Tag: Forgiveness

Judgment

On By vickleaIn Scripture7 Comments

I am absolutely convinced that the world has lost its fear of God and the judgment to come. I can glance at the headlines or hear the teaser for the news and know that this is true. Parents are befriending their children instead of leading them down the right pathway and disciplining them as they need. The “woke” culture is turning our world upside down and insisting that we accept their lack of morality. Our President has given a speech that is divisive and creates rancor among the people already suffering from his failed policies. All of this, and the people of the world think that they are fine, there is no God and they will just continue on their merry way until one day they are no more. But…

This is truth from God’s Word. We ALL appear before His judgment seat, not just the sinners who never accepted Him. We Christians need to realize that God will hold us accountable for our actions or lack of them.

The good news is that God is in the business of forgiveness. He doesn’t want us separated from Him, but rather, He invites us to draw closer to Him, for our own benefit. We cannot survive what is happening in our world without holding on tightly to the hand of the One who created us and knows us best. The world has gone crazy, but God is still the same. His expectations have not and will not change.

The book of Micah is written to a nation without hope, one that has turned from God and has not remembered all that He did for them. Written to the nation of Israel, Micah encourages the people to hold on to their belief that God will have compassion and forgive once again. We, too, can hold on to that promise of love and forgiveness. Yes, judgment is coming but forgiveness is still available to all who seek Him.

We need to make the first move, drawing near to God and seeking His face. Yes, judgment is coming and the day of God’s wrath will be a terrible one. However, we who believe in the Lord have a hope that He is our Redeemer, that He is our advocate at the judgment and that in the end, we will be with Him for eternity.

But what of our world and the loved ones in it? It is our solemn duty to warn them, just as the prophets of old did. Some listened and repented while others perished in their sins. God has not changed what He expects us to do. The world has changed, with technology making it possible to send out messages in seconds. Should not the message we send out be one of repentance and hope before the day of judgment comes? It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by life’s circumstances and all that is happening around us, but God is not feeling defeated. He is victorious and knows exactly where this world is headed. We are all on a one way course to a collision with the truth of the Word of God, a place where sin is sin, not some nice euphemism that makes things sound better than they are. Adultery is adultery, not an “affair’; extra-marital sex is fornication, not a “guilty pleasure”; and homosexuality is a sin, not a trait you are born with. Men are lost and so they sin, excuse their own sin and think that they will escape judgment. That won’t happen. God’s Word tells us what is coming if we just read it, believe it and tell it to others in the hope that they, too, will believe.

I’m sad for our world and all that is happening here, but the rampant sin lets me know that Jesus is returning soon and Judgment Day is coming. I am not a prophet so I cannot say when He is coming; I just know that He is and that His heart must be breaking because of the sinfulness of the entire world that He died for.

May each of us be blessed by the knowledge that God’s Word stands even when all around us there is chaos. Have a blessed day.

Love Covers

On By vickleaIn Scripture1 Comment

As humans, we have difficulty forgetting offenses, but if we truly love, we cover over those offenses and just keep loving. That’s what makes Christians different from others who vow revenge or just ignore people who offend them. As Christians, we are called to love. That is exactly what Jesus did for us!

Have a blessed day filled with love, forgiveness and mercy.

Our Clothing

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

I have read a lot of commentaries and different Biblical versions about putting on the whole armor of God. But what goes under that armor is also important. Did you know that the Bible tells us how we are to clothe ourselves?

I have read the book of Colossians numerous times, meditating on its verses. But this verse somehow escaped my attention until our Bible study group met on Monday night. I pondered it then and today this same verse was in my daily devotional. God does want us to put on the whole armor of God, but underneath that armor, He wants us clothed with mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. If we are clothed in something, that is what people see when they see us, those qualities that make Jesus’s presence evident to others.

The chapter continues with this verse about forgiveness. How can we be clothed with Godly characteristics if we don’t forgive? The answer is that we can’t. It’s like going out in public with a shirt that is ripped down the middle and expecting no one to notice. Lack of forgiveness causes a root of bitterness inside the person who chooses to hold on to it. The person you are not forgiving is either not aware of it or chooses to ignore it. Either way, it doesn’t hurt them as much as the lack of forgiveness hurts you. The very important word in the verse is “as”. A tiny little word that means so much…the same way the Lord forgave you is how you should forgive others. He forgave each of us of everything, so we should do likewise to others. Grudges are not an item of clothing that we should be wearing around our shoulders.

