The concept in this Scripture is very clear…forgive so that you may be forgiven. So why yet do we find so much pleasure in holding onto grudges? What starts out as a simple miscommunication or disagreement, morphs into something with a life all its own. Anger simmers, and shifts into resentment…frustration stews over how we’ve been wronged, and slowly changes into spite and hard feelings. Holding grudges only harm ourselves…they allow the root of bitterness to take hold and flourish within…and they prevent God from working fully in our lives.
Tag: all have sinned
House Rules – If you drop it…pick it up.
When you’re taken down by sin, you have two choices before you. One is to succumb and give in, beating yourself up and telling yourself how bad you are and that you’ll never amount to anything. The other is to get up and ask the Lord what you can learn from that mistake. Don’t wallow in the guilt and shame any longer, lean on God…for He will sustain and strengthen you and raise you up out of the mud and mire. For it says in Psalm 145:14, “The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.”
House Rules – If you can write in it…dust it.
Psalm 38:18 says, ” I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin.” We need to be grieved by our disobedience, but sometimes our sin is obvious to everyone else, but us. We see it as something well hidden, when in actuality, its conspicuous to all others. Self-awareness must be the starting point of our journey with God.
House Rules – If its dirty…wash it.
Psalm 51:2 states, “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” The meaning of sin in this verse is habitual sinfulness…the kind of wrongdoing that takes over in a slow, gradual way until we’re so accustomed to it, we can’t see a way out. When this type of ingrained, continual sin is allowed to fester and grow, it can only lead to serious consequences such as depression and suicidal thoughts. Habitual sin can be overcome, but we have to first own up to it. I John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” If you have a habit that has ownership over you today…confess it to the Lord and allow Him to cleanse you from that guilt and shame.
I Thessalonians 3:5 ” For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless. “
Temptation in and of itself isn’t sin…but if acted upon, gives way to sin. And temptation acted upon, gives leave to a gateway or portal of evil into our very being. Evil now has a foothold…a threshold into our lives that we can’t even imagine. We’re all tempted on a daily basis, by endless means, all focused to cause us to fall into sin. But we don’t have to give in…and we don’t have to permit that entryway to be established in our lives. God is greater than any temptation that will befall you today. Look to Him for guidance.
Hebrews 10: 11-12 ” Day after day every Priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this Priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God.”
We can’t save ourselves. We can try, and try, and try…but nothing we’ll ever do can rescue us from hell. We need a Savior…a High Priest that offered the ultimate sacrifice on our behalf…Himself on the Cross…once for all. And in doing so, gave us the greatest gift ever…the gift of eternal life. Jesus Christ is the only answer for this dying world…will you turn to Him today?
Habakkuk 2:18 ” Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? “
So many times our humanness gets in the way of a right relationship with the Lord. In a twisted form of arrogance, we place our wretched past up on a pedestal and proclaim it to be “too terrible” for the Lord to forgive. Yes, your past may be riddled with bad choices…but nothing God hasn’t forgiven beforehand. Murder, adultery, rape…the list goes on in the Bible of deplorable actions done by people in difficult situations. But when they took responsibility for their sins and asked forgiveness…God forgave them. For there’s nothing so serious, so vile, that God’s redemptive power can’t forgive.
Romans 6:1-2 ” What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? “
You can’t have it both ways. When you say “Yes” to Jesus, the broken relationship between God and you is restored. But that doesn’t mean you can manipulate His unearned and unmerited favor to your advantage. That’s what we’d call cheap grace. It’s an attitude of entitlement and presumption that you’d rather beg forgiveness than ask permission.
Romans 6:23 ” For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. “
If we live a sinful life, in the end, our compensation for all that evil will be death and eternal separation from God. But if we accept the gift of salvation offered to us by Jesus Christ, we are redeemed by way of His death and resurrection. That free gift of Salvation isn’t something we can ever begin to pay for…for Jesus has already paid the price for us.
Romans 3:23 “…for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Every one of us has missed the mark in our relationship with God. No one is found right before Him, for even our “good works” are like filthy rags in His eyes. We are a desperate, sinful people, living in a dangerous, evil world…unable to save ourselves…incapable of redeeming our souls.
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