It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter. Proverbs 25:2

FORGIVENESS – THE KEY

July 14, 2015

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is a serious matter with God. It is so serious that He purchased forgiveness for us with the blood of His One and only Son Jesus.  The Bible says God gave Jesus for our sins that He might deliver us from the power of sin and death and this present evil. When we refuse to forgive, we are refusing the work of Christ through His shed blood.  God paid a high price with the death of His Son to purchase our deliverance and forgiveness, and for us to refuse to forgive is a rejection of what Christ had done and God calls that wicked.

Matthew 18:32-35         Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.” NKJV

In the parable of the unforgiving servant Jesus gave example of the importance of forgiveness when we have received forgiveness from God.  The master forgave his servant a large debt because he had compassion on his servant.  God forgave the children of Israel their sin debts when they brought the sacrificial lamb as an offering and covered their sins. Under the law people were required to forgive others or they would not be forgiven.

In this parable the servant though he was forgiven a very large debt, he refused to forgive his fellow servant a small debt that was owed him and had the servant thrown into prison. God called this person a wicked servant. Just as it is in all the Old Testament laws man is required to perform the law and his failure will result into consequences.

Forgiveness is important to God and the Bible tells us to forgive those who have wronged us just as we were forgiven for our sins against God.  Jesus gives a strong warning under the law that if a person does not forgive, they will not be forgiven and at this time Israel was living under the law of the Old Testament which was based on man’s performance.

The law was given for mankind to realize the requirements of God and the impossibility of humanity obtaining a perfect life on their own. The law not only revealed to mankind their sins but their need for salvation. Israel was given the ritual of the lamb sacrifice that pointed to a time when the True Lamb of God, Jesus would come and take on the sin of all mankind forever.

Jesus brought a new Kingdom order of Grace through His life, death and resurrection. By Grace are we saved, it is a gift of God and not by our works.  God forgave us our debt of rebellion and treason against Him by giving His Son Jesus to pay the debt that was owed. Sin costs God a great price and the debt will be paid by Jesus. We are no longer under the law to forgive others so we can be forgiven because we are under grace. We are forgiven by God’s grace and we now we forgive other because we have already been forgiven. When we forgive or refuse to forgive it only reveals our heart. It shows who we listening to and obeying God our Father or the lies of the devil.

Jesus said we must forgive from our hearts not just in word or pretense but with a true heart. Some people may say “I forgive them enough or love them enough to get to heaven,” but is this a declaration of true forgiveness or is this self-deception?  Some people will go through the motions on with the pretext and the appearance of forgiveness but their heart is full of hate.  Our decision to forgive or not to forgive exposes the true condition of our heart condition whether we realize it or not.

Those who accept Jesus as their savior and substitute payment for their sins are born into a new life and the Holy Spirit in them gives them the ability to forgive others by His grace.  When people refuse to forgive, they choose to stand on our own merit and thereby refusing the completed work of Jesus.   The forgiveness we give and the love we show only reflects our true heart which is the heart of our heavenly Father. We forgive not to be forgiven by God or to earn His Favor but because we have the Spirit of God’s Grace in us, we can forgive. It is not a natural response but a supernatural gift of God through faith in Jesus.

Many people think it does not matter if they forgive. They want to hold on to their hate and bitterness because of their pride they will not forgive. Forgiveness will reveal who we are and who our lord and master. God’s people will act like God their Father whom image they bear.   God is love and He has forgiven His people the Holy Spirit to be His representative of love in the earth to all creation. If a person does not forgive, no matter what they say, their nature and heart will reflect their true make-up whether it be the character of God or the enemy.

John 8:44 You are of your father, the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and doesn’t stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar, and its father. WEB

Jesus told the religious leaders of His time that they were murderers and liars like their father the devil, but He has done what He had seen His Father, God do. Though we may call ourselves religious or saved our actions reveal the truth of who we are. Forgiveness is no light matter but it is a matter of heritage and son-ship and a reflection of who one’s true father is.

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CHOICES

July 8, 2015

CHOICES

As we discussed, our lives are the sum total of our choices. Though we may not have realized it when we were young, it was the choices we made as youth and young adults that set the course of our lives. This is one of the created gifts from God, man’s ability to choose. The choices we make will not only affect our life but it will influence our eternity. What we fail to associate with our choices are the consequences that follow.

In the natural physical world there are principles and natural laws that flow, some call it Karma or cause and effect, for every action, there is a reaction and for all choices there are corresponding actions or results of those choices. We do not like to hear the word consequences because it brings a negative connotation to mind, but good or bad there are results with every decision we make in the natural. But God has provided a supernatural way of escape from our past through the blood of Christ.

Many people do not want to be responsible for their own actions and want to believe the things they are going through just happened or are someone else’s fault. Some things we experience may not be a direct reflection of our choices but they may be legacies from our parents and past generations. Some people call them generational curses or children living on the blessings of their parents.

We have seen if fall both ways children end up in poverty because of the poor choices of their parents and children undeserving inheriting wealth as the result of their parents work and dedication. These are natural principles that flow like gravity will naturally pull things to the earth. It is only when we implement a great law or principle can we move beyond the impact of the lesser law.

