forgiveness

Learn From Him

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The words of Jesus regarding our judgement of other’s…

“Do not judge, or you to will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?’  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Matthew 7:1-5

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake in northwestern Wisconsin)

When We Are Tempted

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“When tempted, no on should say, ‘God is tempting me.’  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.  Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.  He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of all he created.”

James 1:13-18

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 at Falls Park near Sioux Falls, South Dakota)

The Way of the Lord

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“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

Psalm 103: 8-12

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while driving through Colorado)

Be Kind and Compassionate

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“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.  And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:29-32

(This photo was taken in July of 2014 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Let It Go

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“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:31-32

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while driving through Colorado)

Reconciliation

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“For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

Romans 5:10

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota.  The shadow was produced by our son standing with his arms opened wide)

Repentance

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It takes courage to examine our lives and admit our wrongs.  It takes a close and personal relationship with God to feel comfortable opening up past guilt, shame and sadness.  Start today…invite or re-invite Jesus into your heart during this season of Lent, confess those things that hurt and ask for His healing grace and mercy.  Leave worry behind…He loves you and is waiting to hear from you.

“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:8-9

(This photo was taken in the fall of 2014 on the Northern coast of Maui)

Patience and Persistence

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Sometimes we all wish God worked like a drive-thru…quick, cheap and efficient?  We could just pull in and get whatever we needed whenever we needed it.  Those thoughts come directly from the world we live in.  Everything in this world seems focused on the quick, convenient, fast and easy…we want more we want more.

My toughest moments in my faith journey…times when I have felt a letdown or disappointment have occurred because I lacked Patience and Persistence.

Patience – defined as “bearing pain or trials without complaint”; “showing self-control”

Persistence – defined as “to go on resolutely or stubbornly in spite of difficulties”

These are two qualities that are not promoted in our world yet when we focus on them we usually are closer to living God’s plan for our life rather than our own plan.  I have always been a better husband, father, son, brother or friend when I practice patience and persistence.

In my spiritual life I define Patience as waiting for the Lord.  He is always there and he always working his plan in your life even when you think nothing is happening.  Every interaction with another person is an opportunity and a blessing.  When we are patient we can smile and make eye contact with the grocery store or convenience store clerk.  When passing by someone we know we can say “Hi” with a smile instead of “Hey, How you doing?” as we speed past not waiting for a response because we didn’t really want to know how they were doing at that moment.  When we are patient as a friend we really listen to what our friend is saying and not thinking about what we are going to say next in conversation.  When we are patient we will be willing to sacrifice some of our own wants and needs to help others.

Persistence can be defined as never giving up of God.  Things will not go the way you want or just the way you planned but maybe you ran ahead of God and it wasn’t time for you to get that job or start that adventure.  Maybe he knows you have some more trials coming ahead.  It is not punishment, that is not how God works.  He has a plan for how he wants you to use the gifts he gave you and he knows the events you are going to encounter in life.  Your job is to learn from trials and pray about them and listen for God to respond.  For example, if you need the courage to ask someone for forgiveness or you need to forgive someone for something…pray about it daily and be watchful for that opportunity to be forgiven or to forgive…it will come.  Just be persistent about your prayer.

In closing, one of my favorite Bible verses speaks to these qualities it is this:

“I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord”

                                                                                                                     Psalm 27:13-14

Peace.