Tag Archives: Jesus

January 9, 2013 · 6:53 AM

Forgiveness

How do you forgive the unforgivable? How do you come to the place where you can forgive someone for the ultimate betrayal? When you’ve trusted someone with everything and they stab you in the back as they take it all away, it’s hard to come to that place. It’s even more difficult when you have daily reminders. It’s like someone is just twisting the knife in you. The pain becomes unbearable. Not understanding why just makes it more difficult.

For me, I’ve had to let go of that last question to come to a place of forgiveness. The question of why will eat you up like a cancer. It causes you to hold on to the pain, the depression and it keeps the wounds open. I tried to drown my pain. I tried to run from it too. I did anything and everything I could to find a way to get rid of the constant reminders. I eventually covered up the wound and just pretended that it didn’t exist.

If I could forget it happened, I could numb the pain. If I could pretend it was a bad dream, somehow it would make me forget. Over time, that seemed to work. It sat there though dormant waiting in the dark. I would never be able to forget or make the scars go away though. It wasn’t until I confronted the pain, the hurt and the scars that I found forgiveness.

I heard Dave Roever speak about a year ago. His body is riddled with physical scars from having a phosphorous grenade blow up by his head as he was throwing it. His words pierced me. He said, “Don’t hide your scars. In them lies healing for you and for others.” Could it be that by hiding the scars and withholding forgiveness I was preventing myself and others from healing? I now know he was right. By looking at what happened and uncovering the layers of things I used to cover up the pain, I was able to find forgiveness.

Jesus gave the best example of forgiveness as He was on the cross. He was able to look the men in the eye who beat Him, mocked Him and betrayed Him. He was able to find forgiveness while the nails were still in His hands. He was able to find peace while the blood was pouring out of His body and say, “Father, forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” He was able to see the whole plan of what was happening. You and I aren’t afforded that luxury.

It took years to see the plan and the reasons why. The betrayal in my life knocked me completely off the path I was on and put me on another one. It changed my outlook, the way I think and ultimately who I am. If it hadn’t been for that one act, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Being able to have that perspective this far away is what helped me find forgiveness. I know that what happened, while it hurt deeply and still does, was a course correction that God used to get me where He wanted me.

If they were the tool that God used to get me here, how can I withhold forgiveness? When I withhold forgiveness, I can’t be who I am supposed to be. It will keep me in a prison of pain and bitterness and I will miss what God has for me. I knew the day would come when I would have to forgive because Jesus also said, “If you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Were the sins committed against me any worse than my sins against God? No. He found a way to forgive me, I have to find a way to forgive others.

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January 7, 2013 · 8:28 AM

Make Today Count

Several years ago, a guy I worked with would get on the store intercom each morning before we opened. He would give a motivational speech with some great quotes and remind us about why we work. He would always close his speeches the same way. You could hear him take a breath and then slowly say, “Make…. today…. count.” He signed off on all of his emails with it too.

All of these years later, I don’t remember each speech he gave, but I still remember those words: make today count. I believe we are to live purposeful lives. We are to be proactive not reactive. Jesus said, “Ask and it shall be given. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened.” These are all proactive steps that require you to act. The Bible is full of things we are to be proactive at.

A proactive person sees a need and helps. They look for ways to get involved. They don’t just want to do something for God, they do it. A reactive person responds to things that happen. They wait until there is no other choice but to act. It s not done out of willfulness, but out of obligation. As a manager, I can tell you that those who do things willfully are more successful and do better work than those who do things out of obligation.

It’s simple really. Proactive, willing people put their hearts into whatever they do. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says what my coworker used to say, “Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange for the hard work of staying alive. Make the most of each one! (MSG)” I don’t know if he knew if what he was saying came from the Bible or not, but there it is. We are commanded to make the most out of each day. They are gifts from God in which we are to be proactive and do something for others.

Colossians 3:23 in the Message also says, “Don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from your heart for your real master, for God.” God knows that if you work from your heart, what you do will cause others to be motivated to do better. Our job is not simply to do things on our own, it’s to get others motivated to do things better too. When each of us in the body of Christ start working with all of our potential and are living a life of purpose, the Kingdom of God will grow.

I know many people are going back to work today after having been off for the holidays. Don’t go back with a sour attitude. That is infectious too. That is not what you want others to catch or to think about you as a Christian. Choose to go to work with a great attitude. Choose to find someone in need today and be the hands and feet of Jesus to them. Choose to make today count.

