Category: Forgiveness

Thank GOD for His Grace

​”But the GOD of ALL Grace, who hath called us unto His ETERNAL GLORY by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.” – 1 Peter 5:10 KJV (http://bible.com/1/1pe.5.10.KJV)

Sometimes the King James version of God’s Word is just the perfect words. Beautifully put. “The GOD of ALL Grace…..” It is only through His Grace that we can truly live. Not only is it through His Grace that we get to spend an eternity with Him, but it gives us freedom from fear of what can happen on this earth. It gives us a deeply felt peace.

Are you fearful today? The quest for freedom goes on for many. On the surface, the worry can be so profound that it steals our peace. God knows this. He is ready to comfort us and carry our fears anytime we ask Him to. Here on this earth we will have struggles and sorrows. Deep sorrows that try to overwhelm us. Those things, the fear, sorrow, weakness….. these are not from God. They all come from the enemy. From the first sin, from the willingness of Adam and Eve to defy God’s one command to not eat of the tree of good and evil:

  “The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden He placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 

But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” ” – 

Genesis 2:16‭-‬17 NLT

  “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

Even in the beginning, we don’t really hear what God is saying to us. He said don’t eat from the tree, but He didn’t tell them not to touch it. I think that’s how we have produced so many rules and religions. We seem to think we can add to or adjust what God tells us without any consequences. 

  “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

  The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. 

  So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.

  At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. – Genesis 2:9; 3:2‭-‬7 NLT (http://bible.com/NLT)

Immediately after disobeying God, Adam and Eve became fearful. Because of their disobedience, God gave the rule of the earth over to our archenemy, Satan. We bear the consequences of sin every day in our lives.(Thanks guys!) 

But!!!! We don’t have to deal with the consequences for eternity, thanks to God’s Mercy and His Grace. Hallelujah and Amen. I don’t need to worry over anything. It’s all been mapped out ahead of time, and I have a choice. Embrace the situation and thank God for whatever it (the good, the bad, and the ugly), or I can kick and scream and deny and worry myself sick. See? We always have a choice. Many, many times throughout my life I have chosen the second option. I have literally made myself sick with worry on multiple occasions. Did it help, or do any good at all? Nope. Not a dab. I’ve also been learning to turn a few things over to God, and the difference is amazing. I still have to do my part to resolve the situation, but I can do it with an ulcer or migraine. Absolutely amazing. 

Have you experienced God’s Grace in your life? It’s really simple to get. Receive the LORD Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. Accept the peace He offers.


Together for the City – notes and my thoughts from  Frontline Church Edmond 7/31/16 (Tim Kimberly)

The question is “How can we as a church push back the darkness that is overcoming the world?” 

Out of the 1181 chapters in the Bible, the first two of chapters are a wonderful picture of the light pushing back and overcoming the darkness. 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.  And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” – Genesis 1:1‭-‬3 NIV (http://bible.com/111/gen.1.1-3.NIV)

From Genesis 3 on – darkness begins to cover the earth with human being #3 (Cain) killing human being #4 (Able, Cain’s brother). It really didn’t take long for the enemy, Satan, to move into our lives in full force. Alexandr Solzhenitsyn, in the Harvard commencement speech he gave, he said “The line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being.” Why use this point he made at Harvard? Because if we look at the world and try to cut out all of the evil, then we would have to decimate the entire human population. Every human being has evil in their hearts. Definitely something to ponder.

What does this have to do with Jesus? I think it goes to this question that He asks His disciples. “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” – Matthew 16:13 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.16.13.NIV)

Do we consider Jesus to be the Son of the Almighty God, or just a good person? The evil in our hearts – even in those who are “good” people – wants us to say that He was a good man, maybe even a prophet, but not the Messiah. His disciples answered Jesus like this: 

“Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”   “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?”   Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, Christos, the Son of the living God.” (Completely man and completely God.) – Matthew 16:14‭-‬16 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.16.14-16.NIV)

Are we working to overcome the darkness in our families and our neighborhoods?  Do we understand why our world is covered in darkness? God explains the why to the prophet Jeremiah:

“…then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook Me,’ declares the LORD, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook Me and did not keep My law. But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying Me. My Eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from Me, nor is their sin concealed from My Eyes. I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled My inheritance with their detestable idols.” – Jeremiah 16:11‭-‬12‭, ‬17‭-‬18 NIV (http://bible.com/111/jer.16.11-18.NIV)

Bluntly and plainly put. We now have the why; now we need to know what to do about it, and how to go about it. Is this following verse you? “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” – Isaiah 9:2 NIV (http://bible.com/111/isa.9.2.NIV)  We are definitely living in the land of deep darkness! I believe that as followers of Christ it is our job to spread the”Great Light”, and we do it through the Gospel proclamation.

