Tag Archives: forgiveness

July 29, 2024 · 5:48 AM

Covering Sin Up

It’s amazing to me how human nature will allow us to do something wrong, then make us think we can cover it up. In the early 2000’s, just down the road from me, Enron was supposedly the seventh largest and wealthiest company in the U.S. it turns out they had built a house of cards with deceptive business practices. They were doing things illegally and then covering it up trying to make it look like everything was on the up and up. Once all the covering up was exposed, the house of cards came tumbling down. In one final attempt to cover things up, shredder trucks arrived as the news broke. They began trying to shred all the evidence to cover up as much as possible. The business laws changed that day.

In Genesis 3, we read the story of Adam and Eve who were placed in the Garden of Eden. They were given the most beautiful place on earth to live in the most perfect environment. Each evening they even walked with God, yet even in there they had the temptation to do something wrong. The devil took their eyes off of all God had given them and had them focus on what they couldn’t have. Eve took from the tree and ate the forbidden fruit. She then gave some to her husband Adam. Immediately their eyes were opened to see that they were naked. They tried to cover themselves and their sin with fig leaves. Instead of confessing their sin, they tried to cover it up and were banished from the garden.

Proverbs 28:13 says, “People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy” (NLT). Sin always tries to hide in the life of a believer. It wants to be done in secret and covered up. However, we can’t prosper by covering our sins ourselves. Only the blood of Jesus can cover our sins and make us whole. We must confess them to God, turn from them too, and then we will receive God’s mercy and grace. Where are the fig leaves in your life? What are you trying to conceal instead of being willing to confess? God is extending mercy toward you today if you will quit trying to cover it yourself and allow Him to forgive you. It’s time to put the fig leaves down and to quit covering up sin.

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May 14, 2024 · 5:40 AM

Church Hurt

I saw a post on X yesterday from an author I met years ago. She posted something to the effect of, “There’s no hurt like church hurt.” I started reading through the replies as people shared their church hurt stories. I started thinking about my own story, but that’s when it hit me that I had forgiven and let go of mine. There are people who hold onto that hurt for the rest of their lives. The people we love have the ability to hurt us the most. We forget that the people in the church are people, and people are imperfect. They are also brothers and sisters in Christ making them our spiritual family. While we sit in our pain waiting for them to come to us, we forget that Jesus said if someone offends us, we are to go to them. We also forget that we must forgive in order to be forgiven. These are two very difficult things, but not impossible.

In Genesis, we read the story of a young man named Joseph who had eleven brothers. Out of All the kids, he was the favorite and treated as such. After his dreams of being in charge of the family, his brothers hatched a plan to pay him back. They threw him in a pit, stole his coat and sold him into slavery. After nearly 25 years of slavery and prison, he was released and made second in command of one of the greatest civilizations in history. He was distributing food during the famine when he saw his brothers come in needing food. After he revealed himself, his brothers were scared of payback. Sensing their fear in Genesis 45:5 he said, “But don’t be upset, and don’t be angry with yourselves for selling me to this place. It was God who sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives” (NLT). He had chosen forgiveness and had seen God used his hurt to place him where he could fulfill God’s ultimate plan.

Colossians 3:13 says, “Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them” (TPT). Paul knew what it was like to be church hurt and he had seen it happen to others. He gave us this reminder that we must remember they’re human too and that we to must put on the robe of forgiveness and release it. Holding on to past pain holds us in a prison like Joseph was in. It’s when we release it that he can restore us to positions where we can make a difference. Remember that forgiveness doesn’t always require reconciliation. It means you choose to let go and trust God who will use our situation to bring healing to others.

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April 11, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Finding Grace

When I was around seven or eight, I did something that upset my mom. She told me that when my dad came home from work he was going to punish me. She then sent me to my room to wait. After I got in there, I began to think of the punishment I was going to get. I thought about hiding. It seemed like the best plan until I thought about escaping through the window. I then realized that would make it worse. Finally, I decided to put on every pair of underwear I had and some baggy pants. As I waited, all I could think about was the punishment. To be honest, I don’t remember the punishment that day. I just remember the build up and fear.

