Category: forgiveness

Victory: The Overcoming of an Enemy

If we claim that we’re free of sin, we’re only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won’t let us down; he’ll be true to himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we’ve never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.
(1 John 1:8-10 The Message)



What is the main enemy of quiet? What robs us of a calm, unwavering faith?

 The psalmist warns,
 “If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened. ” (Psalm 66:18 ESV) 

Cherishing sin over  God makes for  very quiet, quiet time. If  sin prevents communication between us and God, then seeking reconciliation through confession and trusting God’s forgiveness is paramount.

It’s easier for me to focus on emotion filled praise sessions and passionate intercession, than quiet, simple confession of my weaknesses, my faults and my sin tendencies. 

Time after time I have read that confession heals, but do I practice this discipline? Not often enough. 

Today, I am going to share Pam Farrel’s ideas about dealing with our “dark sides.” She gives us some practical techniques and principles for victory:

To win a victory over the dark side [our weaknesses and our sin nature], we must be very deliberate. Make a list of weaknesses, then go to the Bible to find verses to equalize your life. 

Here’s an example from the book:

[Her] list of weaknesses included fear, feeling inadequate, feeling stupid, feeling overwhelmed . . . Next to each weakness she listed traits of God that can counter the weakness. For example, next to “stupid” she wrote “all-knowing mind of Christ.” Next to “overwhelmed” she wrote “able.” Next to “inadequate and spineless” (she was hard on herself) she wrote “adequate, strong, fortress.” By using a good concordance she located verses that included those key words. 

Pam offers this technique to deal with nagging guilt:

Write all those nagging sins down, then write the test of 1 John 1:9 over it–right over the top, ink over ink! This creates a picture of how God blots out sin. You may then want to destroy the list. (A fireplace can come in handy here.) It is such a relief to see that all our ugly thoughts and selfish actions are cremated by God’s powerful love.

©Pam Farrel from 30 Ways to Wake Up Your Quiet Time (IVP). For more devotional books by Pam http://www.Love-wise.com

It felt so freeing to see my sins covered by God’s word and then burned up by His “powerful love.”
If you don’t have a concordance  to look up more victory verses, you can look up Scriptures online for free at www.biblegateway.com. Once you gather them, write them down to post around your house or in your car to help you to combat the darkness with the light saber of God’s love and forgiveness.

Which Scripture will you post to combat the darkness?



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Forgive: To Grant Relief From Payment Of


Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
 may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
(Psalm 40:11 NIV)

As I walk through the Lord’s prayer, I must be ever mindful that I am addressing “Our Father.” To ask our Father to forgive my shortcomings, mistakes, failures and wrongdoings can feel shameful, but once I confess, He always comforts, forgives, corrects and sets me on the straight path again. 

This request seems to have a qualifier that often throws me for a loop, because if God forgives in the same manner I forgive, I am in trouble.

Other versions say, “forgive us our sins, for we have forgiven those who sinned against us.” Still difficult to get a grip on this concept, as I think it should say: “Since I [God] have forgiven you, go and do likewise.” I am sure there have been many a theological debate as to what this sentence means, but at face value it is enough that God forgives me and does not make me pay for my sin.

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Jesus paid the debt. God isn’t in heaven saying, “She’s going to pay for this.” He rips up my ledger and I am free. This stunning truth is the only real motivation for me to do likewise for others. 

Another definition of forgive says “to give up resentment of” and this is where I need to pray for God to enable me to release those who have hurt or offended me. This is where the previous request for daily bread takes on deeper spiritual meaning. Unless God had provided Jesus as the Bread of Sacrifice for our sin, no one could truly forgive another. We’d all be meting out our own vengeance.

God is merciful and just. I prefer His mercy in my own life, so why do I so often demand justice? When it comes to those who offend me, I want them to pay for the harm done, rather than have me forgive them.

