Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’

15.May.2013 |

Forgiveness, Sexuality, Moving Forward

Written by Jill
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There is and always will be the issue of forgiveness. We all struggle with regret for past mistakes, and we all live with the memories of what we have done.

The first step in moving on is to admit that we are fallible and make mistakes. God forgives us, and we must, therefore, forgive ourselves and others.

Our problem can be letting go of our pride and embarrassment over what we have done. We should not be in a resentful place nor can we afford to be a person that holds resentment.

God encourages us to forgive, for it is in forgiveness that we are forgiven.

We also have to choose to not dwell on our mistakes. Sexual sin is often difficult to forget because of the intimacy we held with others. It did not seem like a bad idea at the time, but when the relationship dissolves, we face the regret of giving ourselves over to something temporary.

We have to choose to cast down our thoughts and imaginations. If we keep on allowing ourselves to dwell on our mistakes then we are going to be depressed. Choose to move forward.

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04.Oct.2012 |

Fight for your Love

Written by Jill
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Early years of marriage can prove to be some of the hardest. Looking back on mine, WOW did Dean and I fight! There were moments of yelling, silent treatment, sleeping in separate rooms, throwing things at each other and even driving off in the middle of the night.

Marriage involves the meshing of two different individuals. Paul recognizes the reality of differing opinions in Ephesians 5: 21 “And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

By acknowledging submission, we realize that disagreement is part of a relationships. We need to train ourselves to yield and give in to one another even though at times our opinion may be right!

Love means that at times we will let our spouse have their way.
Love chooses to trust and therefore allows the other to lead.
Love at other times drops an opinion, recognizing the benefit of losing a fight so that the relationship lives another day.
Love recognizes that each is human and fallible and will make mistakes that need to be forgotten.

The true fight is to maintain a relationship where deeper understanding of one another is built, rather than letting a fight divide us from each other.

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23.Apr.2012 |

Pain, Hurt and Jesus

Written by Jill
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Ever been hurt or felt let down in life? King David faced betrayal by King Saul and yet he loved Saul. The book of Ruth shows that Ruth’s life took a huge downward turn as did Naomi’s.

Pain and hurt are a part of life. They can act though as a mechanism of growth.

In Matthew 18:20, Jesus says “Where two or three others gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”

Our vertical relationship with Christ depends on our horizontal relationships with others. What influential company surrounds us?

Following this verse is the story of an unforgiving and unmerciful servant. When we don’t forgive others, the main damage is to ourselves. This unforgiving servant was imprisoned and tortured due to his unforgiveness.

When we are unmerciful to another, our entire life is poisoned.

There may be truth in our thoughts regarding our hurt but there is a right way to handle these situations. The dwelling on hurt in ourselves and with others only imprisons and tortures us further.

In verse 33, Jesus tells us that we are to have mercy for others and their shortcomings, as He had mercy for us.

Do we remember the power of our relationships with fellow believers? Christ is in our midst. Do we therefore in these times release poison or the grace of God? Grace and mercy for others frees us. Grace and mercy is soothing and sets us up for a great day. Grace and mercy strengthens relationships in a world where there is so much brokenness. Forgiveness takes us forward in life.

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03.Jan.2012 |

Goals and Forgiveness

Written by Jill
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By now many of us have set goals for 2012. Some of these are easily attained while others seem to allude us. Failure in achievement is sometimes due to the fact that we find ourselves comparing ourselves to others and so we become resentful. We find ourselves in an ugly spiral that takes us further from our goals.

As believers many of us have looked at Rahab the prostitute in the book of Joshua and breathed a sigh of relief. At least we have not been that awful that we have sold ourselves as prostitutes. Rahab though surprises all. She is in the lineage of Christ in Matthew 1:5, was a woman of faith in Hebrews 11:31 and was right with God in James 2:25.

Success starts with the heart. The writing of goals means that we must look at our heart if we are to go anywhere.

God continually looks beyond our actions to the very core of our being. Our willingness to be honest with ourselves greatly helps us achieve in life.

Our personal acceptance and perception of self empowers us for life. Our discipline of self to limit our judgments of others, also enables us to succeed and find contentment.

Rahab did not allow her past nor others’ perceptions of herself to dictate her future.

Rahab was a successful prostitute but she made a decision to give it all up. Not because of others’ thoughts but because she knew better. She in Jericho was the only who saw the wrong in her heart and decided to change. She left culture, friends, falsehoods and a successful livelihood.

Many give up when a goal gets hard. Yet Rahab hides two full grown Hebrew enemies and then lowers them over the city wall as a single female. Either she was one hefty prostitute who worked out every day or an extremely determined woman who was desperate to find God.