When you and I sin, we often act like that. It’s the Adam and Eve approach to sin. We feel bad for what we’ve done, and more than anything, we’re embarrassed. It’s obvious God knows about it, but for whatever reason, going to Him seems like a far fetched idea. To be forgiven freely doesn’t feel right, so we wallow in our shame for a bit. It’s like we feel the need to punish ourselves over our sins. The truth is that God doesn’t want us to hide from Him in those moments. He wants us to come to Him right away for the grace He gives.

Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us have confidence, then, and approach God’s throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it” (GNT). The verse before says that Jesus understands our weaknesses and sympathizes with us. He didn’t come into the world to condemn us, but that through Him we would find grace when we need it most. He is merciful, and too often we forget that. There’s no reason to hide from Him because of what you’ve done. He knows about it and loves you still. Approach His throne today, get the grace you need and lose your shame.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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March 5, 2024 · 5:15 AM

The Key Of Forgiveness

Have you ever been hurt by someone that it cut you to the core? You get hit with so many emotions when that happens. Anger shows up pretty early on. It wants revenge and retribution for your pain. It slowly takes over all your thoughts and playing out scenarios of payback. Resentment then shows up. It persistently reminds you of what they have done and puts that blame on them. It plants the seeds for bitterness to take root and grow. It reminds you that you’re the victim and builds up more anger. I draws lines in the sand that keeps you from healing by helping you to hold a grudge. In the end, you’re held in a prison of pain that your mind has put you in, and you don’t realize it until it’s too late. To get free, you’ll have to forgive. To keep from going back to that prison, you’ll have to learn to stop this process early on.

Joseph was just 17 years old and next to the youngest of 12 sons. He was his father’s favorite and all his brothers knew it. They allowed the process of anger play out in their minds and began to hate him. They complained about him and played out scenarios in their minds of what they would do to him. Then one day the opportunity arose and they decided to act on their anger and resentment. They planned to kill him, but one brother stopped them. Instead they beat him up, took his belongings and sold him into slavery. Their bitterness had gotten the best of them. However, Joseph didn’t return the favor. He stopped anger, resentment and bitterness before they could take root. He led with forgiveness even though he had every reason to hate them. Though he was in a physical prison, he never was in a mental one. In the end, God used him to save his family.

Ephesians 4:27 says, “And do not give the devil an opportunity [to lead you into sin by holding a grudge, or nurturing anger, or harboring resentment, or cultivating bitterness]” (AMP). More often than not, we find ourselves on the brothers’ side of the story than Joseph’s when it comes to anger and resentment. We justify our actions because of what they did, but that’s not God’s way. The devil leads us into sin and personal prison by helping us cultivate unhealthy thoughts. The roots from those thoughts can permeate every aspect of our lives before we know it if we allow them to continue. However, you don’t have to stay in that prison. Ask God to help you break the thoughts that have placed and kept you there. Ask Him to help you unlock the prison with the key of forgiveness. Then ask Him to help you guard your mind and to control your thoughts so you don’t get locked up again.

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January 3, 2024 · 5:30 AM

Forgiveness Matters

During World War II, Corrie Ten Boom and her family helped hide Jews from the Nazi’s until they were caught. They were shipped off to concentration camps where her father and sister died from the torture they endured. A few years after the war, Corrie was in Munich, Germany teaching people about how God forgives. After her message, she noticed a man moving toward her as everyone was exiting. It was a guard from the camp she was stationed at who had been evil and vile to the two sisters. He said he had become a Christian and that God had forgiven him of all the terrible things he did at that camp. He then asked her if she would forgive him too. She knew as a Christian she had to, but she struggled. She then asked Jesus to help her as she put out her hand to shake his. She felt a current go through her body and said, “I forgive you, brother! With all my heart!”

I can’t help but think of Joseph whose father had given him a coat of many colors in Genesis 37. His own brothers began to resent him to the pint they agreed to kill him. Instead they took his coat and threw him in a cistern. They sold him into slavery where he was taken to Egypt. For years he was a slave and later a prisoner. He could have resented his brothers for all the pain and heartache they caused him, but instead he chose to forgive. When they came seeking food, he fed them and cared for them. He understood that God was able to use their actions to place him in position to help many. His ability to forgive them and show them kindness in return for what they did to him is another great example of someone who was wronged but chose to forgive.

