Tag Archives: forgiveness

January 30

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Genesis 45, 46:1-12    I Chronicles 5:1-6, 2:18-55

I love reading about the reunion between Joseph and his brothers. Their hearts must have been so full. And now Joseph was making sense of his life. It was for these ten men who stood before him that God had allowed Joseph to endure captivity and even prison.

Suddenly all the years away from his family was worth it. He had the means to save his family from starvation.

Joseph told his brothers not to beat themselves up for the past. His parting words to them were… don’t fight about this. It didn’t matter any more who was to blame.

Sometimes we can look back on life and say, like Joseph, so this is why I went through that difficulty. Sometimes God allows us a glimpse at the way He works in our lives.

But sometimes it’s not so evident, especially in the middle of a difficult situation. Sometimes all we can do is trust Him like Joseph did while he was in prison.

Lord, Thank You for the times when we are able to look back and see how you used the events of life to bless us and make us blessings to others. Help us to trust You during those times when Your purpose is not so evident. And I pray that we will take Joseph’s advice and not beat ourselves up for our own past mistakes. Help us to know how you can use our life experiences to reach out to others. Maybe we can save someone from starving today.

January 29

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Genesis 42-44

It seems Joseph was playing games with his brothers. His dreams had come true. they were bowing down to him, coming to him because they needed him. So why didn’t he tell them who he was the minute he recognized them? Why did he make them go back to Canaan for Benjamin? Why did he plant his silver cup in Benjamin’s belongings?

I think Joseph wanted to know if they had changed from the cold-hearted men who sold him into slavery. What he saw were ten men who loved and honored their father, who were honest enough to return the silver, and who would accept Benjamin’s punishment on themselves.

And you know what? I think those ten brothers learned some things about themselves, too

Maybe we need to be a little more like Joseph. I don’t mean the game-playing. But Joseph watched his brothers’ actions in order to read their hearts.

The word ‘Christian’ is almost meaningless these days. To some, you are a Christian if you aren’t a Buddhist.

Jesus said we would know his disciples by their love. Paul tells us the fruit of the Spirit include things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, self-control.

The Bible also tells us not everyone who claims to know God really does. And it’s important that we are careful to follow truth. Not every religion is true. Not every preacher is preaching the truth.

Let’s be discerning and hold each other up to a high standard. Let’s show our world that we are changed because of our encounter with Jesus.

God give us the ability to recognize Your Truth and reject everything else. And help us to encourage each other to live according to that Truth so that people can recognize your Truth in us.

January 26

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Genesis 33-35

Jacob thought Esau would want to kill him. The closer he got to home, the more frightful Jacob must have felt. As the firstborn son Esau should have received their father’s blessing. Esau had a birthright. But Jacob had stolen what should have been Esau’s.

Now he was coming home. We don’t know what happened to Esau during the years Jacob was away. But one thing is certain. Esau didn’t allow anger and jealousy to destroy him.

Somewhere along the line Esau had forgiven Jacob without Jacob even knowing. Did Jacob deserve Esau’s forgiveness? Jacob never apologized or tried to make it up to Esau. So, no. I guess Jacob didn’t deserve forgiveness.

But Esau deserved to forgive.

Someone once said forgiveness is a gift to yourself. And I believe that. I used to tell my students I was too lazy to carry a grudge. It takes a lot of effort. And instead of feeding the hurt I’d rather let it die of starvation. I’ve found the more I think about the wrong someone has done to me, the more I entertain hard feelings, the bigger the grudge becomes and the heavier the burden of carrying it.

Anger and hate are like cancer. They eat at you until they destroy you. And whether or not the person at whom your anger is directed deserves your forgiveness, you deserve the freedom that comes from forgiving them.

And remember… while we were still sinners Christ died for us.

Father, it’s not easy to forgive when we know we have been wronged. And sometimes we need to walk away from the person who has mistreated us. Help us to be aware of the destruction anger and hate does to us. Then help us to let those feelings go. Teach us to forgive as we are forgiven.

January 14

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Job 32-34

Once again I am struck by the length to which God goes to redeem a lost soul. Job 33:14 says God does speak “now one way, now another though man may not perceive it.” Elihu goes on to say God might speak in dreams, whisper in our ears, or through hardships and illnesses. He goes on to say if there was a mediator to find a ransom, we would be restored by God to righteousness.