Just as Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.“ – Matthew 16:17 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.16.17.NIV)

When we see the Light of Jesus, it isn’t because of anything we can do ourselves. It is revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. It’s up to us to light up the world through our lives…. not because we are “good” or any better than anyone else. We are simply sinners saved by Grace. When we judge others, we need to remember that there, except for the Grace of our God, we could be.

“And I tell you that you are Peter, the Rock, (the level and square foundation block of the church) and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hell will not overcome it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be  bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be  loosed in heaven.” – Matthew 16:18‭-‬19 NIV (http://bible.com/111/mat.16.18-19.NIV) 

Without God at the head, Satan wins. With God, no gate of hell will stand against the Light of Jesus. We have to take the Light to the darkness, living out our faith through our lives. I was this woman Jesus is speaking to in John, condemned by man and saved by Jesus, Amen. Are you possibly this woman – or man – waiting for Jesus to set you free?

“Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”  When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, “I AM the Light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the Light of Life.” – John 8:10‭-‬12 NIV (http://bible.com/111/jhn.8.10-12.NIV)

William Wilberforce wrote “Real Christianity: Contrasted with the Prevailing Religious System,” published in 1797. He set out as a young politician to do two things: rouse professing Christians to understand the nature of true faith, and to bring about the end of slavery in England’s colonies. His book is equally relevant today for Christians wanting to understand their faith better, but it is also still relevant on the issue of slavery. Even though we don’t have the obvious slave markets that were so prevalent in the 1700’s, there are thriving slave markets that exist to this day. (The book is still available, both new and used on Amazon, and also available as an eBook.) 

What do you think of Jesus? What do you say about Jesus? What do you live about Jesus? 

Social media and God 

​”The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” – 2 Peter 3:9 NIV (http://bible.com/111/2pe.3.9.NIV)

I read this and immediately the thought popped into my head of how impatient we have become. My computer/tablet/phone are all too slow. I was up in the mountains of northern New Mexico for several days, staying in a log cabin. Thankfully, there was indoor plumbing and electricity! No cell service, no Internet, no television…. but there was a landline for essential communication and a radio to listen to, and a post office and few miles down the road. I could have chosen to be frustrated about the lack of my devices after a couple of days and gone to a neighbors to use their broadband, or I could choose to embrace it while I was in the mountains. Had I  gone to broadband, it would have been very slow compared to my normal WiFi. 

The way I see it, I have very similar choices with God’s Will. For many years, I chose to ignore Him. I used the world’s means of communication, insisting that whatever it was, I “needed” it to be done now.  It seems to me that Peter’s message is intended for us, God’s children, to slow down. We don’t need the instant gratification the world teaches. We (I) need to take a breath and look at God’s need instead of our own. The only thing He ever needs or wants from us is our love. It’s true that our love should include acceptance and obedience, and those giving their love should be slowing down to be able to hear Him. That’s how we can know His Will for our lives.

I confess that I don’t slow down enough, or often  enough, to hear God’s voice in my life. God will never let me down. He always has my best interests at heart. His time is not my time, and His thinking is not my thinking – after all, it was/is my best thinking and impatience that gets me into trouble!

God is real, and He is good, ALL the time.

If I haven’t offended you lately….

​”Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:23‭-‬24 NIV (http://bible.com/111/psa.139.23-24.NIV)

I believe in God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Son. I believe in the Holy Scriptures as the inspired Word of God. For most of my adult life, I turned my back on the Truth of God’s Word and spent my time having all the “fun” I could in order to cover up how miserable I was. There were times when I would have a temporary “awakening” of sorts, and turn back to God, but I wasn’t wholly committed. I wasn’t ready to deny all of the “fun”! I wasn’t tired of being tired, or fed up with being fed up. Until I became sick and tired of being sick and tired, I wasn’t willing to open my eyes to the real problem. It wasn’t the alcoholic I was in a relationship with. It wasn’t the boss or my coworkers. It wasn’t the waiter or waitress or banker or car mechanic. It wasn’t my parents or siblings. (I could go on and on!)