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January 4, 2013 · 8:06 AM

Friends in Need

I have several friends going through some difficult times right now. Some have lost a parent, others have been given news that one of their parents has a terminal disease, one is fighting for her life in ICU and another going through a painful divorce. I’m sure there are others who have kept their struggles private not wanting to bother anyone else. This year has started off very difficult for a lot of people I know.

While every circumstance is unique, their pains and fears can be empathized with. When I went through a difficult period in my life, I was the one who didn’t want to bother others with my pain. People didn’t know how to respond. Some would say, “Time heals all wounds.” Others would say, “What doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Then there were those who would not know what to say and simply say, “I’m sorry.” I’ve often thought about what could someone have said to ease the pain.

For me, I think there was nothing anyone could have said. Pain, loss and suffering are part of the furnace of life. It’s what molds us, strengthens us and pushes us onto other paths. There were no words that could have brought the healing I desperately needed. Looking back, I simply wanted someone to love me enough to stand by me in the hard times. Someone who would put their arm around me and say, “You’re not alone in this.”

One of my friends, who is going through one of these situations right now, once said, “When you have someone to stand with you through thick and thin, pain is divided and joy is multiplied.” While I can’t take the hurt, fears or questions away, I can stand with my friends to help divide their pain. Platitudes don’t bring much relief, but actions do. One action each of these friends can use right now is prayer.

When you struggle through difficult times like these, you need others who will lift you up and pray for you. When you don’t have the strength or words to pray for yourself, it helps to know that other believers are standing in the gap and fighting on your behalf. Psalm 28:7 says the Lord is our strength and shield. That’s what these people need. They need strength to make it through each day. They need protection from other things that would come against them when they’re down. They need peace that passes all understanding to come into their lives.

When there are no answers to the question of “Why”, God can still give peace in the midst of a storm. We may not understand why each of us experience these difficult times, but we can rest in the peace of knowing our God walks with us in difficult times. We can find comfort in knowing that God is still on His throne and He sees us in our dark times. He still heals. He still comforts. He still answers prayers. He still comes to those in need. May He do all of these to my friends in need and anyone reading this in need.

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January 3, 2013 · 8:35 AM

Do What Matters

I heard the story of a Christian who died and went to Heaven. When he got there, Peter met him at the pearly gates. Peter greeted him and welcomed him to Heaven. He then said, “I’ll have Gabriel take you to your home in glory now.” As Gabriel and the man walked down the streets of gold, he was in awe of all the mansions. There were some enormous ones and the man asked who lived in those. Gabriel said, “Well that one belongs to Mother Teresa, that one belongs to Jonathan Edwards and that one is being built for Billy Graham.

As the continued to walk through the city, the man noticed the mansions were getting smaller. They walked and they walked for what seemed like hours. They started getting the point where houses were not only smaller, but they were few and far between. They walked up to what appeared to be a shack in comparison to earlier mansions. Gabriel said, “Welcome home.” The man was upset and confused. He asked, “Why does my mansion look like this and others look so amazing.” Gabriel simply replied, “This is all you sent us to work with.”

I’m not one who believes that we are saved by our works. I believe we are saved by the grace of God through Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins. I also believe that James says that faith without works is dead. We are to live our lives in a way that reflects what God has done for us. We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others. We are to help the weak, take care of widows and orphans, clothe and feed the poor and to defend those without a voice.

I Corinthians 3:13-15 says, “On judgement day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.” The above story to me is a reflection of this scripture. We can be busy “doing things for God” and not be doing the right things that are of value.

Many of us live our lives as Christians having only accepted what Christ has done and then have never done anything with that grace. As I mentioned on my previous post about my theme for 2013, I want to do things this year that will matter. I want to make sure that what I do increases Him and decreases me. Not all of us can be a Mother Teresa, a Jonathan Edwards or a Billy Graham, but each of us can do things that matter just as much for the Kingdom.

When I was seven, I painted a poem in Sunday School. I remember being so proud of it. I painted it brown and then painted the letters in gold. It was perfect, at least in my seven year old mind it was! It said, “Only one life, ’twill soon be passed. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Each of us has one life. Each of us have opportunities to do lots of things, but only certain things will survive that fire on judgement day. My prayer is that you and I find and do the things that matter.

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January 2, 2013 · 8:26 AM

Why

This is a guest post from Mandy Reiszner. She is Vice President of Coreluv International. Their mission is to defend the orphan. You can follow her blog here.

