Free From Sin!

We can't help being born sinners. It is our natural birthright being born human. As hard as we may try to be righteous, our own efforts will always cause us to fall short of God's glory.

Abraham chose to sleep with Hagar instead of keeping the faith with his wife, Sarah. Ishmael was born and brought dissension and resentment into his home.

Moses allowed anger to overrule his obedience to God's instructions. He missed out on reaching the Promised Land as a penalty.

David allowed lust to reign in his flesh and he committed adultery with another man's wife which led to murder when she became pregnant. The child born out of that union died as God's punishment.

All of these men were great men of faith. They believed God, followed after Him, and obeyed the Lord's commands. Yet they still sinned. They still had to deal with the consequences of those sins.

What I love about these examples is that their stories do not end with their sin. They went on to seek - and find - forgiveness from God. The Lord saw their contrite hearts and forgave them of their errors.

Abraham and Sarah eventually had their own son who went on to found the Israelite nation. Moses may have missed out on reaching the Promised Land, but he lived to witness the nation he led walking into God's promise for them. David married the widow and they had a son together who went on to be one of the wisest and richest kings in Israelite history.

Maybe you have sinned and are dealing with the consequences of your choice. Yes, you can't avoid the results of choosing to sin - every action has a reaction. But, you have God's grace and mercy with you as well. You don't have to live in bondage. You don't have to be cast down. You don't have to think that the Lord no longer loves you.

When you come to the Lord seeking His forgiveness, He is ready and willing to give it to you. He knows you're human. He knows that you aren't perfect. What's so wonderful is that God forgives and forgets! He won't hold it over your head, He won't throw it in your face down the road... It's as if you never made the mistake.

Today, bask in the power of God's forgiveness. Realize that God's grace and mercy are with you. Release yourself from the grips of guilt and gain your freedom in the Lord's love for you.

Verse of the Day: The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.

He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:8-12

The Lord's Prayer (Part Two)

Moving on in our study of the Lord's Prayer, let's look over some more of Jesus' model.

Give us this day our daily bread.

 

I interpret this portion of the prayer as Jesus showing us that we are to ask the Lord to give us what we need. Think about it. If our daily needs are tended to by the Lord, we have no real reason to complain.

 

So often, we are looking at what we don't have that we neglect to acknowledge what we do have. Asking the Lord to supply what we need will remind us of how much we already have. It will show us that often what we want is not necessary to live a happy life in God.

 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

 

It is so easy to keep a record of what others have done against us. I tend to have a long memory and have to consistently work on not holding grudges. One thing that helps is to think about how often I have sinned against God. I don't know about you, but my list is kind of lengthy. Yet, God has forgiven every single one of my sins.

 

He's forgiven every single one of yours as well.

 

Kind of makes it easier to forgive someone else, doesn't it?

 

Today as you pray, remember to ask for what you need. God knows your heart's desires. He also knows what is best for you. He will never leave you with less than what you need. And, that's in everything... spiritually, physically, and emotionally.

 

Also, make a point to lay out your faults before the Lord, and choose to forgive those who've wronged you. It is best to make the decision to forgive in your prayer time because sometimes true forgiveness will only come with the help of the Holy Spirit!

 

Have a wonderful day!

 

Verse of the Day: Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:11, 12

My Apologies

I have been missing.

I am sorry.

Originally, I was just going to be taking a break to complete my master's degree. I got it. (Hallelujah!) Then, I was taking a break to recover.

One week turned into two. Two weeks flipped into a month. Before I knew it, several months had passed, and I had not returned to writing.

It wasn't for a lack of desire. I love writing these posts. I enjoy praying and asking God what to share. I consider it a blessing to be able to use my gift to inspire, equip, and uplift the body of Christ.

Yet, I allowed complacency, laziness, and procrastination to steal these last few weeks from us. I apologize to you, and I have apologized to my Heavenly Father. I am so thankful for your words of encouragement and inquiries about the status of this blog. It meant so much to me to hear that you all missed your "Morning Ti". I pray you can forgive me. I ask you to keep me in your prayers moving forward.

