“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20 (ESV) The sixty-six books of the Bible provide us with a string of pearls that demonstrates God’s redemptive activity. Long before we were born, […]
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah 3:10 (ESV) God blesses your obedience. God gave Jonah a second chance. In response, Jonah obeyed God and went to the […]
“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12 (ESV) God, in His omniscience, has the capacity to remember our sins no more. God is infinite and we are finite. We do not have the capacity to forgive and forget. Of course, it seems at times […]
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV) Would it not be hypocritical to receive God’s forgiveness personally and then refuse to extend God’s forgiveness to others? We do not […]
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive.” Col 3:13 (ESV) Perhaps you have found yourself in situations where you have had a hard time forgiving those who have wounded you. Maybe you have been wounded by […]
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 6:12 (ESV) The Bible teaches us multiple facets of forgiveness. We have the privilege of receiving God’s forgiveness provided by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross. This vertical forgiveness initiated by God allows us to be in a right relationship […]
“‘Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of […]
“‘So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’” Matthew 5:23-24 (ESV) In yielded worship before the Lord, your sensitivity to the […]
“I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,’ and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.” Psalm 32:5 (ESV) The prophet Nathan confronted King David about his sin by sharing a parable and announcing, “You are the man.” King David […]
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For […]
“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him.’” Genesis 50:15 (ESV) Forgiveness is tested by memory. Only God has the capacity to forgive and forget. We have the capacity to forgive, […]
“So Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come near to me, please.’ And they came near. And he said, ‘I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.’” Genesis 45:4-5 (ESV) Forgiveness […]
“Then Midianite traders passed by. And they drew Joseph up and lifted him out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver. They took Joseph to Egypt.” Genesis 37:28 (ESV) If anyone ever had reason to be infused with the bile of bitterness, it would have to be Joseph. […]
“And Isaac breathed his last, and he died and was gathered to his people, old and full of days. And his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.” Genesis 35:29 (ESV) Isaac was greatly blessed by God and was enabled to finish strong. His sons, Jacob and Esau, experienced a tumultuous sibling rivalry that produced immense […]
“You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” Jer. 29:13 (ESV) What is keeping you from embracing the life God has for you? What is holding you back? Confront and release the past so that you can reclaim the future God has for you. Let go of those hurtful […]
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” Colossians 3:13 (ESV) Motion causes friction. Doing life with real people can generate feelings of irritability and agitation. Real people in real life can get on your nerves at times. Our […]
“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” Matthew 5:31-32 (ESV) Jesus affirmed the value of marriage. […]
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Eph 4:32 (ESV) Extending forgiveness is intentional and perpetual. The words “just as” are powerful. In our key verse above, they mean to imitate and to emulate God’s forgiveness. We are to forgive each other just as in Christ God forgave us. Let’s […]
“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Genesis 50:20 (ESV) The sixty-six books of the Bible provide us with a string of pearls that demonstrates God’s redemptive activity. Long before we were born, […]
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15 (ESV) Would it not be hypocritical to receive God’s forgiveness personally and then refuse to extend God’s forgiveness to others? We do not earn God’s forgiveness […]
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32 (ESV) After speaking to a men’s group on the subject of father wounds, a man in his mid-thirties came up to me to say that he was going immediately to his dad’s house to forgive him. His dad […]
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV) Don’t allow your past to prevent you from doing […]
“When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.” Jonah 3:10 (ESV) God blesses your obedience. God gave Jonah a second chance. In response, Jonah obeyed God and went to the […]
“So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:12-13 (ESV) Imagine being transferred instantly before the throne of God. You are standing before God right now and you fall […]
“And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV) How would God reverse the curse sin produced? What would God do to restore fallen humanity? The most […]
“But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him.” 1 John 3:5-6 (NIV) Jesus established your new identity by removing your sins. […]
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7 (NIV) Have you been wounded by someone recently? What is your natural reaction? You probably want to wound them for wounding you. But is it possible to look at the person behind the behavior? What if you […]
“Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews 9:27-28 (NIV) In the Old […]
“When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, ‘What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?’” Genesis 50:15 (NIV) Forgiveness is tested by memory. Only God has the capacity to forgive and forget. We have the capacity to forgive, but […]
“Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me […]