Colossians 3:13 says, ”Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others“ (NLT). This verse tells us that we are to forgive anyone who offends or hurts us. Remember forgiveness releases you from the prison their actions keeps you in. It doesn’t mean you have to reconcile with them either. It means you must let go of the hurt and the pain they have caused you, quit harboring malice towards them and be willing to treat them as if they didn’t harm you. Like Corrie Ten Boom recalled, we can’t be forgiven by God unless we forgive others. If you can’t do it in your strength, then ask God to help you forgive. You will not fully heal until you do. Don’t carry that weight anymore. Use this start to a new year to help you let go of the weight of unforgiveness.

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December 21, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Pursuing Peace

Years ago “The Lion King” was a huge box office hit. The main character, Simba, was tricked into believing that his father’s death was his fault. Rather than face the consequences, he let fear drive him far away from home. That’s where he ran into Timon and Pumbaa who taught him their life motto: Hakunah Matata. It means no worries. Simba adopted it as His life motto as well until he had to face his past and find peace. It wasn’t until he adopted that philosophy that he became who he was born to be.

What’s your life motto? Is it helping you to become who you were created to be? Or is it keeping you away from it? Every one of us have two fingerprints on our lives. We have the fingerprint of Adam that pulls us toward sin and away from God’s presence. We also have the fingerprint of God which holds our true identity. Each one of us allow one of those fingerprints to define our motto and how we live.

Psalm 34:14 says, “Keep turning your back on every sin, and make ‘peace’ your life motto. Practice being at peace with everyone” (TPT). God desires for every one of us to identify with His fingerprint on our life and to adopt His motto of peace. He is the Prince of Peace after all. This is a great time to put the past behind you and forgive those who have wronged you. Doing that will help you find peace internally and then you can begin pursuing peace with others. It’s not too late to adopt a new motto this Christmas.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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November 2, 2023 · 5:30 AM

The Donkey In The Well

When I was a senior in high school, I went on my first mission trip. We drove deep into the heart of Mexico. At one point, we turned off the road into a dry creek bed. We drove down that creek bed for about twenty minutes and then we arrived in a small village to build a church. The people seemed to come out of nowhere to greet us. One day they took us to a deep well and told us about how a donkey had fallen in there and died. It took them several days to get it out, but by then the water had been polluted. They had to empty the well so they could get fresh, clean water again. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that story.

Proverbs 20:5 tells us that wisdom and counsel are deep within us like a well and that people of understanding will be able to draw them out. Then in Luke 6:45, Jesus said that we speak out of the abundance of our heart, meaning the things that are deep inside us come out of our mouth. Then in James 3:12, the author writes, “Is it possible that fresh and bitter water can flow out of the same spring? So neither can a bitter spring produce fresh water” (TPT). He’s talking about our words and how we speak. How can we speak words of healing if we are full of bitterness inside? How can we speak life if there our inner well is polluted?

Each one of us have donkeys that fall into our well and die causing our heart to be polluted. The words we speak to others reveal whether we’ve taken it out and refreshed our well or not. I’ve learned that we empty our polluted well by confessing our sins, faults and inner struggles to God and to others (James 5:16). We confess them to God for forgiveness and to people for healing. When’s the last time you looked deep into the well that you’re drawing out of? What kind of water are you giving other people? Take some time today to get alone with God, do some self examination and get healed so that you can produce fresh, clean water that others can drink from.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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September 27, 2023 · 5:42 AM

Forgiving The Past

Pastor Robert Morris of Gateway church told the story of a time he was on stage about to preach. While he was looking out into the audience, the Holy Spirit pointed out a woman to him. When he stepped up to preach he started talking to her from the pulpit. He said, “The Holy Spirit showed you to me and asked, “Do you know her past?” With that, the woman looked down in shame. He said, “I told Him, ‘No, Lord. I don’t know her past.’” He then asked her to look at him. He then said, “I heard the Spirit say back, ‘Neither do I!’” She began to smile. He then told her, “Ma’am, God knows everything about you and He has chosen not to remember your sins. It’s time for you to choose to not remember them anymore as well.”