As I sat here pondering about what to write about, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Actually it was more like a punch of empathy and compassion to the gut. A punch that sparks such emotion you literally feel like buckling over onto the floor only to cry out, “WHY?” WHY are there so many orphans, so much poverty, so few resources, so many deaths? In my comfortable little life in America such emotion rarely brushes over me, but it’s here in Haiti where I realize my own great need to become better acquainted with the REST of the world. You see my life IS the minority. At least 80% of the worlds population lives on less than ten dollars a day and almost half of the world on less than two dollars and fifty cents a day. America makes up only 5% of the worlds population. IT’S GOOD to leave Kansas every once in a while!

I had the incredible privilege this past week to spend some good, quality time with the children from the Coreluv Orphanage in Gonaives, Haiti. It was a trip that Mike and I really enjoyed. At one point we found ourselves laying down in the shade with two orphans resting peacefully across our chests. In that moment I could sense the love of the Father. Oh what beauty it is just to rest in God and know that we are loved!

The more I come here, I realize the more I no longer have an excuse to turn a deaf ear to the poor. It’s not that I ever did it intentionally, but rather because I never knew THEY existed. You see I live in the OTHER direction. Does that make me despise that I’m from America? Of course not, but I look upon my life through a whole different set of lenses now. Ones that bring clarity to the fact that just maybe I was born in America to be able to help those who may not be as blessed as I am. I love this line from Mumford and Sons’ song “Awake my Soul”:

“In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. And where you invest your love, you invest your life.”

I am reminded of Christ and his willingness to serve those He loved. This Last week was a good awakening for me and a much needed time of reflection upon WHY we do what we do!

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January 1, 2013 · 8:06 AM

A New Year’s Prayer

Heavenly Father,

I want to thank you for the new year. With the new year comes new beginnings, new opportunities and new goals. Help me to keep You in all three. I know that there is nothing I can do to change the past. I can learn from it and move forward. 2012 is now history. Another chapter in the story of the world has closed. It may not have been the greatest year, but You were there with me even when I couldn’t feel You.

I want to say “thank you” that you have never left me nor abandoned me. You have kept true to your promise. Your faithfulness is unfathomable to me. No matter what mistakes I’ve made or am going to make, You have and will remain by my side even though I don’t deserve it. I rest in the fact that nothing has or will come my way that You don’t know about and I believe You will give me the strength to endure.

For the new beginnings that will occur this year, I ask that You help me to embrace that change. I realize that while I’m not a fan of change, You use it to continuously mold me and to shape me into being who You want me to be. May I recognize these new beginnings new ways to bring You glory. Help me to embrace the change that comes and to focus on pleasing You.

For the new opportunities that will arise this year, I ask that You will give me wisdom to discern which opportunities provide the best investment of my time and resources. Help me to choose the opportunities that will help me to grow Your kingdom and further Your cause. On the opportunities that You ask me to pass by, I pray that You help me to let go so that You can bless my life at the right time with the right opportunities.

For the new goals that have been and will be set for this year, I ask for endurance and guidance. Some goals will be met quickly while others are more long term. Help me to run the race You have called me to run. Help me to keep my eyes on the prize without looking back or getting off track. I will need Your strength in me to accomplish all that You have for me to do. When my strength runs out, remind me that it is not by might nor by power, but by Your Spirit that I can do all things.

Guide me in this new year. Help me to hear Your voice daily and to obey. Help me to see Your handiwork in my life and to embrace it. Help me to be Your hands and feet so that I may show Your love to others with all my strength. Help me to speak Your words to others. Words that will bring life and not death. Words that will build up and not tear down. May I honor You in all I do this year.

In Jesus name I pray,
Amen.

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December 31, 2012 · 8:12 AM

My 2013 Theme

Great organizations and companies have vision and mission statements. They also have themes each year that are reflective of their goals. Whether it’s a Fortune 500 company, a church or any other organization, it’s important that everyone on the team knows what the goals are so they can work together. As a reminder, they put out a theme for the year and keep repeating it so that others can run with them to accomplish their goals.

In January of this year, God spoke to me out of Ephesians 4:1. The scripture says, “Lead a life worthy of your calling.” He said that this was to be my theme this year. All year long I have tried to make changes in my life that were reflective of that theme. When an opportunity showed up, I would ask myself if that would help or hurt my theme of living a life worthy of the call. By making better decisions based on my theme, I saw incredible growth in my spiritual life this year.

