Tag Archives: family

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Forgiveness

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I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately. I never really had too much of a problem in that area, except with a few specific people who had inflicted a load of hurt in my life. But I learned the hard way that un-forgiveness is like a cancer it spreads, or like a poison, affecting the other “good” relationships in my life. My problem was that I didn’t fully understand forgiveness. I, like most people, thought of it as an emotion or a feeling. I had the idea that someone had to say they were sorry and repent for their actions before I could ever forgive. I thought if I forgave the behavior before they apologized, it would give them permission to continue, or validate their behavior. Thank God, I did learn, mostly through His word and good Christian counsel, that forgiveness is a CHOICE. Basically, I had been REFUSING to forgive! Satan uses this to give us a “victim mentality” once we have that, we start keeping track of every wrong, perceived or real. We start rehearsing every incident mentally and verbally. Soon all we can do is spout that poison out to anyone who will listen, and it works it’s destruction.
Looking at God and His forgiveness of me helped me to forgive. I had been forgiven much. Then thinking of Jesus on the cross saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing,” if Jesus could say of the men who purposely hammered those nails, or the Sanhedrin who purposely condemned him to death, or of me, who willfully sinned, sending him to the cross, BEFORE any of us had repented, then I couldn’t justify my withholding my forgiveness. My un-forgiveness turned also into bitterness, and that resulted in mental and physical problems. God can and did heal me, but what he healed was only symptoms, the real problem was my heart. When I asked God to help me get rid of the root, it was un-forgiveness, and self-pity, two equally destructive things. I got some repentance, and other’s have never admitted wronging me. I was able to CHOOSE to forgive all, and the amazing thing is after a while, my emotions caught up with that choice! Now I hardly ever think about it and I can even be around those people with no ill will. My other relationships improved, and I was able to open my heart up bigger to God and those around me. How can we give God our whole heart if it is full of cancer! He gave me the strength to do it! Un-forgiveness is an ugly thing. It will destroy your marriage, your family, your church and even your health, if you let it. Choose to forgive today!

Wisdom of forgiveness~
Matt 6:14-15 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. NIV
Matt 18:21-22 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.NIV
Luke 6:37 “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.NIV
2 Cor 2:1010 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven — if there was anything to forgive — I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, NIV
Col 3:12-14 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. NIV
“When I become bitter or unforgiving toward others, I’m assuming that the sins of others are more serious than my sins against God. The cross transforms my perspective. Through the cross I realize that no sin committed against me will ever be as serious as the innumerable sins I’ve committed against God. When we understand how much God has forgiven us, it’s not difficult to forgive others. Because we are the most forgiven people in the world, we should be the most forgiving people in the world”. C.J. Mahaney
“Forgiveness is giving up my right to hurt you for hurting me”. Author Unknown
“You are nothing better than deceitful hypocrites if you harbor in your minds a single unforgiving thought. There are some sins which may be in the heart, and yet you may be saved. But you cannot be saved unless you are forgiving. If we do not choose to forgive, we choose to be damned”. C.H. Spurgeon
“Un-forgiveness is the poison we drink, hoping others will die”. Author Unknown

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The Perfect Church

“It does not take a perfect church to introduce a man to the perfect Christ.” -Richard Woodsome
Ok, so the title is deceiving, because there is no “Perfect Church,” at least in our eyes. To the Father, the Perfect Church is His children, who love Him with all their hearts, growing His Family. We are human. Period. We have our good days and bad days. We can be the most wonderful person you ever met, and the next day is a pain in the neck. Truth. However, if we walk in love, forgiving each other our faults, and errors, then we can still fulfill God’s purpose for His Church here on this messed up place. We don’t have to be perfect to serve God. Look at Peter, David, Moses, the list goes on, they were by no means perfect, but all were used mightily by God. (For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence. But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God — and righteousness and sanctification and redemption — that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” NKJV I Corinthians 1:26-31) It’s pretty simple. I am foolish, weak and base, so God will use me! We cannot leave the Church because there are imperfect people there. A wise man once told me that if there was a perfect church as soon as he started attending, it wouldn’t be perfect anymore! We also cannot use our faults and failures as an excuse to stop serving God, or to not even start. Our imperfections should drive us to lean on the “Perfect Christ”! Next time the enemy, whether it is your own flesh, or the devil, tries to tell you that you are messed up, just tell them to SHUT UP! And keep doing whatever it is that Our Father has asked us to do. Walk in the strength of the Holy Spirit, and trust Him to lead you rightly.

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First Chapter of “Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown”

vintage-merry-go-round[1] Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown

All that glisters is not gold;
Often have you heard that told:
Many a man his life hath sold
But my outside to behold:
Gilded tombs do worms enfold.
Had you been as wise as bold,
Young in limbs, in judgement old
Your answer had not been inscroll’d
Fare you well, your suit is cold.
~William Shakespear
Merchant of Venice

Chapter 1
All That Glitters is Not Gold
There was never a town like Funtown, and likely will never be again. It was every little boy and girl’s dream. Shiny, sparkly, noisy, flashy, extravagant and fabulous! Mr. Topper, the founder of Funtown was well spoken of in many a household. “What a marvelous man!”, some would say, “A genius!”, said others. After all he is the one who imagined Funtown, planned it, built it, paid for it, Mr. Topper was Funtown. Parents used the wonderful, beautiful town to bribe their children for weeks, months and sometime years. “You better be good, or you will not be invited to Funtown” threatened parents, or “If you are good, you may get an invitation from Mr. Popper.” So every child dreamed of Funtown, of that beautiful invitation, of lights and whirls of color, of the big merry-go-round with the music and horses, of the big top and the shows. They played ‘Funtown’ on recess, and if you listened closely, you would hear children discussing their desire to go.
“I want to live there,” said one especially young little one.
“Nobody lives in Funtown,” corrected an older little one.
“Who takes care of it?” asked another.
“Nobody takes care of it…its magic,” answered a voice filled with awe.
This was always met with “ooohs and aaaahs” by the others.
Mr. Topper knew about these outrageous stories and rumors. Of course he did, after all, he started them himself and went to great pains to make sure that they continued being told, were whispered into the ears of all little girls and boys. Sometimes he even began to believe it was magic. When things were going smoothly, when all was shiny and glittered in the night, lit by gas lamps and lights. He would walk through his town and forget about the work, the trouble, and the unpleasant tasks behind all of the sparkle. At those times, he saw himself as a friend, a benefactor to the people, a generous ‘Uncle’ to all who came to escape their dreary lives.
But there were some, a few, who knew who Mr. Topper really was, and what Funtown really was. For all that glitters is not gold…