Author: astherainandsnow

“You have rejected your people,
    the house of Jacob,
because… their land is filled with idols;
    they bow down to the work of their hands,
    to what their own fingers have made.
So man is humbled,
    and each one is brought low—..
Enter into the rock
    and hide in the dust
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty.
The haughty looks of man shall be brought low,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

“For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;..
The haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
The idols shall utterly pass away.
And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.

“In that day mankind will cast away
    their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,..
to enter the caverns of the rocks
    and the clefts of the cliffs,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth.
Stop regarding man
    in whose nostrils is breath,
    for of what account is he?” Isaiah 2:6,8-12,17-22

The day of the Lord will be a day of revealing and reckoning, God come down to man, man before God for accounting. And the Lord will put man in his rightful place. Anyone who has thought himself something when he is nothing, who has exalted himself above the worthy Sovereign, will be laid low. The very majesty of the Lord will fill the heavens, while prideful man will cower. The ones who now lift high themselves will be reduced by the truly lofty One. Only the humble will, by God’s grace, be exalted. (Matthew 23:12)

How confused disordered people get about the status and stature of things! Without God in His rightful position, we put many ambitions, things, people, and dreams on pedestals. We make little gods out of careers, children, and experiences, and center ourselves in the lowlands of existence by failing to consider above and beyond to the eternal. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

In what areas do I possess too lofty a view of myself? Who takes the highest place in my thoughts and determinations? Are there people with whom I act superior, and secretly want to put them in their place? Do I think because of a certain stature or position or privilege, I should be esteemed? When will I take time to get on my knees before the One who is high and lifted up, and acknowledge my humble position before Him? How could a right view of myself, and genuine worship of the supreme God, enhance and benefit my relationships with my fellow man? (Romans 12:3)

Father, consume me with the lofty beauty and power that define You, and may I never share your glory with another or any thing. (Psalm 46:10; Isaiah 42:8)

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.  As it is written,

“’He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures forever.’

“He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” 2 Corinthians 9:8-11

“[He] is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20

The Scriptures, in communicating the nature of God Almighty, speak loudly to His limitlessness, His capacity that is beyond bounds our feeble human minds can comprehend. In this vast earth, there is no need beyond God’s supply, no desperation beyond His ability. No grief beyond His balm, no impossibility beyond His possible. No fear beyond His safety, no confusion beyond His clarity, no chaos beyond His order. There is no rebellion beyond His love, no sin beyond His redemption and forgiveness, no shame beyond His restoration. (1 Kings 8:27; Psalm 94:9-10; 139:1-4,7-12; Isaiah 49:15-16)

Compared to God’s infinite, we are bound by finite flesh with limited capacity to grasp His wide edges. We self-impose boundaries on what we think He wants to hear, be involved in, and do for our sake. Yet, Jesus displayed His limitless love by dying for us, and lives to give all things and meet every need. There are no boundaries in what we can bring to Jesus, no limits on His boundless wonderful and might to meet and overcome. With our Lord, we will never be censored, ostracized, held at bay. We have no longing He does not understand, no hurt He has not known, no cry- articulated or not- He does not hear. (Matthew 11:28-29; Romans 8:31-32)

So why do we live on the fringes of His capacity and care? What human drive keeps us from tapping the divine? What concerns, meaningful work, relationships can we entrust to Him anew, and access His limitless power and grace?

“O worship the King all-glorious above,
O gratefully sing his power and his love:
our shield and defender, the Ancient of Days,
pavilioned in splendor and girded with praise.

O tell of his might and sing of his grace,
whose robe is the light, whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath the deep thunderclouds form,
and dark is his path on the wings of the storm.

Your bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain,
and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust, and feeble as frail,
in you do we trust, nor find you to fail.
Your mercies, how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend!

O measureless Might, unchangeable Love,
whom angels delight to worship above!
Your ransomed creation, with glory ablaze,
in true adoration shall sing to your praise!” ~Robert Grant (1833)

Father, draw me up from faithless barricades into Your boundless possibilities.

“Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.  And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.  And they said to one another, ‘Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.’ And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar.  Then they said, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.’  And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built.  And the Lord said, ‘Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.  Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.’  So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.  Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.” Genesis 11:1-9

When men gathered and plotted as us and we, they separated from intimacy with their God to become they. What started as a spark of innate ambition ignited into fiery independence from the God who had made them. They planned their methods and plotted to be famous, united against the explicit instruction from the Lord to “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.” The Lord will not stand for rebellion, and starting by confusing their speech, confounded their grand plans. (Genesis 1:28)

Pursuing our own plans and depending on our own understanding apart from God never works out well. Any time we dream and manipulate and manage apart from God, we labor in vain and bear the consequences. Yet, when we commit our work to the Lord, following His commands and employing His wisdom, we can be sure our work is not in vain. Which will it be? (Psalm 127:1; Proverbs 16:1-3; 1 Corinthians 15:58)

Are there areas in our lives we know God’s clear instructions, yet choose to ignore them in pursuit of preferred entertainment, career ambitions, flesh passions? How often do we make decisions peppered with and driven by “I” instead of conferring with “Him”? Where do I need to turn from self determination to ensure my desires and dreams accommodate the Lord? Will I seek, then obey, His direction?