Was I able to live a life worthy of that call 100% of the time? No. Am I closer to being who God wants me to be because I have tried harder than ever to live a life worthy of that call? Yes. I believe having that theme has helped me in many ways. It kept me on track where I would have usually failed, it helped me turn my daily commute into prayer time, it helped me to be obedient in starting this blog and it helped me share with others the calling that I have.

Since tomorrow is the start of the new year, I have a new theme. My theme for 2013 is found in John 3:30. It says, “I must decrease and He must increase.” Everything I do in the coming year will be reflected and measured by that verse. The question I will ask in each situation is, “Will this be for my glory or for His?” If it’s for mine, it will go against the theme and be detrimental to my overall goals.

“I must decrease and He must increase” means that I am to put God’s needs above my own. I need to see that His ways are more important than mine. I must recognize that His message and will are more important than my own. This is not an easy theme to follow. It will go against my very human nature. It will take crucifying my flesh and desires daily. Honestly, I’ll need help from others to keep me on track. It’s not something I can do on my own.

Habakkuk 2:2 says, “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that reads it.” Quite simply, this is why companies and organizations write out their themes and keep mentioning them. It is so others who read it can run with it. I’m writing mine out so that anyone who reads this can run with me and help me to accomplish what God wants me to this year. I know a few of the things God has in store for me this year and they will require me to decrease my desires and put His first. I’ll be writing about them for sure.

What is your theme this year? I’d love to know so that I can run along side of you to help you accomplish what God has for you this year.

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December 28, 2012 · 9:06 AM

Surviving Your Season

Many people are ready for the new year. It’s not because of anything other than this year was so hard for them. Next year represents a fresh start. It’s an end to a year of hardships, challenges and troubles. It’s an escape from what has been and a bridge to what will be. I’m thankful for new chapters in my life. I know there have been times when I’ve needed some to close and others that were over too quickly.

I read two scriptures today that will help you if you are ready for a new beginning. The first one is Ecclesiastes 3:1. It says, “To EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven. (AMP)” Each of us go through seasons of change, seasons of pain and seasons of hurt. It’s part of life. Some of us seem to get more of these seasons than others. Some of us have longer seasons than others. Whatever your case is, I believe there is a purpose to it.

It’s hard to see the purpose of it when you’re in that season. Your mind and prayers are full of questions that start with “why”. I have rarely been given that answer during the seasons of hard times. It’s when I looked back and reflected on those seasons after they ended that I was given the answers to those questions. Some still remain unanswered to this day. The further away from them I get, the greater my perspective becomes of them.

Just as that scripture says, it is a season and only for a time. I used to say my favorite scripture was “this too shall pass.” With my perspective, I now see that those seasons were my greatest times of growth. I was being pruned like a tree in spring so I could bloom more than ever. Did it hurt? Yes. It still does when I think of those times. Could I have gotten to where I am without those times? No.

In those times it’s hard to look forward. It’s hard to know what’s ahead. You struggle to make it through the day. You look for God and don’t see Him, but He’s there. This is where the second scripture I read today comes in. In Habakkuk 3:19 it says, “The Lord God is my strength, my personal bravery and my invincible army… He will make me to walk (not stand still in terror, but to walk) and make spiritual progress upon my high places (of trouble, suffering or responsibility)!” When you don’t have strength, bravery or the will to fight to move forward, He becomes those things for you!

I know what it’s like to not want to do anything. To not want to get out of bed and face the day. To be so embarrassed about where your life is that you don’t want to see anyone. You can’t stay there though. That verse just said He will make you to walk and to make progress! That’s His promise to you. You don’t have to stand still in terror as to what has happened this year in your life. You can make progress in His strength. In time, you will look back at this year and see it was for your good, for your growth and to take you where you couldn’t have gone otherwise.

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December 27, 2012 · 8:09 AM

If 99.9% Were Good Enough

I was cleaning out old stuff in my cubicle yesterday to get prepared for the new year when I came across an attention getter I used to use. You may or may not have seen it, but I’ll share some of it anyway. It’s called “If 99.9% Were Good Enough”. I used it in class to help front line employees know that even small margins of errors can have huge impacts on the business. Here are a few of the more notable ones:

If 99.9% were good enough
– 12 babies would be given to the wrong parents each day
– 268,500 defective tires would be shipped this year
– 14,208 defective computers would be shipped this year
– 2,488,200 books would be shipped with the wrong cover
– 5,517,200 cases of soft drinks would be flat
– 18,323 pieces of mail would be mishandled in the next hour
– 107 incorrect medical procedures would be performed today

What if you could live right 99.9% of the time. Would that be good enough to get to Heaven? Romans 3:10 says that there is no one who is righteous, no, not one. Later on in verse 23, it says that all have sinned and fallen short. Apparently 99.9% isn’t good enough. We all fall short of righteous living. Does that mean that we shouldn’t try? Of course not. Titus 2:12 says that “we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God.”