What struggles do you face with forgiveness?
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Raiment: Clothes; Garments

Behold, I have caused thine
iniquity to pass from thee,
and I will clothe thee
with change of raiment.
(Zechariah 3:4b KJV)

 

When we come to God with our sin, it is like exchanging filthy garments for fresh clean clothes. The word raiment has a beauty to it. It derives from the word “array,” which means “to set or place in order.” This describes accurately what happens when we come to God in confession.

Array often is associated with richness. Often it used to describe those who clothe themselves with ornate, luxurious robes. Several times in Scripture the metaphor of being clothed is used to describe our condition before God. When we “wear” Jesus, we gain a robe of righteousness, a garment of praise and a beautiful spirit of grace. Not only does God cleanse us from our sin, but He adorns us in His best qualities.

Another way to display God’s goodness in prayer is the practice of thanksgiving. Most people will agree that is easier to give thanks when life is going well, than when it’s full of trials and despair.

In Prayers for People Under Pressure, Jonathan Aitken admits, “ . . . although praying to God when our lives are going topsy-turvy is an almost impossible challenge, we should reflect of the argument for trying to do just that.” And while I agree that it is beneficial to thank God for the difficult things in our lives, as well as the benefits, today it occurred to me that I very rarely thank God for taking away my sin and for forgiving me for my many faults. When I think about it this way, I have something to be thankful for everyday.


When we find it difficult to be thankful, maybe we should pray one of these two prayers from renowned English bards:

 
O Lord, thou hast give so much to me;
give one thing more; a grateful heart. Amen.
(George Herbert, 1593-1633)

 
O Lord, that lends me life,
Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.
(William Shakespeare, 1564-1616)

Linking up with Soli Deo Gloria Sisterhood

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Forgive:To Give Up Resentment

  Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
 Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
    whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
(Psalm 32:1-2 NLT)
 
 
One of my favorite and most challenging spiritual writers would have to be Henri Nouwen.
 
A compilation of his teaching on Solitude, Community and Ministry can be found in the book, A Spirituality of Living.
 
In the book he defines, forgiveness this way:
 
“Forgiveness is to allow
the other person not to be God.”
 
 
Nouwen’s devotion below speaks of forgiving the Church, which really would mean forgiving each other as well, since we make up the Church.
 
Forgiving the Church

When we have been wounded by the Church, our temptation is to reject it. But when we reject the Church it becomes very hard for us to keep in touch with the living Christ. When we say, “I love Jesus, but I hate the Church,” we end up losing not only the Church but Jesus too. The challenge is to forgive the Church. This challenge is especially great because the Church seldom asks us for forgiveness, at least not officially. But the Church as an often fallible human organization needs our forgiveness, while the Church as the living Christ among us continues to offer us forgiveness.

It is important to think about the Church not as “over there” but as a community of struggling, weak people of whom we are part and in whom we meet our Lord and Redeemer.

 
- Henri J. M. Nouwen

Linking up with:

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Thrilling Guest Thursday: A Theme

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Psalm 42:5-6a ESV

This morning I was talking with Kelly Greer from Ain’t No Mountain Too High. She reminded me that she wrote a post (“Falling in Love” with Change) that went along with a recent theme that we’ve been noticing…

God is calling his daughters to “Let Go!”

Just this week Lynn D. Morrissey wrote about the topic over at Redemption’s Beauty in a post titled: Letting Go-In Her Words.

As a matter of fact, Shelly Miller from Remption’s Beauty is writing a whole series this month on the topic: 31 Days of Letting Go.

And a couple weeks ago, Jennifer Dukes Lee from Getting Down with Jesus, saw those words in San Francisco and wrote: Why It’s Safe to Let Go

I received an email from a friend during that same week, and she shared with our “band of sisters” that a little birdie told her that some of us were needing to “Let Go” of some things that were holding us back. (I paraphrased, a bit there, Kathy 🙂 She recommended a book, she is reading, by Sheila Walsh…Let Go: Live Free of the Burdens All Women Know.

I am listening.

But the real question is will I let go? Will I surrender? Will I release myself and others from unrealistic expectations? Will I forgive?

Dear Jesus…Help me to “Let Go!”

While at the same time, You promise to never let me go! Thank You!


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