Forgiveness

There He Goes

/ pastorpete51 / 4 Comments

As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us Psalms 103:12

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Have you ever struggled to forgive someone? I did! First I complained about the offense till God reminded me of my own sins. Ashamed of myself I I did truly forgive. But then came those pesky times when I would see him and then I would turn my head or force a smile. But then one day it struck me that God’s forgiveness worked in quite a different way. He saw my sin, freely forgave and then was delighted every time we met. He has not yet looked away nor forced a smile. Instead He has not only forgotten my offense He has loved me ever since as His dearest friend!

Doorways of Forgiveness

/ pastorpete51 / Leave a comment

And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments. Luke 23:34

 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. Mark 11:25

Of all the prayers for restoration, none is stranger or more powerful than the prayer for forgiveness. We all know that as Christians we have a duty to forgive. Forgiveness was commanded, and modeled by our Lord. But if you are anything like me forgiving someone who has done me wrong is like eating liver: I know it is good, but I have a tough time swallowing it! But forgiveness is central to God’s work both in our own lives and in the life of others around us. In the past our own sin erected an unbreakable blockade between us and God but then His forgiveness became the doorway through which we were adopted into His family! When we choose to forgive for His sake, then we can also become doorways rather than blockadeskimg0285 in the lives of others. For who will you become open door today?

 

A Seat at the Table

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And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.”  Luke 7:37-39

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When Simon invited Jesus to his house that day he thought that Jesus would be delighted to come. Though Simon wasn’t one of those plotting to kill Jesus, he was uncomfortable with His teaching and wanted to have a chance to question Jesus personally. Jesus accepted the invitation because He wanted to answer Simon’s questions, just not in the way that Simon had expected! Simon thought that he the situation under control, till that sinful woman entered and began washing Jesus’ feet. Simon couldn’t understand. A humble repentant faith was foreign to him. His faith meant obeying all the rules and regulations then feeling good about himself. But faith is more than just giving Jesus a seat at our table. Faith is seeing ourselves for who we are because we have seen Him for who He truly is! Think of what Simon missed. He had given no water, no oil, no kiss, in all the time that Jesus sat at his table. What chances will you and I miss today if we find only what we are looking for and not what He has planned?