The beautiful thing about this is we know that mediator’s name. Jesus is alive and eager to do His work in our lives. Elihu reminds us that God doesn’t give us just one chance to go to Him. 33:29 says God does all these things to a man… twice, even three times… to turn back his soul from the pit, that the light of life may shine on him.

I imagine most of us can remember times and situations in our lives when we were drawn to the Savior. Something we heard, or read, or experienced brought God to our minds. Times when we recognized a longing for more than this life offers.

The more we ignore that prompting from the Holy Spirit the easier it gets to ignore Him and the harder it becomes to even recognize God’s voice. God wants us to love Him, to receive Him and experience sins forgiven. There will be times today when He tries to get our attention. My prayer is that we will be sensitive to His voice and allow God to restore us to righteousness.

January 10

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Job 19-21

My mom was ready to die. We are one month short of seventeen years since her battle with cancer ended. There are things about that day that are still so fresh in my memory. Other details have naturally faded.

I will admit that to this day I harbor ill feelings toward Mom’s pastor. He didn’t visit her, although my sister asked him repeatedly if he would take communion to Mom. His wife brought soup a couple of times and I imagine that eased any guilt he might have felt.

Then at her funeral, he mentioned what a good mother Mom was. But he never once said anything to my Dad. Never once offered comfort to this dear man who was totally lost without her. The pastor gave a flowery, impersonal sermon based on Job 19:25. Although he had been the pastor of our church for ten years, he could have given the same sermon for a stranger. God forgive me, my anger toward this man is still strong. I am convicted as I read God’s Word today.

The truth is Mom did know her Redeemer lives. She knew without a doubt that she was ready to stand before Him. She looked forward to her eternal home. This verse will always remind me of my Mom.

Lord, may I have the same hope in my living Redeemer. Thank you that You are alive and present in my life. Thank you for the promise of heaven and the assurance that You will welcome me there one day. And help me to forgive as You forgive… as Mom would want me to forgive.

January 6

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Job 4-7

I kind of like Job’s friends. They heard their friend was in trouble and they went to him. I don’t know how far they traveled but I know they didn’t catch a flight or take the turnpike. Going to Job was probably not an easy thing to do. But they went because their friend was hurting.

When they saw how much agony Job was in they just sat with him. For seven days and nights! They sat without trying to fix Job or make him feel better. Talk about support, sensitivity, love. These guys had it all.

But then they opened their mouths. I’m sure they meant well. And some of what they said is true. But they would have been more helpful if they had remained silent.

Eliphaz starts off by suggesting Job’s troubles were a result of sin in Job’s life. (He didn’t know about the conversation between Satan and God which started the whole thing) Eliphaz believes Job is being punished for some horrible deed he has committed. After all, he says… Who, being innocent has ever perished? Were the upright ever destroyed?

Um… yes. Babies die. People are killed for proclaiming Christ. Bad things happen in a sinful world to both good people and bad.

Here’s the other thing. We all deserve to be punished. There is no one righteous… not even one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. If God treated sin with disease, death, and tragedy there wouldn’t be anyone alive today.

But God longs to treat sin with grace. He took on himself the punishment for sin and offers forgiveness to anyone who asks. There are consequences for sin in this lifetime, of course. Whether it’s weeds growing in a garden, broken marriages resulting from infidelity, diseased livers from abusing alcohol, and everything in between, sin has devastating results. I worked for a principal who often talked about ‘natural, logical consequences’. If you put your hand in a fire you will get burned. If you don’t do your homework you will fail. If you jump off a cliff you will get hurt.

What God wants us to know is that He is not up there with a zapper, waiting for us to mess up so He can inflict harm. He wants us to know He is a loving God who is rooting for us to do the right thing. He doesn’t take any joy in seeing us suffer the natural, logical consequences for disobeying Him.

There are no guarantees that if you are good, good things will happen. There is no promise that if someone is unfair to you, something bad will happen to them. There is, however, a guarantee that no matter what happens in this life, God is standing next to us, ready and willing to help us get through it. God wants us to see Him, not the situation. He wants us to experience His strength when we have none of our own.

Thank you, Lord for grace. For forgiveness. For your love and care. And even when things in this life go wrong, may we trust you. Give us the ability to use our life experiences to proclaim Christ. May the choices we make today honor You and enable us to live healthy productive lives for Jesus’ sake.