Just because we are unable to live right doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. I was talking to a friend yesterday about an old group of friends I used to have. We called ourselves “Heathens Anonymous”. The concept was simple, but fun. Each of us are born with a sinful nature in us. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior it doesn’t mean that we all of a sudden live perfectly. That sinful (heathenistic) nature still lives in us. Just like an alcoholic becomes a recovering alcoholic, we become recovering heathen.

We still fall prey to our fleshly desires from time to time. We should try to refrain from our old way of living as much as possible. According to James our faith without works is dead. In Romans 4:5 it tells us to be careful though. We are not counted as righteous because of our works, but because of God who forgives us. It is His grace that covers our sins especially when our old sinful nature rears its head. Ephesians 2:8,9 says that we are saved by grace and not works so that no one can boast.

Wherever you find yourself from 99.9% down to 0.1% in living right, when you accept Jesus, His grace makes up the difference to get us to 100%! The older I get, the more appreciative I am of His grace. I rely on it, need it and trust in it. I’m not perfect. I’ll still be a recovering heathen as long as I live. There’s one thing I know though, His grace is sufficient to cover my mistakes and short comings. It’s sufficient enough for yours too.

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December 26, 2012 · 7:57 AM

Lessons From Joseph

I have always been intrigued with Joseph. In the story of Jesus’ birth, Mary is the one who always gets the attention. I’m not saying she shouldn’t. I’m saying that I think Joseph needs some attention too. Just so you know, I’m also the guy who doesn’t stand and look at the bride in a wedding either. When I hear the notes on the organ and all rise and turn to the back of the auditorium, I turn and face the front. I love the look on a guy’s face as his wife comes out of hiding and he sees her for the first time in her dress. I identify with him because I’ve been there. There’s no feeling like it.

Maybe that’s why I’m concerned with Joseph. As a guy, husband and father, I identify with him. Since I can identify with him, it makes me impressed with what he did. We know that Mary was highly favored among women, but I think Joseph must have been highly favored among men. It took someone special to do what he was asked to do which is to be an earthly father to the Messiah. It was on him to raise a baby into a boy, a boy into a teen and teen into a man.

You know what kind of a person Joseph is right away when you first read about him in Matthew 1. The first thing you know is that his genealogy places him in the tribe of Judah and in the royal family line of King David. The Bible lists out the 28 generations from Abraham to Joseph. God couldn’t just use anyone to be the father of Jesus, he had to be from that tribe and in that lineage according to prophecy. He also had to be devout, willing and obedient.

When Mary told Joseph that she was pregnant, he knew that he was not the father. His reaction impresses me. He decided he wouldn’t marry her, that he’d keep it quiet and let her go into hiding since that was a crime punishable by stoning. If it was me and my fiancé told me she was pregnant, I would have been the first one with a stone in my hand. Joseph wasn’t like that though. Even though he must have been hurt and obviously disbelieving in her story, he decided to show kindness.

God had sent an angel to speak to Mary about the baby, now He sent one to Joseph. Once the angel spoke to Joseph, he believed and kept Mary as his fiancé. Not only that, but he married her and then did not have marital relations with her until after Jesus was born. What?!? They were married for months before he consummated their wedding vows. That’s a stronger man than me.

What he does next is even more impressive. God woke him up in the middle of the night and told him to take his family and flee to Egypt. Without hesitation, they packed up and left. He had already been displaced from his home in Nazareth because of the census, now he had to flee his home in Bethlehem. Through two other dreams Joseph was obedient to what God said in order to protect Jesus. He was a true father to Jesus by putting His safety above his own.

I think there is a lot we can learn from Joseph. Although the Bible doesn’t give us much more than this about him, we can see that God chose the right man for the right job. I think He still chooses the right people to fulfill His purposes. Each of us has been called to do something in particular for Him. He’s needing us to be devout, willing and obedient as Joseph was. So what has He asked you to do? Are you being willing and obedient to do it while remaining devout to Him even when it doesn’t make sense?

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