The problem was me. That is a hard pill to swallow.

I have family members who are currently in that cycle, and friends and acquaintances. It makes my heart hurt, knowing the cure but not being able to apply it. Everyone has to recognize and accept the cure of their own free will. 

Test me, Lord, for the impatient thoughts I have. Search me for the irritations, and wash them from my heart. The only cure for my shortcomings is through the complete acceptance of your Son, Jesus Christ. Let the Holy Spirit overcome me so that I may relinquish my will to Yours. 

David has written a beautiful psalm of acceptance and forgiveness:

“You have searched me, Lord , and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord , know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you. If only you, God, would slay the wicked! Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord , and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” – Psalm 139:1‭-‬24 NIV (http://bible.com/111/psa.139.1-24.NIV)

And all I can say is Amen.

GOD is the Potter; We are the Clay

I’ve had a series of serious, spiritual conversations recently with assorted family members and friends. It scares me that so many believe in God, but they don’t recognize Jesus as Lord.​ As I read the following scripture, it is so obvious that just believing in God isn’t enough.

“You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember Your ways. But when we continued to sin against them, You were angry. How then can we be saved?  All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.  No one calls on Your Name or strives to lay hold of You; for You have hidden Your Face from us and have given us over to our sins.  Yet you, LORD, are our Father. We are the clay, You are the Potter; we are all the work of Your Hand.” – Isaiah 64:5-8

ALL our righteous acts are like filthy rags. Nothing we can do is good enough to redeem us. Nothing. I can’t do enough good deeds to redeem myself in God’s eyes. I absolutely love that He has provided our redemption for us, and He doesn’t want anything from us except for our acceptance of His Son as Savior! Listen to this Good News:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s One and Only Son.” – John 3:16‭-‬18 NIV (http://bible.com)

Can you believe how simple it is? “…that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16 NIV 

Whoever… You, me, siblings, parents, children, friends. Anyone. Everyone. Just have to keep on spreading the Word. 

Loving the way Jesus teaches – Is it even possible? 

​”Love must be sincere. 

Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 

Be devoted to one another in love. 

Honor one another above yourselves. 

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. 

Practice hospitality.  

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 

Live in harmony with one another. 

Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. 

Do not be conceited.  

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. 

Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. 

On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”   

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” – Romans 12:9‭-‬21 NIV (http://bible.com/111/rom.12.9-21.NIV)

Really??? Does God expect us to be all that? Well, the short answer is yes. The human answer has to be no, because we are flawed and fallen beings who are incapable of having the sincere, loving existence God originally planned for us. (Thank you, Adam and Eve!) 

God gave us each free will so that we all individually responsible for our decisions, good, bad, and ugly. I could go line by line and point out every verse that I have ignored or broken in order to have my own way. As I move through life and it’s myriad of interactions, I am discovering that there actually is some wisdom in these words. What a shocker!

While I was growing up, my Grandma and Mom would say things like “You can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.” Not my thing. I preferred sarcasm and barbed words to kindness. Judging people. Revenge…. oh, yes. Gossip was the rule instead of the exception, and you know what?  Being all that didn’t bring me any peace or satisfaction, ever. Smiling and thanking someone who is being hateful or in your face really throws them off. 

I find that the more I strive to emulate Paul’s words and Jesus’ commands, the more peaceful and stress less  (is that even a word??? 😎) my life becomes. I still don’t get everything I want, and people are still rude and thoughtless, and sometimes just plain mean. It’s always my choice on whether I react, or respond, just as it is yours. We don’t know what is going on in that person’s life when they do things we don’t want to deal with, just as they have no idea what is going on in ours. 

Choice. It can be incredibly freeing, or you can tie yourself up in your misery and take it out on everyone else. Blessings come when we are thankful!

I Will Trust In You

​”Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! 

    How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His ways! 

    For who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give Him advice? 

    And who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? 

    For EVERYTHING comes from Him and exists by His Power and is intended for His Glory. 

    ALL Glory to Him forever! Amen.”  

