Forgiveness •

  I know that by the look of the tittle of this post many of you probably had a reaction. And that’s ok because we all have differ reactions to the simple word that holds a lot of power FORGIVENESS. 

  So today I want to talk about a word that has changed my life forever. 

  To start off I want to honest with you and say that forgiveness is not easy. It’s a daily process. And not an easy journey. It reminds me of a hike that me and some friends went on once, it was not an easy climb up that mountain but when we got to the top, the view was so amazing it made you feel like you were free. And when we went down the hill ready to leave I felt a since of accomplishment and gratefulness that I did it. This remind me of my journey of forgiveness the journey was not easy and there was times that I wanted to give up but I had someone there telling me to keep going, and when I reached the point that I was ready to forgive it felt freeing and beautiful. There were a lot of times that I felt like I was running back into the Valley by reliving that pain but at the end I was grateful that I could look back and see where I had come from. 

  I have a friend who asked me why? Why should I forgive? And that is a good question and I have asked God that same question many late nights but I am going to telling you what God showed me. Why should I forgive you? For everyone that you win, walk away from me, choose something over me, and you constantly put me last. So if God can forgive us everyday for every mistake that we make, why can’t we forgive others? I know that it’s not easy and that it hurts but think about the pain that Christ went through on the cross that we can be forgiven. Our pain and hurt is temporary so why sit in it so long. The Bible tells us that we need to forgive like Jesus forgave. And as Christian we are called to be more like Christ. So my question back to you is Why not forgive? Why live in hurt longer than you have you. The Bible also tells us that we should forgive seventy-seven times and no that is not a literal number, Hod tells us to forgive not just once or twice but to forgive every day. 

“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:32‬ ‭NIV‬

“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.Colossians‬ ‭3:13‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”‭‭Matthew‬ ‭18:22‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”‭‭Matthew‬ ‭26:28‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:37‬ ‭NIV‬‬

  One thing that read in the book Forgiving What You Can’t Forget by Lysa Terkeurst is that forgiveness is not letting go but placing the person in Gods hands. There is also a song that just came out called “What you can’t forget” by Leanna Crawford and she says that wounds become scars when placed in Gods hands. So place your hurt and your wounds in Gods hands. Give that person who hurt you to God. Lysa also says that the person who hurt you, has hurt to. Look past your own hurt and see where they are coming from. Who hurt them and maybe seeing that person through a new pair of eyes can help you understand, and to help you forgive. 

    One last thing that I want to say is that I am sorry that you have been hurt. And I want you all to know that your hurt matters. Your feelings matter. You matter. God lives you and you matter to him. 

    I hope that all of you have a different reaction to FORGIVENESS. If not that is ok because it take more than a few minutes to grasp everything. Forgiveness is a daily process and remember that God is right there with you every step of the way.

   I love you all and most importantly God loves you all!  

Refuge •

     Have you ever felt like you are under attack? Almost as if you are walking through a battle field, and everyone is lined up to take a shot at you. If you make one wrong move it's all over. 

     I can relate to this feeling so much. I feel like as long as I follow God and the paths that he has laid before me that everything will be ok.  But I also thought that there will be no one lined up to take that shot at me. But I was wrong, I feel like there will always be someone or something that the devil will try to put in my way, a distraction, or maybe even someone to hurt me or stop me.Then I came to the realization that no matter who is lined up on that battle field as a child of God I will always have protection and security.

    In psalms chapter thirty six verse seven, it shows us how unfailing God's love is. How there is refuge found in the shadow of God's wings. 

7 

"How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings". Psalm 36:7 NIV

     There is a song "Safe in your arms", by Josh Baldwin and in the song he says, "And the only shadow I see, is the shadow of your wings. And the only shadow of your wings,"  This song has so much power behind it. There has never been a time that I can remember that God has not embraced me with the comfort and protection of his wings. This shows Gods unfailing love. 

    In Psalm chapter seventy-one verse three, it tells us that God is our constant refuge. A refuge and safe place in which we can always go. 

"Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me , for you're my rock and my fortress'. Psalm71:3 NIV 

     Again in Psalm ninety-one verse four,God will cover us with his feathers. And under his wings we can refuge and security. Because Gods faithfulness will be our shield. God is my shield. I have confidence in knowing that I am embraced and protected. 

"He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart". Psalm 91:4 NIV

    Sometimes when you are running through the battle field we get lost in what is happening, it becomes hard to see that God is right there with us. 

    For me personally I run and I am too focused on what others are doing to me and what I am going through that I tend to ignore what my loving and unfailing father is doing for me. I shift my focus to self during the war instead of focusing on God. But still through it all God remains my constant protection and refuge on the battle field. 

    It's time to shift my focus off of myself and back on to God. Because through the battle I was not alone there were others who needed to know who was protecting me. Who's wings I was taking refuge under. There were casualties that I did not see because I was so focused on myself, and not trusting in and focused on God. Ask yourself today what are you focused on and who are you trusting in  through your battle field. 

Priorities•

     Today I am going to be obedient and I am going to start this off differently. I am going to pray for everyone who is reading this, because God lead you here today for a reason. 

    Father God I want to pray for each reader today. I ask that as they continue on you would speak to them personally. That you would help them to listen to you and to walk faithfully. That you would give them a peace in their lives like no other. That you would clam the storm in the hearts that have felt overwhelmed and broken for so long. I pray today that every person would show kindness as you show them and embrace them with your unconditional love. 

    As I was in my personal journaling time this morning I began to recall a conversation that I had yesterday with my best friend, and I began to really think about it. And some of the things that God placed on my heart I think so many people need to hear today and not just a pice of paper. The conversation was about how we try so hard as children to be the perfect child. To please our parent. But at the end of the day we still never feel like we are a good enough child. Like we never find satisfaction in what we do. I really began to think about this and how true it is. But then God spoke to me, he said what about me child. What about the way we seek after my approval or the way that you seek after me. So today I want you to truly stop and ask yourself do we do the same for our heavenly Father.

    If we really sit back and look at it, It's almost as if we chase after the approval of the world and others to find our self worth before we go to God. And when we look at this it brings us back to getting our priorities straight. When going to God and seeking after him has come to be our last resort is when we all need to step back and reexamine what our priorities are. 

Gods word tells us,   

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 NIV 

"But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, “First seek the counsel of the Lord.”" 1 Kings 22:5 NIV

    Here are a few pieces of scripture that show us to seek God and to seek his counsel FIRST. To seek God first above everything. when we do choose to take a step back and examine your priorities we need to make sure that God and his work and will are number one on our list. Because I want you to remember that God is not second place. God is the beginning and the end, he was one who formed you and gave you life. The one who gives you breath in your lungs each second of everyday, The one who makes your heart beat. He is the one who game his son to die for you so that you could be free and have eternal life with him. And we are giving him second place. Today I want to challenge you to give God First place in your life. Seek him first today.

    Thank you all so much for joining me on this journey today. I hope you all have a blessed day!