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
Acceptance
"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference."
This prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951. You probably have seen it on Wall Art, Bookmarks, Tote Bags, you name it. But have you really taken the words to this prayer to heart?
I recently confided in a friend of mine, that I have had a tough week. A crying week. A week of desperation. Even to the point where I was asking God to give me any other health problem if He would just remove the one I have had for the last thirty years.
His Answer: "My grace is sufficient for you. I have carried you for these past thirty years and I will continue to do so."
Tough answer. I'm past due to accept this.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we are told that the Apostle Paul also had a health problem. Paul prayed three times to have this removed and three times the answer was no.
And that was the end of that. You never heard Paul mention it again. There was no more prayer asking God to remove this thorn in his flesh. Paul prayed, God answered, Paul accepted God's answer and he moved on! Paul learned that God's power was displayed in his weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
I cannot change my condition. The power to do so rests in God alone.
It's time for me to accept this "thorn in my flesh" and move on. To thank God for giving me the grace I need to get through each day. After all, He has never let me down in the past. I can trust that He will carry me through the future.
But then again.....that's just me.
This prayer was written by Reinhold Niebuhr in 1951. You probably have seen it on Wall Art, Bookmarks, Tote Bags, you name it. But have you really taken the words to this prayer to heart?
I recently confided in a friend of mine, that I have had a tough week. A crying week. A week of desperation. Even to the point where I was asking God to give me any other health problem if He would just remove the one I have had for the last thirty years.
His Answer: "My grace is sufficient for you. I have carried you for these past thirty years and I will continue to do so."
Tough answer. I'm past due to accept this.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, we are told that the Apostle Paul also had a health problem. Paul prayed three times to have this removed and three times the answer was no.
And that was the end of that. You never heard Paul mention it again. There was no more prayer asking God to remove this thorn in his flesh. Paul prayed, God answered, Paul accepted God's answer and he moved on! Paul learned that God's power was displayed in his weakness. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."
I cannot change my condition. The power to do so rests in God alone.
It's time for me to accept this "thorn in my flesh" and move on. To thank God for giving me the grace I need to get through each day. After all, He has never let me down in the past. I can trust that He will carry me through the future.
But then again.....that's just me.
Tuesday, June 23, 2020
Words
"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never break me."
I remember saying that on the playground in my younger days. Do you?
According to Wikipedia, these words were first reported to have appeared in the Christian Recorder of March 1862!
This old adage has literally repeated itself down through the generations in order to show that you cannot be hurt by the mean things that are said to you.
Did it work?
I don't think so.
When someone said something mean to me, no matter how many times I chanted that saying, I still hurt inside.
Words are powerful. We must be careful how we use them, because we will be known by our words, and one day we will be judged by our words.
Do we use words as our swords, or for edifying? Do we discourage others with our words, or do we encourage others with our words?
When I was a little girl, I remember my Mom always saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Wise words.
Proverbs 16:24 says: "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."
I don't know about you, but I want my words to help heal a wounded soul, not to wound a soul.
…..but that's just me.
I remember saying that on the playground in my younger days. Do you?
According to Wikipedia, these words were first reported to have appeared in the Christian Recorder of March 1862!
This old adage has literally repeated itself down through the generations in order to show that you cannot be hurt by the mean things that are said to you.
Did it work?
I don't think so.
When someone said something mean to me, no matter how many times I chanted that saying, I still hurt inside.
Words are powerful. We must be careful how we use them, because we will be known by our words, and one day we will be judged by our words.
Do we use words as our swords, or for edifying? Do we discourage others with our words, or do we encourage others with our words?
When I was a little girl, I remember my Mom always saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Wise words.
Proverbs 16:24 says: "Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."
I don't know about you, but I want my words to help heal a wounded soul, not to wound a soul.
…..but that's just me.
Monday, June 22, 2020
Get out of the Boat
Life can be risky. If we're not careful, we can hunker ourselves down in a safety net and miss all the blessings. Fear, anxiety, failure. All tools that prevent us from taking risks.
What kind of risks am I talking about? Not the 'lets jump out of an airplane,' or 'lets go scale the highest mountain.' I'm talking about the risk where you make yourself vulnerable to others. The risk of being your true-self to those around you. After all, you have an image to protect, right? No reason to expose ourselves to our secrets, hurts, failures.
I want to introduce you to someone who took a risk, failed, but was a better person for it.
His name is Peter. This guy was out in a boat heading to a destination he was directed to go travel, thinking that it would be 'smooth sailing.' But guess what? A storm hit. And like most fishermen do, when a storm hits, they either batten down the hatches, throw all the heavy weighted items overboard to keep the boat afloat, strap on their life jackets, and hide under the bow until the storm passes by.
But not Peter. HE GOT OUT OF THE BOAT.
Why? Because Jesus told him too.
You can read this account in Matthew 14:22-32
In the middle of verse 29 it says, 'he (meaning Peter) walked on the water'
Do you realize, that Peter is the only man who ever walked on water?
It's because he risked getting out of the boat.
Now, I realize that Peter, once he took his eyes off of the Lord and paid more attention to the storm instead of the Saviour, that he began to sink. You might even consider this a failure.
I don't. Do you know why? Because Peter risked GETTING OUT OF THE BOAT.
Peter learned that to look at our storms will cause us to sink, but when we look at the Saviour, we can walk through the storms, and He will be with us all the way.
Peter literally got out of the boat.
What is your boat?
What is keeping you anchored from doing what God has called you to do?
I don't know about you, but the risks are worth the blessings that follow,
but then again.....that's just me.
"Real joy is not found in the best moments of life, but in the trusting that God is making the best of every moment." unknown
What kind of risks am I talking about? Not the 'lets jump out of an airplane,' or 'lets go scale the highest mountain.' I'm talking about the risk where you make yourself vulnerable to others. The risk of being your true-self to those around you. After all, you have an image to protect, right? No reason to expose ourselves to our secrets, hurts, failures.
I want to introduce you to someone who took a risk, failed, but was a better person for it.
His name is Peter. This guy was out in a boat heading to a destination he was directed to go travel, thinking that it would be 'smooth sailing.' But guess what? A storm hit. And like most fishermen do, when a storm hits, they either batten down the hatches, throw all the heavy weighted items overboard to keep the boat afloat, strap on their life jackets, and hide under the bow until the storm passes by.
But not Peter. HE GOT OUT OF THE BOAT.
Why? Because Jesus told him too.
You can read this account in Matthew 14:22-32
In the middle of verse 29 it says, 'he (meaning Peter) walked on the water'
Do you realize, that Peter is the only man who ever walked on water?
It's because he risked getting out of the boat.
Now, I realize that Peter, once he took his eyes off of the Lord and paid more attention to the storm instead of the Saviour, that he began to sink. You might even consider this a failure.
I don't. Do you know why? Because Peter risked GETTING OUT OF THE BOAT.
Peter learned that to look at our storms will cause us to sink, but when we look at the Saviour, we can walk through the storms, and He will be with us all the way.
Peter literally got out of the boat.
What is your boat?
What is keeping you anchored from doing what God has called you to do?
I don't know about you, but the risks are worth the blessings that follow,
but then again.....that's just me.
"Real joy is not found in the best moments of life, but in the trusting that God is making the best of every moment." unknown
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