“Here I raise my Ebenezer;
hither by thy help I’m come;
and I hope, by thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
wandering from the fold of God;
he, to rescue me from danger,
interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
daily I’m constrained to be!
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
bind my wandering heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
here’s my heart; O take and seal it;
seal it for thy courts above.” ~Robert Robinson (1758)

Lord, may my planning and building align with Your word and honor Your Name.

“A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man was standing there, urging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us…’ Immediately we sought to go.., concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

“So.., we made voyage… to Philippi, a leading city of Macedonia… ¹³ On the Sabbath we went outside the gate to the riverside, where… we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One was Lydia,.. a seller of purple goods… The Lord opened her heart to pay attention… She was baptized, and her household as well…

“As we were going.., we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and… fortune-telling. She followed us, crying, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’  This she kept doing for many days. Paul… said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.

“But… her owners… seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers… [T]hey threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely… He put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,  and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw.., he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried, ‘Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.’ And the jailer… fell down before Paul and Silas… and said, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ They said, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…’ And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house.” Acts 16:9-19,23-32

Paul and Timothy, redirected from Asia and Bithynia to Macedonia, probably anticipated a spiritual harvest among Roman leaders in this leading city. But God had other plans. A seller of purple goods, a slave girl fortune teller, a jailer. None particularly glamorous in the world’s eyes, but everything in His. By the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit, one by one, the Lord opened minds and hearts to His life-giving salvation. Walking step by step in obedience, surrendered and expectant, these men used every opportunity to spread the light of truth. (Acts 15:40-16:8)

When the Spirit takes control of man’s desire and intentions, the gospel breaks forth. Outside the gate. On their way. In prison. Often it is to us in the unlikeliest or least expected places and situations where the Lord goes ahead to prepare souls for faith and eternal life. We see dry fallow ground, He sees faith. Whether these places are of our choosing or not, the Lord calls us to be ready and willing.

Would we pace our steps with His, avoiding or approaching as He directs, focusing one by one on those He’s identified and prepared for salvation? What time are we taking to discern, change course, initiate conversations that lead to life? Whom has God put in front of us, and how will we respond?

Lord give me passion, spiritual eyes, and words that make a difference for those You’re drawing to Yourself.

“O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.

“I was cupbearer to the king.

“In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,.. I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said, ‘Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart.’ Then I was very much afraid. I said, ‘Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?’ Then the king said to me, ‘What are you requesting?’ So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said, ‘If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah,.. that I may rebuild it.’ And the king said.., ‘How long will you be gone..?’ So it pleased the king to send me…

“So I went to Jerusalem and was there three days. Then I arose in the night, I and a few men with me. And I told no one what my God had put into my heart to do for Jerusalem… I went out by night by the Valley Gate.., and I inspected the walls that were broken down and its gates that had been destroyed by fire… And the officials did not know where I had gone or what I was doing, and I had not yet told the Jews, the priests, the nobles, the officials, and the rest who were to do the work.

“Then I said to them, ‘You see the trouble we are in… Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.’ And I told them of the hand of my God that had been upon me for good, and also of the words that the king had spoken to me. And they said, ‘Let us rise up and build.’ So they strengthened their hands for the good work.” Nehemiah 1:11-2:6,11-13,16-18

Nehemiah did not speed through life. This exemplary leader honed godliness and effectiveness in the secret place with his Lord, in prayer and careful contemplation. He was specific in confession, supplication, and inspection, and trusted God to direct, unveil, and undertake for permission and provision as he actively waited on Him. Faith in His superintendence of each step bolstered his faith to take the next. (Nehemiah 5:6-10)

When we take time to discern, in any situation, we can move forward knowing God’s hand is upon us. Concentrate in focused prayer, and thought. Glean what we can from the Scriptures, and someone wiser. The Lord’s measured, clear response to our inquiring is a comfort and a goad.

What is a present pressing conundrum? What fear or unrestraint triggers impulsiveness to act rashly, speak harshly, react ununthoughtfully? What (or who) can help us pause, and ponder, and seek advice? How can we with self-control better respond according to God’s plan? He’ll answer and lead the seeking heart.