January 2

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Gen 4-6, I Chronicles1:1-4

Reading this I might be tempted to think God was unfair to Cain. It’s not that Cain didn’t bring God an offering. He was a farmer and offered God some crops from his fields. Cain planted, watered, weeded, and harvested this offering. Why wouldn’t God be thrilled with his effort?

No wonder Cain was upset when God rejected his offering. I am sure he felt God would look at his hard work and his intentions and give him an “atta-boy”. But Cain went to God on Cain’s terms. And God rejected him.

The people at this time talked to God so it’s highly unlikely Cain didn’t know God’s requirements for an acceptable offering. And even if he did not know, God told Cain after the offering was rejected, to do what is right. God encouraged Cain to repent, to recognize sin and master it. God gave Cain an opportunity for a second chance to do it right.

But Cain couldn’t or wouldn’t do it. We need to be careful not to make the same mistake Cain made. We can’t let pride get in our way of going to God for forgiveness. Like it or not there is only one way to God. There is only one truth. I cringe when someone says they don’t go to church or pray and are comfortable living an ungodly life because “God and I have an understanding.” Yeah. God understands that unless we obey him we are lost. We just can’t go to God on our own terms.

Thank you, Lord for making your way plain. Jesus said in no uncertain terms that HE is the way, the truth and the life and no one goes to the Father except through Jesus. Forgive me when I am tempted to sidestep your requirements or think that doing good is good enough. Help me to get over myself and come to you on your terms. And thank you for second chances.

January 1, 2013

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Genesis 1-3

About 20 years ago a missionary challenged me to journal what God is teaching me through His Word. She said she reads a chapter in the Bible every day, meditates on it, then writes down what God reveals to her. I took that challenge and my journaling journey began. I have volumes sitting on my bookshelf. And I will say that, as many times as I have read through the Bible, God teaches me something every day.

I’d like to challenge you, too. Let’s read through the Bible in 2013 together and share what God is teaching us. I do not claim to be a Bible scholar. But I know God wants us to learn from Him. And just maybe He will reveal something to you that will encourage me along the way, too.

I am reading the One Year Chronological Bible (NIV). Today’s chapters were Genesis 1-3, the story of creation and the fall.  Familiar verses to those of us who were raised going to church. Here’s what I wrote today:

Another new year. To say 2012 was a difficult year is an understatement. Our family lost my dear nephew in a tragic auto accident in June. Dealing with that grief has been the hardest thing we have had to experience… and still are experiencing. Someone said, “Life goes on” and it’s true. But so does death. Geoff is still dead today six month later and his absence leaves a giant hole in our lives that will never be filled.

Then in September, our Dad went to be with the Lord. Although he was in his 80s and not in good health, losing him has been hard. He truly was the hub of our family and I miss him every day.

But as I walk through the greatest grief I have ever experienced, I also have experienced God’s greatest care. So many people have allowed themselves to be God’s arms and ears, His voice and his love to me and my family.

You know when God created the world He created perfection. That garden must have been so beautiful. I find it very sweet and intimate that God took a rib from Adam and made Eve from it. They were perfect. Their relationship was perfect.

Until sin entered and changed everything. The consequences of sin hurts. But here’s an amazing truth. God Himself provided what Adam and Eve needed after they sinned. The first animal was sacrificed so the couple could have clothing. The Bible says God made garments of skin for Adam and Eve. And God has been clothing us ever since. He continues to demonstrate His love for us through people who are obedient, who allow God to hug us when they wrap their own arms around us, who pray for us, who sit and listen when we need someone to talk to.

God didn’t cause Geoff’s accident nor did He give my Dad COPD. God is the giver of good things. But because sin is in the world bad things happen. There is death and disease. There is unfairness and war.

What God wanted me to see today through His word is not the sin Adam and Eve committed. He wanted me to see His loving provision. He does not want me to shake my fist at the unfairness of a life lost so young or the struggle of an old man to breathe. He wants me to see Him sewing those animal skin garments, to see Him hanging on the cross. The lesson for me today is to bow before the God who loves me and gave Himself for me. He wants me to know I can trust him with every detail of life… and death.

Lord, may I be obedient today. Use my arms to wrap someone up in your love. Let my voice speak words of encouragement from You. Thank you for providing everything I need, especially for your Son.