Finally, there is love, the binding agent. I vaguely remember my chemistry class in which we were making a glue-type substance and we were told that one of the elements we were using was the binding agent, so we had to be careful to add it at the proper time. Love has to always be added to all of the other clothing that we are wearing because it is the seam that holds the clothing together on our bodies. Without love, we can’t exhibit the other qualities in any way that creates unity. In this divided world, love is an absolutely necessary quality for Christians to put on daily. You don’t like someone’s politics? Love them anyway. You don’t like someone’s selfish actions? Love them anyway. Someone is rude to you, in traffic or in a store or at work? Love them anyway. Love is the one thing that will draw people to you and to your witness about Christ. Once they see love, they can look at the other “clothing” that you are wearing and examine the gifts of His character that God has put on you. But first they must see love.

Have a beautiful and blessed day in the Lord, making every effort to put on the right clothes before you venture out into His creation.

Review of THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW by Jessica Strawser

On By vickleaIn Book Review4 Comments

This is such a gut-wrenching, emotional book that I could read for a while and then had to sit and relive what I had read, pondering the truth within its pages.
This is a thought-provoking look at two characters whose lives intersect and change forever because of their interaction. Nova Huston is an end-of-life doula, using her empathy and heart to help her to guide others when they are facing their own deaths. When Mason Shaylor, a former rock star whom Nova doesn’t recognize at all, becomes her newest client, Nova is drawn to his kindness and humility and sincerely wants to help him face his death with courage and all loose ends tied up. What she didn’t count on is that her feelings would surpass anything she has ever felt for a client before. The conflict was a surprise, so I won’t go into that part, but suffice it to say that this book was a multi-layered character study with a lot to say about accepting death and forgiving others. Nova and Mason were both complex and fully fleshed out with lots of secrets that were slowly revealed. I loved this book and hated for it end. But the entire book was so good, including the ending and especially the reveal about the reason for the title. A dramatic and suspenseful book with complicated relationships and heartwarming themes.
Disclaimer
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”

The content may be disturbing to some, so I would rate this a book for adults or older, mature teens.
Bio and photo from the author’s website at http://www.jessicastrawser.com

This heart-touching novel is available now as it just released yesterday! Purchase Links:

Bookshop

Target

Powells

Barnes and Noble

Amazon

Many, many thanks to St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review. This novel is amazing and can be life-changing if you will allow the message it holds to speak to you.

Please Chime In: How Do You Treat Non-Believers?

On By vickleaIn Scripture18 Comments

Every Monday evening my husband and I attend a small group Bible study that is associated with our new church. We love the group, the camaraderie, the different topics and just being around like-minded people. But last night, I was disturbed by something and I would like some input from my faithful readers (emphasis on FAITH-ful). I know what I think, but I seemed to be in the minority.

Part of the discussion was how to treat people who are blatant sinners, lost in sin and who don’t seem to want to find their way out of it. Our video presentation last week had an insightful message about the topic. The speaker said that the sinners are not our enemies, although we often treat them like they are. They are victims of the enemy who is trying to destroy all of us and take as many as he can with him to hell.

During the discussion last evening, we also talked about how Jesus would respond to the LGBTQ+ advocates who are sometimes aggressive. My opinion was and is that he would love them. He always loves the sinner! But what disturbed me was when one member of the group spoke up, kind of off topic, and said that one church pastor from a local church (not the one I attend) had said from the pulpit that anyone living in sin with a partner outside of marriage needed to leave the church because they weren’t welcome there. The consensus of the group last night, at least among the vocal ones who spoke out, was that was the correct thing to do. Kick the sinners out! My heart plummeted but I did not enter the discussion. I just pondered it and awakened this morning with the issue in my mind and heart. Is that truly what Jesus would do? They justified it with a few references to Scriptures, but I looked the verses up.

This verse specifically says if someone sins against you, not the church, not God’s law and moral code, you, then you go to him/her privately. The second step is to take witnesses and confront the person and the final step is to go to the whole church. I’m not sure that the issue we were discussing last night falls into this category. Rather, I think it’s more of confronting the log in your eye instead of the speck in another person’s eye since God is the final Judge of all. I hope it is obvious to you that I think it is totally uncalled for and wrong to publicly humiliate sinners and tell them that you expect them to leave the church. Where out in the world will they hear the Gospel if the church people, those supposed to be filled with the love of Christ have rejected them? Furthermore, will these sinners be even willing to listen to a Christian again? All of this disturbs me greatly.

This was another reference that I looked up and now I see clearly that it is the leadership of the church being held to a higher standard. They are reproved before all so that others are warned. But I still did not see anything in the Scripture about asking them to leave the church. I think in the Catholic Church, that is known as excommunication and is an extreme consequence rarely used. Not wanting to focus on differences in beliefs here or one particular church, I want to draw your attention back to the matter at hand and my question on which I sincerely desire your input.

Is it ever right for the leadership of the church to call out sin before the congregation and ask those sinners to leave the church? To tell them that they don’t belong there, so they just need to leave?

My mind is going in circles at the repercussions of such abuse of power (that’s what I think it is) as well as a judgmental spirit that is not working towards restoration but all reproof and rebuke. Jesus was our example and he hung out around sinners all the time, to the point that the “religious leaders” called the Pharisees judged Jesus for being around those who sinned so much.