Morning Ti, anyone?

See you in the morning!

Tiara

Wednesday's Word: Who Are You Serving?

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.


Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you.  Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.

Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy.

When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:12-23 (NLT)

Who are you a slave to? What are you serving? You've already obtained the gift of eternal life. Don't turn yourself back over to bondage and death by following after sin. Give yourself over fully to the Lord!

True Forgiveness

Lately God has been dealing with me about forgiveness. In our society we like to say, "I'll forgive, but I'll never forget." We say that we forgive someone, but we always hold the offence against them. We never allow their error to be fully erased in our hearts.

Imagine if God treated us the same way! How many of us consistently offend the Lord - often in the same areas - and He consistently chooses to forgive us completely. When we ask for His forgiveness, He forgives and remembers our sin no more.

I know for me God's mercy and grace are two of the greatest things I love about being His child. No matter how much I mess up, the Lord is always there to take me in.

Yet, we humans have long memories. We never forget the one time someone offended us, let alone a couple of failures! We hold on to hurt, and we use that against those that seek redemption. But, how can we act this way as Christians? The very fact that we were forgiven for so much should motivate us to forgive someone else for the small things that they have done to us.

I'm not going to act like forgiveness is easy. I know how hard it can be to truly forgive. Yet, it is our responsibility as Christians to show love. We are to show the same kind of love that we've been shown by our Heavenly Father. If you find it hard to forgive, ask the Lord to strengthen you to get to the place of forgiveness. Allow His love to help you to love someone else in return.

Today, choose to show forgiveness. Purpose in your heart to really forgive that person who has wronged you. Even if they have not apologized, make it right in your own heart so that you can stand free before the Lord.

Verses of the Day:
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21, 22

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14, 15

Forgive Yourself

We are all human beings. Therefore, it is inevitable that we are going to mess up. We are going to make a mistake. We are going to sin. We are going to disappoint, fail, and let someone down somewhere in our future.

It's pretty much guaranteed.

But what do you do when you fail? Do you dwell on your mistake? Do you give up on your dream? Do you allow yourself to remain in the bondage of regret?

We serve a forgiving God. He loves us so much He sent His Son to save us from all our sins anticipating that He would forgive them. He knows that we are fallible. He knows that we will say one thing and do another. And He cares enough about us to give us another chance. With the Lord, we will always get another chance no matter what.

So, why are you beating yourself up? Why are you holding yourself back because of some mistake you made? God is willing to forgive you and move forward. Why won't you do the same?

Don't allow your past mistakes to keep you from continuing in your purpose. Don't let your disappointments keep you from building kingdom relationships.

Take your failures to the Lord, receive His forgiveness, and move forward. Turn your mistake into an experience that informs your future. Realize that you are wiser and stronger because of that event.

Today, take some time to enjoy the forgiveness of the Lord. Then, forgive yourself and move on. You're still here! You've got a lot left to do.

Verse of the Day: For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Psalm 103:11, 12

Guilt Free

Guilt has a way of seeping in, popping up in odd moments, standing up in accusation against us when we least expect it. We can be on the edge of happiness, and guilt will swoop in with all the reasons why we don't deserve to smile.

Yet, Jesus' sacrifice clears us from all guilt. Because of His love, we don't have to be ashamed of anything. By coming to Him, we find forgiveness, acceptance, and redemption.

On the night when Jesus was arrested, it wasn't just Judas who betrayed Jesus. All the disciples deserted Jesus and left Him alone. (Matthew 27:56) Later, Peter adamantly denied even knowing Jesus three times. (Matthew 26:69-75)

Judas' guilt was so great that he took his own life. Peter and the other disciples more than likely felt guilt over how they had abandoned Jesus. However, when Jesus arose, He didn't make them feel guilty. He didn't condemn them for their behavior. Jesus encouraged them and showed them love and forgiveness. He didn't even mention their slight. He simply challenged them to go out and spread the Good News of His love to others.

Jesus doesn't look at you and see all the wrong you've done. He looks at you and sees all of the amazing things you can do for His Kingdom! Don't allow feelings of guilt to stop you or shame you. You've been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb! You are blameless before Him!