Lord, grant me discernment so in every challenge, I act accordingly, for Your glory.

“To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Timothy 1:17

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place
    in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” Psalm 90:1-2

“I the Lord do not change” Malachi 3:6

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is… from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17

God the King rules as commander and authority over all time past present future, over young and old, reigning over His kingdom with perfection, goodness, and wisdom. Age to age, in the ebb and flow and upheavals of human history, and in the course of years for every person, He is not altered. Through every shift of change and shadow, God remains immovable, unchanging.

Seasons of life for mankind are marked by constant change, in mental and physical and occupational growth, aptitude and opportunity, place and experience, times of plenty and want, sickness and health, highs and lows. King Solomon understood this well, “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.“ (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

As fickle people who prefer to control our environment, we can be upset by changes out of our control. Shocking news, a startling diagnosis, a sudden disappointment, a surprising turn of events at work or home. Any number of situations can topple our carefully-built order and unmoor security and happiness. Turning from turmoil to look up and remember the God of ages recenters our focus and fortifies our bearings.

In unsettling flux, or unknown days ahead, will we find steadiness and certainty in our unchanging Lord? Will we choose to trust Him with the ages and stages of our children and others we love, young and middle-aged and old? He is our constant, He is our stay, in every season. When we trust in Him, we are kept at peace. From age to age, He is the same, faithful to His own and working good in all things. What grounding, what hope, what calm does this afford us today? The One who has been faithful thus far will lead us through every age, and home. (Isaiah 26:3; Romans 8:28; Philippians 4:6-7)

“Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home:

Under the shadow of your throne
Your saints have dwelt secure;
Sufficient is your arm alone,
And our defense is sure.

Before the hills in order stood
Or Earth received her frame,
From everlasting you are God,
To endless years the same.

A thousand ages in your sight
Are like an evening gone,
Short as the watch that ends the night
Before the rising sun.

Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op’ning day.

Our God, our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Be thou our guard while troubles last
And our eternal home.” ~Isaac Watts (1719)

Lord, keep me tethered, trusting, and praising You through every age, to Your glory.

“What more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight… 

“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” Hebrews 11:32–34, 39–12:3

These saints of old took life seriously, driven by a faith in God that was larger than their circumstances or ability. The ‘greater’ that drove them to conquer was faith in One who was inimitably able and ever true to His word. Jesus who founded their faith was working to perfect it upon every act and exercise. Their endurance when harrowed was fueled by hope in the joy to come.

In present life, what is before us becomes our urgent, and huge. We scrape and choose and toil, often in our own effort and limited strength with very limited perspective on the bigger picture. My life, my circle, my day take preeminence because that’s what’s important to me, now. What we learn from this cloud of witnesses is the part that faith and a long view play in every decision we make, every action we undertake.

Life is bigger than my provincial world, yet how I manage what’s appointed just to me has a bearing on wider influence and conquest. What kingdoms of personal habit or management of people or work assignment would the Lord have us take on, and master? What sins is God calling us to conquer? What justice would He have us righteously condone or enforce? What promises would He have us apply to present situations? Where are we weak that He wants to make us strong? What mental and practical tendencies that are foreign to a godly life have set up strongholds, and are encroaching? How would He have us put them to flight? What first step will we by faith take today?

Is living by faith an impossible command? When we think we need to muster our own gumption, it is. But when we realize that even faith is a gift from God, and ask for it, and surrender our will to His working through us, we can by faith do all He puts before us. What need I turn from in order to fix my eyes and faith on the unseen, and begin to think and act victoriously? (Romans 12:1-2; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 2:8–10; Hebrews 13: 20–21)

Lord, arm me with Your truth, and help me conquer kingdoms in my sphere of influence and the world, to your renown and glory.

“Moses sat to judge the people… from morning till evening. [Jethro] said, ‘What… are doing?.. Moses said, ‘Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute,.. I make them know the statutes of God…” [Jethro] said to him, ‘What you are doing is not good. You… will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone… Look for able men… who fear God.., and place such men over the people as chiefs… So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you.., you will be able to endure.”” Exodus 18:13-15,17-18,21-23

“ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me…’

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy men of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone…’ 

“Then the Lord came down in the cloud.., and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders…

“Now two men remained in the camp,.. and the Spirit rested on them… And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua.., the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them.’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!'” Numbers 11:14,16-17,25-29

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” Galatians 6:2-3

Moses knew his human limitations, although in times of extreme stress with responsibility he didn’t take time to tend to the remedy. The Lord taught him to delegate so he’d be able to continue and God’s work could be done effectively. Moses humbly chose good people to share the burdens of work and ministry.

