Thoughts ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZONPRTOFF dateof comment Look Inside Data Conditions:Order: Dateof Comment 08/08/2024 Lately my buddy has been getting requests from gang members in the area of forgiving other people. These guys have deep hurts relating to what their dads were like when they left home. We all know that Jesus wants to forgive our sins if we are willing to confess them. Why would Jesus want to do that? He understands James 2:8 NLT Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” The key word is "LOVE". In fact, he loved us so much he shed his blood for us. If we loved like that, we would also lay our lives down for another person and would want to forgive others who harmed us. Jesus lived his life this way: John 13:34 NLT So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Romans 12:9 NLT Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Romans 12:10 NLT Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Some may say that it is humanly impossible to love like that but Colossians 1:8 NLT He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you. The Holy Spirit wants to show us how to love people like Christ did. The second step is to not be a hypocrite. The parable of the debtor will remind you that Jesus has forgiven the massive number of sins we have in our own life: Matthew 18:23-35 NLT 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” This analogy says: Colossians 3:13 NLT Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. How many of us behave like this? I look at people differently when Jesus and I am the persons in this story. Look at all the other problems we cause by unforgiveness: Matthew 6:15 NLT But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. John 20:23 NLT If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” Man, it can even mess with your prayer life: Mark 11:25 But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” I firmly believe that how we forgive people can also bring people into the fold: James 5:20 you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back from wandering will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins. This verse describes God and Jesus very well. Nehemiah 9:17 NLT They refused to obey and did not remember the miracles you had done for them. Instead, they became stubborn and appointed a leader to take them back to their slavery in Egypt. But you are a God of forgiveness, gracious and merciful, slow to become angry, and rich in unfailing love. You did not abandon them, Some may never ask for forgiveness. If you want peace again in your life you still need to let it go. Other than the thief on the cross no one asked Jesus for forgiveness. Because he loved us so much, he asked, "Father forgive them because they do not know what they are doing." So it may be time now for you to forgive and let it go. Time to live in freedom with Christ. If you really want to be able to forgive people, strive for this: 2 Corinthians 5:14 NLT Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. 03/11/2024 Look what happens when we continue to honor and love our King. Deuteronomy 7:9 (New International Version) Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments. God has never forgotten the covenant the pilgrims made back with him way back in the 1600's. That covenant is influencing what is happening in America today. I am just thankful there are many people in America who still serve God even though we're in a minority. God did not spare Sodom for Abraham. Without their covenant it would possibly be all over for us. God's word never expires. If I would come back a 1000 years from now, God would still honor what he spoke Isaiah confirms that: Isaiah 55:11 KJV So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Just watch what God is about to do in America. I was created just at the right time to be part of all of this. 01/05/2024 Look how Isaiah relates to Titus in my last comment. More proof God's word is never changing. Isaiah 1:16-17 (New Living Translation) Wash yourselves and be clean! Get your sins out of my sight. Give up your evil ways. Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. Isaiah was from centuries past, but the only difference from each was in the words each man used. The biggest priorities are getting that sin out of our lives and learning to do good. Titus 2:12-14 NLT 12 And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, 13 while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. 14 He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. 04/27/2022 Luke 19:10 (New Living Translation) For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.” Solomon the wisest man to ever walked the earth had his moments where wisdom escaped him. He even received his wisdom from God. 2 Chronicles 1:10 Give me the wisdom and knowledge to lead them properly, for who could possibly govern this great people of yours?” There is a saying that stupid people do not realize they are stupid but the wise know there is always more to learn. That even comes to God's word. Some things are hidden to be Revealed at a later time. Ecclesiastes 7:23 23 I have always tried my best to let wisdom guide my thoughts and actions. I said to myself, "I am determined to be wise." But it didn't work. 24 Wisdom is always distant and difficult to find. 25 I searched everywhere, determined to find wisdom and to understand the reason for things. I was determined to prove to myself that wickedness is stupid and that foolishness is madness. David knew his Lord could help with bringing wisdom closer. Psalm 19:7 7 The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. This verse says keep your eyes on the Lord. Solomon was right about wickedness making you stupid. It used to be you could look at a new born baby and could tell the sex. Now they can't tell any more. They need to consult a biologist. Look at what is madness; placing a mask on our kids who are impervious to the virus which easily passes through the mask. This is true madness and stupidity we are facing today. This the result of taking our eyes off the things of the true God.