If God doesn't see your sin, why should you give it any place in your thoughts? We all have sinned and fallen short, but where we lacked - Jesus' grace abounded all the more! We are free from guilt and shame! Don't let it hold you captive anymore!

Verse of the Day: Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, "I will confess my rebellion to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Psalm 32:5

Limitless Love

When Jesus appeared to His disciples after He was resurrected, they were no doubt overjoyed. After suffering through the agony of seeing Jesus suffer and die on the cross, they had spent the following days in seclusion and despair.

Then, the news came that He had risen! And their hearts were filled with joy. When Jesus then came in their midst they were probably overcome with emotion and love.

Still, in the middle of all of the joy and love that was flowing, I suspect Peter felt twinges of guilt, sadness and shame at the sight of His resurrected Lord. Peter probably recalled how he had betrayed Jesus before His death, and Peter may have wondered what Jesus' response to him would be.

You never see Jesus ask Peter to apologize. You never hear Jesus officially forgive Peter. It wasn't necessary. Jesus had already paid the price for Peter's sin. He had already shown forgiveness in His death and resurrection.

Yet, Jesus did take the time to let Peter know that all was well between them. After showing His perfect love on the cross, Jesus asked Peter whether he loved Him as well. When Peter responded that He did, Jesus told him to go and show that love to others. (John 21:15-17)

God's love for us is just as limitless as it was for Peter. We may not have outright betrayed our Savior, but we have participated in actions that have defied Him in our daily lives. Yet, when our hearts are convicted, and we repent, all the Lord asks of us is to show His love.

We were already forgiven when Christ died on the cross. He took care of our sins - past and present - in that one act so many years ago. Our forgiveness is already certain.

However, that love that has no limits only asks us to show love. That love that keeps giving of itself asks us to give it out in the same way. The love that was willing to lay down it's own life asks us to commit our own lives to it's cause in the same way.

Today, as you think on God's limitless love for you, make sure you are pouring out that same love to someone else. The same way that you were forgiven of the unforgivable, make the effort to forgive someone else in that same spirit.

God's love for us is limitless! So, we should strive to show limitless love to others.

Verse of the Day: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Attitude Adjustment Needed: Put It On Repeat...

So, this morning I was awakened early out of my sleep with a phone call about nothing. No emergency. No fire to put out. Just someone calling me because they were up already and felt like talking.

I am not a morning person. It takes a while for me to feel like myself at the start of the day. So, I was not in a good mood after receiving my early morning call.

From there, I got another phone call and some text messages that only added to my frustrations and work I had to do later in the day. Then I had to rush and take on an extra task that I was not planning to do. On top of that I had to come in to work and run around in circles trying to get things in place before the start of the day.

I was really on the way to being a grouch all day.

As I was walking through the hallway though, I became aware of my attitude and the nastiness I was feeling inside. I didn't like it.

Right then and there I said a prayer asking God for forgiveness and help. What I was experiencing wasn't that deep. I had no reason to be in such a foul mood, and I knew it. Today, I'm thankful that God is merciful. I certainly needed some mercy today.

So, I went back through my blog and found this post. Apparently, this is a test that I will continue to take until I pass. I'm reposting it because I clearly need to just pray today. Would you say a prayer for me too?

Thank you. :)

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Attitude Adjustment Needed!

So this morning I was in a funky mood. I woke up because of God's grace since my alarm certainly did not go off like it should have done. Then I forgot that I had to go get some gas before I started my commute to work, so I was about 10 minutes late getting on the expressway. The drizzling rain did not help lift my spirits at all (or move traffic along, for that matter).


I arrived to work with the work coming to greet me as soon as I walked in the door. I mean, can I get my coat off first, please? Yes, I was starting on work items - that weren't even my normal responsibilities - before I logged onto my computer. My bad attitude was turned all the way up. I was so not feeling today.

While doing the other person's job (they were blessed to be off today), I happened to ask one of my co-workers how they were doing just to make conversation. Listening to her response literally made me feel like the most ungrateful, selfish person on the planet.