She watched the fall of Jericho including the horrific death of friends and comrades as the walls collapsed. She still though did not default to excuse and resentment but continued to choose God, a virtual stranger to her.

She embraced the culture of Israel and God with no reserve or excuse. It would have been so easy to look at this strange new belief system and throw up her hands in horror. This strange new hebrew belief system stoned prostitutes and yet she kept on going. She recognized that it was for her to move toward God and accept His ways rather than vice versa.

The accomplishment of goals starts with self. Our surrender of not fair, they are wrong, they haven’t, I know better, has to be recognized as a bad habit. God is not a rewarder of our right opinion but a rewarder of faith. Faith requires that we give up the right of having our way.

Forgiveness requires the work of dwelling no more on past mistakes and even those of others. The measure of our lives has little to do with another but is all about pursuing that which God puts in our way, even when it means a few disappointments and surrenders along the way.

Rahab took responsibility upon herself for her life. She gave up her comfort and independence to find God.

God saw in Rahab, a woman that did not waste words but applied faith to deal with her own heart. Her measuring stick for success had little to do with comparison to others but applying God’s Words to her own life.

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14.Aug.2010 |

Pressing On. A Great Story

Written by Jill
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God has been blowing up things and doing intensive surgery on my heart. Basically. Haha! A couple of months ago, all I was hearing was “Wait. Rest in the Lord. Listen…” and it was getting very frustrating. I felt like an impatient child. Little did I know, I was getting broken down.

Everything that I had been filling my life with was becoming bitter, tasteless, disgusting and covered with thorns when embraced. The industry I had loved so much suddenly appeared dismal and hollow, empty. The affirmation from people that I had been tirelessly seeking, was revealed to be false. The comfort in men? I know. I always knew, but I finally saw all the pain I had been causing myself, leading places I could no longer go.

When I gave myself away, compromised a standard, it wasn’t about the act (I despised the act, I didn’t even enjoy it), it was about seeking some acceptance in a man. Someone to tell me I was beautiful, I was safe…but it never lasted. And it was NEVER safe. I was placing myself in the most dangerous of places, my heart in the darkest recesses of the night…too ashamed to come back to the light.

But somehow I always heard that still voice calling. Ever faithful, my Jealous Love. It was that voice that even in that time of my life that brought me stumbling into church that one day from Happy Hour, drunk, I knew I needed God. God brought people like you, Jill, into my life. You smiled at me that day and hugged me. It was such unconditional love of the church as this that has shown me God was not giving up on me.

Mistake after mistake, I would get discouraged, then God brought to mind Peter. This hotheaded, uneducated, disciple whom God transformed miraculously by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter gave one of the most amazing sermons on the day of the anointing of the Holy Spirit and continued to have an amazing ministry, and YET still made mistakes even later in life (Galatians 2:11-14).

I started earnestly asking God to give me direction and to change my heart. I would ask Him to completely take over and do whatever He wanted because I was completely “finished trying it my way”… I knew I needed my Heavenly Father’s healing, His guidance, His restoration and plan.

The Prodigal rehearsing his apology on his return, I started my way home. Surely I didn’t deserve forgiveness now. A pastor’s daughter and missionary’s kid? After all of my “recommitments” and mission’s trips, and all the “knowledge” that I have of His Word? How could my Father even bear to look at me after all that I had done? How could I be taken seriously that I truly wanted change? How many countless others had I led astray? GOD FORGIVE! It was so much easier for me to throw myself into the pit in some masochistic way as if I deserved punishment than forgiveness. Every time. I couldn’t see myself as a child of God, anything pure, anything beautiful. That was gone. Long gone.

But I still came to C3. I still prayed all the time. And a couple months ago, I relentlessly got back into the Word. It started a verse a day. Then a chapter. Then I would start cross-referencing. Then the hunger would grow so steadily and passionately, that after a while, as all I had been hearing for the last month was “Wait, Rest in the Lord. Listen…” About two months ago, suddenly it happened. God turned my life upside-down, inside-out! (I have not been able to stop the waterworks of complete joy! My sister teases me that she could say the word “butterfly” and I would start crying.) God had softened my heart so completely! Like I had begun to reference earlier, it happened all so gradually, but all the things in my life that had once been so important had faded all so completely that it almost felt like it was overnight! I lost complete interest pursuing acting as a career. I lost completely the desire to pursue relationships with men, and all I wanted was to be in the word, to pursue the Everlasting Love! I suddenly lost all anxiety and worry and saw God provide for me in such amazing ways! Surrounding me with such godly people as I have never seen in my life, I was and am continually encouraged greatly!

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