I don’t know about you guys but I don’t want to go to a church in which the sinners are not welcome. I am a sinner saved by God’s grace and I want everyone to understand God’s love and mercy. Yes, He is filled with righteous anger at sin and will one day judge all of us. But is it right to not offer the bread of life to the hungry? Of course, I agree that living with someone to whom you are not married is a sin. But I don’t think this sin is any worse than others and Jesus would have rebuked the sin and loved the sinner.

Now that I’ve rambled on for a while about my own frustration, please feel free to leave me a comment about your thoughts. I would greatly appreciate Scripture verses to defend your own thoughts. I’m not confused but I am astonished that any church could do this to a non-believer and think it’s okay. What happened to forgiveness and restoration?

Have a blessed day, remembering that you are a sinner saved by God’s grace and left here on earth to tell others about His mercy and forgiveness.

How to Be Saved

On By vickleaIn Scripture4 Comments

Over four decades ago, a sweet neighbor explained to me how to be saved and gave me a Bible to read. Considering how lost our world is now, it seems relevant that I share these Scripture verses with you for you to ponder.

Note that this verse is from the Psalms. God always had a plan for redemption of sinners in place. In the Old Testament, the people made animal sacrifices and times established by God. In the New Testament, Jesus sacrificed Himself Once, for all. But confession of our sins remains the same, regardless of the time in which we live.

The reason it is so important to confess our sins is so that we can be cleansed. We don’t have to go to a place or a person. We just have to confess our sins to Him. He hears us, and his faithfulness and justice reaches down to us, forgives us and cleanses us from wickedness.

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus by Hillsong

May God bless you this day and every day with a cleansing of your heart and soul so that you can go out and bless others with the Good News that there is salvation available to all.

True Forgiveness

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized5 Comments

God has forgiven me much, and I’m sure that if you believe in His Son as your Savior, He has done the same for you. Yet, sometimes, I find myself holding onto grudges, past hurts and insults. How do I know that I am doing that? Well, when a certain person’s name is mentioned, I clinch my teeth and say things like I hope that I won’t see them in Heaven. What a horrible, horrible thing to think, much less say! God spoke to me this morning about this attitude. Since He has forgiven me so much, who am I to tell the person who offends me that they don’t deserve His forgiveness? He died for ALL!

Photo from Pinterest
Photo from Flourishing Today

Finally, I read in Dr. Denison’s article today about a man who killed the wife of a neighbor…vehicular manslaughter, and suddenly a family with four children had no mother. Yet, the father forgave the man who drove into his wife. Forgave him! Imagine! My heart was breaking at the idea of such a great ability to forgive! Then, the Lord spoke quietly to my heart and said that He forgave me great things and He wants me to forgive others of great and small things. Just like that, my eyes were opened and I know that now I will forgive, because I choose to do so. Just as Jesus chose to lay down His life for us and for our reconciliation with the Father, He forgave from that cross on the hill outside Jerusalem. I pray that from this day forward whenever I hear the name of a person who has offended me that I will pray a prayer of forgiveness for them and wish them well. But, more, I pray that they will come to know the love of the Savior so that they can experience Heaven with me. God bless each of you as you go through your day and may you reach out to those who need forgiveness and extend your hand of love.

Dr. Denison October 20, 2020 Husband Forgives Distracted Driver

Seeking Fairness

On By vickleaIn Uncategorized1 Comment

I have come to believe that there is no fairness, no real equality in this world. No matter what you measuring rod, there will always be someone who gets “the short stick” so that fairness is not possible. Do you remember as as child being told something you didn’t like and replying to your parent.”That’s not fair.” I know that I did, but my mom and dad didn’t ever change their mind due to my opinion. I came to understand as I faced the challenges of parenting myself that you cannot always be fair, but you can make the best decision for the time and the circumstances. In my devotional this morning, I faced this whole fairness conundrum again. Is God fair?

God is sovereign. Period.
We were formed in the womb by God, so it is not right that we should question God’s creation. Again, God is sovereign.
God is sovereign.
Trust God that He knows what He is doing. The end result is good. This verse is for the Israelites, but I’m claiming it for me and for our fallen world.
Consider this carefully: God is sovereign! Hallelujah! We don’t make the final decisions. God can be trusted. He knows what He is doing. He is still on His throne! Hallelujah!

The answer to my question is that God is sovereign and yes, He is fair. Maybe not in the way we want Him to be fair, but God is not our puppet on a string waiting to do what we consider fair. He looks at the whole world, and He is fair because He can be trusted to always have our best interests at heart.

Have a blessed day, my friends. Go out and have a wonderful day, remembering that the sovereign God is watching over you and has freely forgiven you. Blessings!