In comparison to her, I was experiencing bliss! She was going through real issues and if anyone was entitled to be a little sour, it was her. Yet she still had a pleasant smile on her face. There was no trace of anger, attitude or crabbiness in her voice.

I immediately repented of my bad attitude and made an internal adjustment. Thinking about things later, I had to admit that I allowed that mood to overwhelm me. I woke up upset, but I didn't choose to put a stop to it and take on the joy of the Lord. Instead I wallowed in it, and probably made some room for it's growth as the morning went on.

So, I am going to work to give thanks in all things. Life is a blessing, and I should give praise at every opportunity. With all that Christ experienced and does for me, I should always strive to reflect His light no matter what's happening. How can I reach someone if I'm walking around wrapped up in a funky attitude?

Lord, help me to be a better person even when things don't go according to plan. Help me to realize that if it's happening, it's a part of your Master Plan. You still have everything under control, so I can just rest in You. Thank You for Your forgiveness and grace.

Verse of the Day: Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. James 1:2 (NLT)

**Did anyone else catch that I said I woke up because of God's grace, but I still had an attitude? Lord, help me!**

Offended?

Sometimes as we go through our day people offend us and we don't let our offense be known. The issue may not be worthy of mentioning or the circumstances were not right to acknowledge the slight. Yet, inside our hearts the offense remains, festering and hardening into a knot of unforgiveness.

Those slight offenses build up bringing with them bitterness, anger, and the spirit of the grudge. They change how we act toward the people who have offended us. They keep us from acting in real love towards those around us.

Most concerning, however, is how these offenses hinder us from a genuine relationship with the Father. Unforgiveness keeps us out of the will of God. It blocks our own forgiveness, and keeps us from our blessings. (Matthew 6:15)

Don't let yourself get fooled into thinking that holding onto a grudge isn't sin. Just because you haven't openly addressed your anger does not mean that it does not exist. If anything, the hidden anger does more damage, eating away at your heart and causing damage to your spirit. Eventually that damage leaks into your behavior and causes you to act in ways that are not pleasing to the Lord.

God sees straight to your heart. He sees all the "knots" of unforgiveness. He can recognize the grudges you secretly hold. Nothing is hidden from Him.

So, today, take some time to examine your heart. Are you holding on to secret offenses? Are you harboring unforgiveness?

Don't let another day pass without you releasing those things to the Father. Choose to forgive and move on. Allow the spirit to ease the pain of your offense and release you into the freedom of being in right standing with Him.

Verse of the Day: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. Matthew 5:8

Flashback!: No Stuntin' and Frontin' Necessary

I was going through the blog this morning, and I ran across this post from earlier this year. It's one of my favorites, so I wanted to share it again. It's nice to know that God knows the good, bad and ugly about me, and still loves me just the same.

Sometimes I think about things I've done or thoughts I've had, and I can't believe my own self. Yet God is aware and knows that I am but dust. He understands that I'm a human born into sin.

He also knows that I'm redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, and I have the privilege of being close to Him and spending all eternity with Him. Because of my acceptance of His Son's sacrifice, my sins of scarlet are white as snow.

Have a great day!

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Believe it or not, we all are highly skilled actors. From our facial expressions, the way we dress, and our tone of voice, we humans have perfected the art of masking how we really feel.


We act professional at work in order to keep our jobs. We act respectful with our parents because... well, they're our parents. We act like everything's good when we're out with our friends because we don't want to bring the party down. We act like we have money when we're drowning in debt. Some of us act holy in church because... Let me just back away from that one. You see I could go anywhere with this.

It is rare for us these days to show our true selves to people. We set up our facades to make ourselves look better to others and keep our negative, embarrassing, or painful feelings to ourselves. Very few people (if any) get the privilege of seeing how we truly are.

Yet there is someone who knows every moment of our lives, and He knows our real feelings. He knows every single minute thought. He's seen every outburst of anger, heard every cry of fear, witnessed every pang of insecurity, and bottled up every single tear.

And He still loves you so much.

