2021-11-05
Good Morning Dear Ones,
How weird and wonderful that our Lord is always righteous and that nothing can separate us from His love! [RO 8: 38-39]. This is agape, which we can model in part, but never quite as perfect as His. A component of His love for us is found in EPH 2: 8-10, “For it is by grace have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is a gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” The perks of having faith in Jesus Christ don’t end here. AC 10: 43, “All the prophets testify about Him [Jesus Christ] that everyone who believe in Him received forgiveness of sins through His name.” It’s not just prophecies in the NT, but also is in the OT. Read God’s prophecy of the coming of the Covenant of Grace. JER 31: 33-34, “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time declares the Lord. ‘I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord; because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.’ Declares the Lord. ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’” No longer will the people be forgiven for only one year, as traditionally Jewish people are told when celebrating Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. If there is any question, see 1 JN 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” In case there is any question, this is forever forgiveness, forgiveness for time and all eternity!
One might ask: What is God’s ability to forgive? HE 10: 17-18 helps us to answer that question. “Then He says, ‘I will not remember their sins and evil deeds any longer. So, when these have been forgiven, an offering to take away sins is no longer needed.”’ This Scripture really nails down the fact that God’s forgiveness of sins is eternal. The very same thing is said in HE 8: 12. God repeats concepts for us to understand that are of utmost importance. That’s why He keeps saying things like, “Love your neighbor,” “They will be My people, and I will be their God,” and “I will remember their sins no more” so many times in both the OT and NT. Our God has power to do good as no human has ever had. There is no evil in Him [1 JN 1: 5]. God is self-existent, which means He doesn’t have to rely on a human or other being decide something and carry it out. He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (in all places at the same time—and by the way, always available to hear our prayers).
Let’s think about how we can learn to exhibit God’s agape love and forgiveness. It helps us to understand why God is willing and full of enough grace to forgive us. He sacrificed the physical life of His Son, Jesus, on the cross, so that we could have faith and forgiveness available to those who believe. Honoring God really matters, so that He might know the genuine faith that is in one’s heart. Last week, I gave some examples of my own experience forgiving the wrongdoing of others. Believe me, I’m not perfect; there are times, especially when I was younger, when I didn’t forgive or delayed forgiving a wrongdoer(s). One such occasion came when a young playmate of mine got mad and threw an object at me. I was also mad and didn’t settle down for quite a while. This little girl and I didn’t continue our friendship, and I feel bad about that. I was holding a grudge! Our family moved away, and I tried to contact her several years later, but she also held a grudge. The matter never got settled due to our shared stubbornness.
Later, I read the story of a pastor who was taking a cruise around the Greek islands. He got off the ship in one place along his route to speak with a lady who he had befriended several years beforehand. She complained to him that nothing she did seemed to work out in her life, especially her long- time relationship with her mother. The pastor couldn’t stay very long, but he knew he would be able to visit with her when the ship docked at this island again on the way back. He asked her to pray about trouble and to see what would happen. He would also pray about this. They would discuss it when he came back. Three weeks later, the ship docked, and the pastor made his way to this lady’s house. His friend seemed like a new lady, complete with a winning grin. She told him she took his advice and prayed for forgiveness for herself for holding a grudge and for her mother. These two had finally had a talk about how finite our physical lives are and how important using the time they had in gaining eternal life and God’s forgiveness. Now the clouds of negativity had cleared, and they could finally both bask in the warmth of God’s agape love. There are times when we must let go and let God. Praise be to Him!
PRAYER: O Lord, we know You are listening for our heartfelt prayers. We do not deserve the grace You extend to us but pray You will never be so upset with our thoughts and behavior that You will want to withdraw it. We are working to expose our sins to ourselves and genuinely confess them to You. Sometimes they are subtle, and sometimes we must make major changes to cure our wrongdoing. Help us to do this with humility, Lord, because those around us don’t always make that easy for us. We know that nothing constructive can ever happen when grudges are held. We appeal to You to show us the courage to be forgiving, even when it’s not convenient or doesn’t make sense to us. Without humility and forgiveness, our fallen world has no chance of rectifying itself. We believe that one day, You will put Your stamp of ownership on us and that You will end evil. Until that day comes, help us to have resilience in our faith and act according to Your teaching. Let us offer You praise and thanks for all You are and all You do. In Christ’s holy/mighty name, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I am directed by the Holy Spirit to write about what God’s rights are in connection with forgiveness. If space provides, I will discuss the impact of the truths in PS 119: 29-32 on our lives. In the relationships we need to pay attention to these matters: boundaries; reliability [walking the talk]; accountability; keeping confidences; integrity; non-judgment; generosity. All these things make a difference in the quality, length, nearness to God, and enjoyment of our relationships-be they horizontal with others or vertical with God Himself. At one time or other in my long life, I have sustained the hurts, punishment, and disappointments of breaking these criteria. As I have aged, the Holy Spirit has worked with me to improve on my thoughts and behavior. If I were perfect by now, God would have called me home to Him, as He did my sweet, kindly husband. But both God and I know He has more work to do with me. He has been extraordinarily forgiving and generous in supplying wonderful people, people better than I, as friends. They have taught me how to be Christlike and to come to love His word as I do. God will do this for anyone who honors Him and obeys His teaching. Piece by piece, our God does His own will, which is to bring us ever closer to Him. Praise and thanks be to Him forever!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2021. All Rights Reserved.
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