Gravity will pull everything to the ground but when a greater law of flight is implemented then gravity must give way to the greater law. The same principle with the natural law of the sins of the father will be on the children or cause and effect. If we implement the greater law, Jesus’ payment for our sins then the consequence of our natural parents and our own actions are cancelled. When we accept Jesus we have a new Father, a new inheritance, we are a new creation and old things are passed away.

We cannot predict the future but, we can learn from the past, from the choices we made and where they lead us, we can choose to make different choices. Those that choose to study and advance their education most times have a greater chance at making a comfortable living. This is a rule of thumb not absolutes because we have seen the opposite on both sides of the spectrum.

Just as those who choose to pursue God’s word and walk in it tend to live life with meaning and purpose. Life may never be perfect or without challenges but it can have meaning. We want to be careful with how we define God followers, they are not those who go to church and claim to be religious. They are those who actually seek to know the true God, develop a relationship with their creator and walk in His way, He has promised the things the world goes after.

There are the naysayers who refuse to believe the Word of God and they tend to allow life experiences, their culture, and other people to define truth for them. We are all given a life to live with a created purpose, and that is to bring glory to God on the earth. God did not change His created purpose for man even though mankind chose not to follow God but obeyed Satan.

Throughout time people change, time changes, life experiences differ, and our culture changes but God stays the same. We also at times allow our culture, which magnifies a particular way of living life experiences and even other people to define truth and direction for us. If we do not have a compass that points to the “true north” (the Bible) to direct us we can be blown in any direction. We have seen it too often with the decisions leaders make and have the masses follow, Hitler to name one. People are led to destruction because they lack the knowledge of God’s truth.

We have heard it said, “Raising children is guess work, they did not come with a manual?” That is culture speaking because God has given us a guide book, His word; in it we find directions and instruction on how to raise our children.  The Bible is like most manuals, people do not read the instructions and then wonder why things are not working well. Since the fall of man, when he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, man thinks he has all the knowledge he needs to live life. This is another lie from the enemy.

God never changes, He did not change His created purpose, and all men were created in His image.  With the fall of man, we no longer looked like or acted like what we were created to be. Man had lost the image and the character of God. God said His ways are not man’s ways. Man is so far removed from what he was created to be. It took Christ to come and reinstate us back into the family of God and show us our created purpose and our true character.

Jesus had compassion for all the people especially for the least in society. Those who were without the best things, people who were sick and hungry. He loved others more than He loved His own life.  He died to give us grace, mercy and to show us the love of God through His words and actions.

If we must take a position or a stance on a belief, let it be the infallible Word of God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. We should not let our limited knowledge, life experiences or the things we go through define who we are. The world is in a fallen state of chaos and sin. We have an enemy who comes to try to kill and steal our identity and the purpose we were created to be, in the image of God. There is a struggle, we have opposition but we can live this life victoriously.

We are the beloved children of God. This world system will try to destroy our purpose, our hope, and our future. The Most High God did not leave us in that state of depravity, thank you Lord. Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. God has given us His written word in the Bible to give us light in this dark place and it gives us understanding to know how to live this life victoriously.

Proverbs 34: 12-14 Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. NIV

 

Psalms 1:1-3   Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither, whatever they do prospers

 

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.

 

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

 

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NIV This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before your life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

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New Year Reflection

January 9, 2013
With the start of a new year often times we look at the past to reflect and then we look at the future to plan what is ahead. Men and women have been wandering around on this earth looking for the meaning of life, fulfillment of self, purpose and value.  Though we may not know it, there is a longing inside of us all that says, I have a reason for being, I have purpose, I have value.
We know we were created for a purpose but over time and by the subtil lies of the enemy our course have be diverted.  Our quest in life have become more of  making a name for ourselves or  to do some great thing that people will remember us  or to try to obtaining wealth and things to show who we are and that we should be esteemed. For some our quest in life have come to food, clothing and shelter the very necessities of life or we will no longer survive. What a great weight this must bring, that ones very existence depends on some course of action you must take. Very great indeed and what feeling of hopelessness there must be if you can not see your way to the next meal, clothing to stay warm, or a place to stay for you and your family. This is the vision that the subtil, deceitful, enemy of God wants you to have, a reason to give up all hope and focus only on self and survival.
This is why you were created.
Man was created in the Image of God, this is a great value, God cared so for man to make him in His own image, to look like Him, act like Him, and be as He is the heavens, man to be on this earth. It is said that the value of an object is determined by the amount a person is willing to pay for that object. It cost God a great price to purchase back man’s salvation, the life and death of His only begotten Son Jesus. Greater love have no man than this, that a may lay down his life for his friend (John 15:3).  What a great love God has for you, what a great value He has placed on you.
God gave man purpose to be fruitful, and multiply, replenish the earth, subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. That man should live a lavish life on the earth and live bountifully! The reason man was created and given dominion over the earth was to reflect the image of God’s very nature in the earth, to represent Him, to reproduce Him, to serve, to bring credit, to glorify God in His likeness to have dominion and rule of all that was made.
Genesis 1:26-28
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth
Genesis 9:5-7 MSG
But your own lifeblood I will avenge; I will avenge it against both animals and other humans. Whoever sheds human blood, by humans let his blood be shed, Because God made humans in his image reflecting God’s very nature. You’re here to bear fruit, reproduce, lavish life on the Earth, live bountifully!
Yours In Christ,
Janice Mosley

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