Isn't it amazing to know that there is Someone who truly accepts you for you? Not the "stage" you that is the talented actor, but the real you who He created along with your most inward parts. We have no reason to front with Him, He already knows all of us and keeps on reaching out for us anyway.

Take some time to meditate on the fullness and richness of God's love for you today and let Him know how much you appreciate His love.

Verse of the Day: ...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. I Samuel 16:7b

Flashbacks

All your sins are washed away!

You ever have moments where you suddenly remember something you've done in the past that makes you cringe?

Mine seem to pop up out of nowhere. At once I'm remembering my embarrassing moment and experiencing the shame, pain, and regret all over again.

These moments used to put me into a bit of a funky mood. I'd replay the scenario over and over in my head wondering just what I was thinking. I would criticize myself and shake my head at my folly.

However, lately I have taken control of my thoughts. I no longer allow flashback moments to dictate how I feel. Especially since I have repented for my sins and received God's gracious forgiveness! The Bible says that once He's granted forgiveness, He no longer remembers our sin. (Isaiah 43:25) So, why should I?

Yes, I will learn from my mistakes and work to not make them again. I will not let them hold me back from progressing forward in life. I will not carry around guilt and shame over something that Jesus' blood has released me from.

When those fleeting thoughts come and try to bring me down, I now choose to use them as a point of praise to glorify my Father who has redeemed me by His Son. Don't allow the past to hold you back. Remember that you are a new creature in Christ. Old things are done, everything is new!

Verse of the Day: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Time to Let It Go

I like to think that I get along well with most people. There are very few folks who I don't care for right off the bat, and usually those folks turn out to have issues and cause problems. I like to think that my 'inner radar' saves me from a lot of drama. When it goes off, I pay attention.

However, living as long as I have, there are some people who have done me wrong or my family or my friends. Once you do me wrong, it's hard for me to let that go. I've been working on being more forgiving and letting go of grudges - or should I say, not creating any grudges.

Every now and then, something will happen that will cause me to remember things that happened a while ago, and I'll find myself still feeling anger and resentment toward a person who did me wrong. As much as I would like to think that I've moved on, I find that I still haven't fully forgiven others.

In those times, I take a moment to pray and ask God to give me a clean heart and a right spirit. (Psalm 51:10) I also pray for the individual who I felt wronged me and ask God to bless them. (Luke 6:28) Then I lay that situation on the altar for my heavenly Father to take care of. (1 Peter 5:7)

As we continue to grow, we must make sure that we are not neglecting our roots. We must make sure that old hurts and old grudges are not holding us back from new blessings. When the Holy Spirit reminds you of an area where things aren't right - even if it happened years ago - take some time to get your heart right with God. He's not bringing it back up just for you to have a moment of reflection, He wants you to have a moment of true growth.

Verse of the Day: I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Jeremiah 17:10

Thanksgiving Friday!

Hey Everyone!

We have made it through another work week. To God be all the glory!

I woke up smiling this morning. That's a feat in and of itself! I don't know why I was smiling... I didn't have a really cool dream or hear any fabulous news. I'm just going to thank God for the happy mood and keep it moving. Maybe my spirit knows something my mind doesn't.

I'm thankful that I only have one more week of this class to go! After this one, I'm taking off for the semester. I need to take a break to catch up on all the other items that I've placed on the back burner. Pray for me, everyone, I will have to work to get an 'A' in this one.

I'm especially thankful this week for forgiveness. God has been helping me to forgive some folks, and I am experiencing the freedom and joy that comes along with it. I have a penchant for keeping up a long memory, but God is helping my heart and my mind to just let some things go.

What are you thankful for this week? What has the Lord done for you? Feel free to share!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Verse of the Day: And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. Mark 11:25, 26

Your Slate Can Be Clean

It’s always great to start over. To have a clean slate. To have no errors or mistakes. I love it when things stretch out before me just waiting for me to fill them up with success. Often, though, I fall back into the same old routine: procrastination, missed deadlines, mistakes in execution. All the errors cause me to feel like I need a whole new beginning, and I start to look for another opportunity to have a fresh start devoid of mistakes.

