Forgiveness

This Wednesday we are praying about forgiveness.

Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13

Ever since becoming a Christian, I have thought of forgiveness in the way described in Colossians 3:13 above. I should forgive because God forgave me. But recently, I started thinking about forgiveness from a slightly different angle. Namely, I should forgive because God forgave them. Said another way, when someone wrongs me, I should forgive because Christ's blood covers their wrong just like it covers my wrong. Who am I to harbor unforgiveness - Christ paid the price for their sin as well.

But saying you forgive someone is much easier than actually forgiving them. Often the words "I forgive you" are an empty expression. What we mean is "You wronged me and now I'm watching you. I've filed this away and I will bring it up if you try anything like that again." True forgiveness is more like "Even though you wronged me, I can lay that aside and I can lay my pride and fundamental desire for fairness aside so as to wipe the slate clean for you."

Is there someone in your life that you need to forgive? Maybe it's someone who you say you've forgiven but it was really just an empty expression. Perhaps it's someone who wronged you in an incredibly hurtful way. Maybe it's someone who wronged a dear friend or family member of yours. You may need to forgive your spouse… a parent… a friend… a family member. Whoever it is you need to forgive, do it and do it for real. Don't let it be just an empty expression. It will be hard but always remember, Christ's blood covered whatever wrong it was they did to you.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Thanksgiving

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name." Psalm 100:4

This week, as would seem appropriate, we are praying for a thankful spirit. There are two specific things that I want you to think about as you pray this week:

1. It is a fundamental part of our human nature to allow the past to flavor the present. Said another way, our satisfaction with our current situation normally depends on our past situations. To illustrate, assume you just accepted a new job that pays $100,000 per year. Your gratitude will probably depend on your previous job situation. You will be much more thankful if you're coming from a $50,000 job than if you are coming from a $250,000 job. The point is this - we aren't called to be thankful only for the things that are bigger and better. We are called to be thankful in all situations. And that goes against the nature of our flesh. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

2. One thing that gets in the way of sincere gratitude is that we all take our blessings for granted. We seldom treat each other as precious gifts that could be taken away at any time. I think back to how my wife and I cherished each other and cherished our kids shortly after 9/11. Why does it take such an incident for the truly important to bubble to the top? Let's think about our blessings from the perspective of what it would be like if we didn't have them… our kids, our spouse, our health…

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob

Ministry

This week we are going to pray for the ministries in which we are involved. First, we are praying that these ministries are blessing those they are directed towards. Whether it's a women's ministry, a prayer ministry, children's church, hospitality, etc. Second, we are praying that God does a work in us as we work in these ministries. After all, getting things done is just a by-product of why God puts us in ministries. Serving Him is how our hearts get softened and molded to His likeness.

Last, I want to make sure we are all aware of all the ministries we are involved in. We are all part of a family - this is one of our ministries. Many of us are married - our spouse is a ministry. As Christians, Christ gave us the great commission. Therefore, spreading the good news is one of our ministries. There are probably others I'm not thinking of. The first point of this is, you are involved in more ministries than what probably initially came to mind. The second point is, make sure you've got enough time for your current ministries before you add any new ministries. And last, your ministries need to be prioritized so that you are tending to the proper ministry when conflicts arise. Needless to say, family and spouse need to be top priority.

Have a great week and a great fast.
Your brother,
Bob