In John 8, Jesus was minding His own business when a group of men making a commotion came up to Him forcing a woman to come along. They told him in front of everyone that she had been caught in the act of adultery. They reminded Him how the Law of Moses said that she deserved to be stoned to death. With rocks in their hands, they asked Jesus, “What is your verdict?” After drawing in the sand He said, “Let the one who is without sin throw the first stone.” One by one they dropped their rocks and walked away. Jesus looked at her and asked if there was anyone left to condemn her. She told him no. Then in verse 11 He said, “I do not condemn you either. Go. From now on sin no more” (AMP). She walked away from that meeting forgiven and with a new outlook.

Hebrews 10:17 says, “And their sins and their lawless acts I will remember no more [no longer holding their sins against them].” If you have asked God to forgive your sins and repented, they are forgiven and forgotten. It’s time for you to forgive yourself and let go of your past. Quit allowing the enemy to use it to shame you and hold you back. They’re gone! Let them go too and walk in freedom starting today. The price of your sins were paid for by the blood of Jesus. You don’t have to live in shame or hold yourself back trying to pay for them yourself. If Jesus’ death wasn’t enough, there’s nothing you could do to make up for them. It was for you to walk in freedom that He set you free (Galatians 5:1). It’s time to step out of your self imposed prison. God has forgotten your past. It’s time for you to forget it too.

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September 14, 2023 · 5:30 AM

Closing Wounds

If you know me or have followed this site for a while, you know my story. I was deeply wounded by the person I trusted most in the world. For years, I held onto that pain to the point that it was keeping me from living the life God wanted me to. Then God spoke to me through an evangelist. He said, “It’s in your scars that others will find their healing.” I spent months going back through the wound so I could let it go and forgive. I needed to let God bring healing into my own life first before He could use it to heal others.

I think that one of the greatest tragedies in life isn’t that people hurt us, it’s that we carry those wounds with us to the point that they limit us. When we allow our identity to be found in our wounds, we minimize who we are in Christ. Doing that keeps the wound open and we walk through life with this raw emotion that allows us to stay hurt which keeps us from making deep connections with people. We then hide behind the pain of the past and use it to keep people at a distance, but that’s not God’s way of doing things. He wants to close our wounds and heal us by helping us forgive.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “As for us, we have all of these great witnesses who encircle us like clouds. So we must let go of every wound that has pierced us and the sin we so easily fall into. Then we will be able to run life’s marathon race with passion and determination, for the path has been already marked out before us” (TPT). When we let go of our wounds, they begin to heal. When they heal, they create scars. People don’t find healing in our wounds, they find healing in our scars for they are proof of God’s work in our life. They carry in them the hope for someone else that their wounds will one day be closed.

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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.

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December 29, 2022 · 5:30 AM

Breaking Free

I’m taking this week off to spend time with family. I hope you enjoy this previously written devotional.

If you’ve interacted with people in your life, you’ve been hurt by someone at some point. The people closest to us seem to hurt us the most. When we get hurt, the easiest thing to do is let that pain turn into hate and bitterness. We want to hurt them back worse than they hurt us. If we’re not careful, the pain inside of us can consume us. I read a story this week of a 73 year old who found a high school classmate and killed him because of how he hurt him over 50 years ago. He lived his whole life wanting revenge for the pain this person caused him.

In Genesis, Abraham’s son Isaac had twins, Jacob and Esau. Esau was very hungry one day and Jacob had prepared a meal. He asked for some of it, but Jacob made him pay for it with the birthright which meant he would inherit his father’s wealth. Later, when Isaac was about to die, he summoned his firstborn Esau to bless him. He sent him out to kill something wild and cook it first. Jacob found out, and beat him to it. Esau hated Jacob for it and wanted to kill him. He let the anger consume him and the only way to console himself was to plot revenge.

In Genesis 27:40, Isaac told Esau, “You shall live by your sword, And serve your brother; However it shall come to pass when you break loose [from your anger and hatred], That you will tear his yoke off your neck [and you will be free of him]” (AMP). If you’re still carrying the pain from someone hurting you, it’s time to break loose from it. Get their yoke off your neck. Forgiving them is the way to do that. Ask the Lord to help you. I know personally this is easier said than done. It’s a process that starts with you forgiving in your heart first. The pain will go away and a scar will remain, but you will be free.

Photo by Obie Fernandez on Unsplash

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