Thank goodness that our right standing with God is not contingent on keeping our slates clean! Every day we get a chance to ‘start over’ and make our Heavenly Father proud. We don’t have to worry about how we fell into sin the day before. We don’t have to be concerned with how we may have missed out on an assignment that God had given us to fulfill.

All God wants from us is a truly contrite heart, one that is honestly seeking to do His will. When we ask Him for forgiveness, we can partake in his grace and mercy that is always there to provide our clean slate. God isn’t asking for our perfection – He’s asking for our dedication. As we dedicate ourselves to following Him, He will take care of keeping us ‘white as snow’ before Him.

So, enjoy your day today! You have a clean slate with your heavenly Father. No condemnation. No reason to be ashamed. God’s grace is sufficient to cover our multitude of sins, and for that we should be truly grateful.

Verse of the Day: It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22, 23

The Hardest Thing

When I was younger, I was one of those kids who would get mad when a person was nice to someone who they argued with the day before. It didn't make sense to me. How can you be friends with someone you were just so angry with? From that example you can surmise that forgiveness is something I work hard to maintain.

I'm a creative person, so if someone got on my bad side, I would spend time plotting ways to be rude or pay them back for their mistreatment. I could come up with some really great stuff too! - And then I would remember that I was a Christian... and not just a Christian in lip service only, but a fully practicing, Bible-knowing, living as an example Christian.

All the verses would scroll through my mind: Vengence is mine says the Lord... Be angry and sin not... Put away all bitterness and anger... It would all spring up out of nowhere! But I wanted to put it all on the shelf for one good minute, so I could enjoy the satisfaction of really giving it to that other person!

But you can't do that when you're truly saved. Why? Because you know Who's watching. You feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to hold back. You think of how Christ went through so much more and never slipped into sin. You put yourself in that person's shoes and actually consider how they might feel...

And then you swallow the hugest lump in your throat, put a vice grip on your Christianity, and - choose - to - Forgive.

Maybe the person never even said they were sorry. Maybe the person continues to be a problem for you. Maybe you feel humiliated and small.

But maybe your kindess causes the other person to change. Maybe the person comes back another day and shows you kindness. Maybe the person sees the God in you and wants the same thing for themselves.

One thing that's for certain: God saw your act of mercy, and will definitely show you mercy and give you a great reward (Matthew 5). I may not plot revenge anymore, but I like to think that God takes note of how I purpose to forgive.

Beyond that, though, God forgave me of so many trifling things that I've done! Over and over again He forgives me when I do wrong. Who am I to withhold that kind of love from someone else? What gives me the right not to show the same kind of compassion? Even if I don't receive a reward or special blessing, I should still work to forgive others because I have the blessing of the unconditional love of Jesus! I have plenty of love to spread around.

Today's Verse: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. Matthew 5:44, 45

Dying Daily

Ever been on one of those great spiritual streaks? You know, when your life is so blessed, you're happy, loving on God, feeling His power work through you... The times where you get breakthroughs with every prayer, new insights with every scripture you read... You heart is full of love for your fellow man and nothing fazes you because you are God's child.

You know what always seems to happen to me with those times in my life? Some event, some person, or some situation always finds a way to trip that hairline trigger I have. Suddenly I find myself on the opposite side of committing some kind of sin, a sin I thought I had dealt with, conquered, and buried. Even worse, sometimes it's a new one that I didn't even know was an issue for me.

It doesn't have to be big, but just the fact that I was able to fall back into that sinful nature always sends a blow to my heart. The blessed high that was just enveloping my every moment is quickly lost, replaced by shame, regret, and sadness.

I have to go back to the altar and ask for forgiveness. Praise God that His mercy never runs out!

It's easy to forget that we are all works in progress... especially when we have a period of good behavior. The Bible says to not think more highly of ourselves than we should. The same chapter speaks on presenting ourselves daily as a living sacrifice. (Romans 12) We should willfully give ourselves up to the cleansing fire of the Holy Sprit to purge away all the impurities of sin whether we think it's there or not. Trust me, God will find a way to send anything hidden bubbling up to the surface.

Today's Verse: Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21