    Romans 11:33-36 NLT (http://bible.com/116/rom.11.33-36.NLT)

I’m sitting outside in the backyard, contemplating God’s beautiful creation. He is so good to me! I was reading a post from a friend who’s ex is refusing to bring her children home after his visitation. I am blessed in not having that drama in my life, but there have been plenty of other dramas to deal with. There will be more, I’m sure, because the enemy has temporary control over the earth (just until Jesus returns!!). I remember during a particularly difficult period as I was driving home, I was crying from frustration and exhaustion, when I felt the physical presence of the Holy Spirit in the car with me as He touched my shoulder and said “I am with you.” There’s a song that Lauren Daigle sings and the chorus goes like this:

“When You don’t move the mountains

I’m needing You to move

When You don’t part the waters

I wish I could walk through

When You don’t give the answers

As I cry out to You

I will trust, I will trust

I will trust in You”

The enemy makes it REALLY difficult to rest in the trust we have in Jesus. When we can’t do anything else, we pray. We can’t see God’s plan and it is incredibly frustrating to keep finding ourselves in the dark valleys. I have to watch myself and remember that no matter how bad it gets, God is still in control. My heart hurts for all the pain being suffered today by so many. Prayer is always the BEST thing we can do for those hurting! Can I get an Amen!!

Here Come the Judge 

​“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.” – Matthew 7:1-2 NLT (http://bible.com/116/mat.7.1-2.NLT)

Man, this is HARD. I think I know right from wrong, and then, just when I think I am making strides towards being the person God wants me to be; just when I feel like l’m actually beginning to reflect Christ in my life, I see or hear something and I jump to judge. Ugh

Terrorists – “Shoot them all and let GOD sort them out.”

Rudeness, disrespect (includes people who use inappropriate gestures and foul language) – “Oh no you didn’t!” Just let me crawl up in their face and teach them a lesson in kindness.

Flat out meanness, criminals, and cruelty – Put them in stocks on the village square for a week without shelter or food, and allow bystanders to throw rotten fruits and veggies at them.

Fat people; trash (white, black, red, yellow… trash is trash) – Get a job! Quit being lazy and get off your a**. Clean up your house and yard. Do something productive. 

I’m not opinionated, right? (Okay, you can stop laughing now!) Judging others is natural. Normal – but just because it’s normal does not make it right. I want to point out all of the issues of others so I don’t have to look at mine. Now that is normal and natural to our human nature! 

LORD of my life, Savior. You are Awesomeness personified. Beautiful, perfect Father. I ask for forgiveness for my judgmental attitudes, and pray for Your contentment within my life and thoughts. I am not judge and jury over any human, including my own thoughts and actions. You alone are GOD. Bless my neighbors and friends and family today, O LORD. I lift up those people who are reeling from the tragic events that seem to be popping up more and more frequently. You promised that by accepting Jesus as Savior, we would never be alone again. Thank You for keeping that promise, and for covering us with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Going All Political 

I’ve been staying off of social media for the past few days because of all the negative news and posts. I know there are a lot of positive posts and people are coming together, too, but even within many of the “positive” messages there seems to be an underlying hatred. Our beautiful country is being destroyed in a systematic fashion by both those in power and in radical fringe groups. God – not Mohammed, not Buddha nor Mother Earth or any other god – God the Almighty, Creator, was at the center of the founding of our nation, and He is being pushed aside for all other gods. Professional athletes and musicians are treated with more respect than we give almighty God.

People sit in lines and even camp out in parking lots in order to be first in line for the best deals and the best tickets…. Have you EVER seen anyone waiting in line for the church doors to open? America, without God, we are nothing. This nation is heading for an EPIC fail. Our so-called leaders, from small town mayors to the White House continually undermine the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We the people are having to go into survival mode. 

It is so easy to fall into the hatefulness and prejudice that is being preached from Washington, but we as Christians MUST overcome those emotions and attitudes. Yes, I know how easy it is to say, and what a difficult challenge to do. It can only happen when we follow the Words of Jesus. Love the ones who want to hurt us, and PRAY for them. That is NOT what I want to do!

Father God, LORD of ALL, have Mercy on me. You are The Almighty; The  Forgiving and Merciful GOD. Help me to leave Judgment to You, and with Your help, I will forgive and pray for those who would do me and this great nation harm. I pray for clarity and for a contented spirit. It is only with You, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that I can have peace in this world. It is only through You, LORD Jesus,  that this nation, and our world, will ever have peace. Thank You, Father God, for Your continued presence in my life. Amen.

Are you willing to pray this prayer, too?