Whether we are high capacity or are in charge of a small but vital job, the Lord cares how we do what He assigns. He intends that His work be shared by His people in order to employ varied gifts, provide sufficient energy, and foster mutual encouragement and mentoring. Do I pridefully think I need to do it myself, my way?

How energetically and thoroughly am I doing the work God has assigned? Is it completed in a way that displays His grace and glory? If I have taken on too much extraneous activity, or if I am careless or procrastinate, I dishonor my call by not fulfilling my appointed tasks well. How willing am I to share the work and teach along the way, or to relinquish something I enjoy to give another the opportunity? How can I cultivate a healthy perspective that I’m not indispensable? Whom am I training? (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 3:5-7,9; Colossians 3:23)

Lord, make me willing to help others and to allow others to help me in order to build up Your body and so exalt Your Name.

“The Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him, ‘Lift up your eyes and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever…’ Then the king[s] of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Bela went out, and they joined battle in the Valley of Siddim with Chedorlaomer king of Elam, Tidal of Goiim, Amraphel of Shinar, and Arioch of Ellasar, four kings against five… The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled… So the enemy took all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah… They also took Lot, the son of Abram’s brother, who was dwelling in Sodom, and his possessions, and went their way…

“When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he led forth his trained men,.. 318 of them, and went in pursuit… and defeated them… Then he brought back all the possessions, and his kinsman Lot.., and the women and the people…

“And the king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.’ But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, “I have made Abram rich.”’

“After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: ‘Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your very great reward.'” Genesis 13:14-15; 14:8-12,14-16,21-23; 15:1

“The shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!”

“For our shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to the Holy One of Israel.” Psalm 47:9b; 89:18

Abraham had a lot of looking out to do to get to know his God. What was this new land? How would it be his? Having left everything familiar to follow God’s call, Abram faced formidable aggressors who, in battle against each other, captured his nephew. Determined to trust the Lord, he traveled about 100 miles through the land to rescue Lot and the people of Sodom, then refused any compensation from Sodom’s grateful king. The LORD had shielded him in conflict and conquest, and would prove Himself his very great reward in life. God was teaching, and Abram was learning, these truths that would sustain him all his days. The Lord, powerful and victorious, would be faithful to His word. (Hebrews 11:8)

God gives us many promises we do not yet realize but can trust in faith. The time between issuance and fulfillment is intended as a season of growing, trusting, training eyes of faith to see through impossibility to glorious ends. In the meantime, we learn His character and attributes. He is our shield in times of turmoil and difficulty, even doubt. He is our reward of daily intimacy, dependence, strength that come only from above.

In our present sojourn, what priorities is the Lord teaching about true treasure? What land of home, personal spiritual maturity, reconciliation in a relationship, or ministry has He set before us to take? How boldly do we step out in the unknowns, trusting Him as shield against opposition and fear of the unknown? How is He proving Himself our daily soul-satisfying reward? (Matthew 6:19-21, 6:33; Philippians 3:7-8)

Lord, help me walk by faith in every challenge, trusting You as shield and reward.

“Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’  Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“’The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. One was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.” Out of pity, the master released him and forgave the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, began to choke him, saying, “Pay what you owe.” His fellow servant fell down and pleaded, “Have patience with me, and I will pay you.” He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?” And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.'”

“Forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Matthew 17:21-35; 6:12

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Ephesians 4:32

Forgive: To pardon; to give up resentment of or claim to requital; to cease to feel resentment against; to grant relief from payment of; to stop blaming or being angry

It was serious business for Jesus to teach about forgiveness. By prayer, parable, instruction, and ultimately the visual aid of His crucifixion, the Savior exemplified the importance of forgiving as a vital tenet of faith. If we do not receive His forgiveness, and forgive others as He has us, we will bear the debt ourselves in death.

Sometimes our trouble with forgiveness stems from distorted vision. Those sins and offenses against us are much larger and more heinous in our sight than the things we do wrong. The longer we lick our wounds, the larger the wrongs magnify in our minds, the more we want revenge against those who caused them. We fool ourselves into being righteous in comparison. Everything grows out of proportion when we fail to gaze at the cross and apply God’s grace.

It is crucial that we understand our personal need for forgiveness for our offense against God. Any inclination of heart, words, or deeds pulsing with pride or tainted with rebel red make us debtors to the Perfect One. Have we come under His love-spent blood?

Once we’ve received the freedom He won, whom will we set free? What grudges or hatred are keeping us enslaved, and hurting those around us? As Christ, so may we also forgive. (John 8:36; Galatians 5:1)

Lord, keep me eager to forgive as You have me.