Forgiveness

I was listening to my radio in the car as I always do on the way home from and they was talking about forgiveness. Several callers called in telling their stories of mostly childhood abuse and how they had forgiven that person .

This reminded me of a story of someone I know , we will call her Sarah and her daughter we will call Rachelle.

Sarah was abused by her father as a child and as a young adult distance her self from him but cause she had not forgiven her father but as she grew older after time she was able to forgive her father and as more time went on she was rebuilding a relationship back up with both of her parents but as this was taking place her daughter Rachelle was abused by an uncle in the family which brought up a flood of memories for Sarah.

As this started to take place Sarah 's family was taking the uncles side and saying Rachelle was breaking up the family when all she was, was the one that got abused and did not keep it quite, so this lead to Sarah having to make a hard choice  which was to cut off all her family to protect her daughter.

Rachelle being an amazing girl had forgiven the uncle weeks after things happend but was still deeply scared by all that had happend . For Sarah though it took a little longer cause of all the hurt and so to speak re opened wounds . But in the end cause of Gods grace there has been healing and forgiveness.

I know from my owen life happenings that forgiveness is a freeing experiance that can only come form God cause in are human flesh having such deep hurt it is not in our nature to be forgiving , but only   the Holy Spirit working through us is that forgivness  able to happen.

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Colossians 3:13



Forgiveness What does this look like which is a very good question ? Does it mean we forget what happend ? No by all means it does not ,now we most likely wont think about it all the time but the times we do there is no anger or bitterness in our hearts cause of it.

Also in some cases such as Sarah and  Rachelle in the story forgiveness does not mean putting yourself back in an unhealthy place but it means you have let go of all of the bitterness and anger towards that person.



 Psalm 130:4
But with you there is forgiveness, so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

My prayer is that we through Christ can forgive and to ask Him to help us to do so cause in our own strenght we can do nothing  but through Christ we can do all things !!

Letting the Lord Be Your All

        Lord of All (song by Angela Wilson Eckenrod)

Lord of the world , Lord of the nations I come broken before You

Your grace and mercy abound to me
Your love is amazing
(2X'S) Your all I need.
I know could never
make it through this life
without You by my side.
Lord of the world , Lord of the nations I come broken before You
Your all I need ,Your all I need ,All I need is you
so I can make it through
(2x's) Your all I need
 Your grace and mercy abound to me ,Your love is amazing .
(2X"s) Your all I need.

 
 
This song talks about coming broken before Him and how He is Lord of All. I know in my life at times that has not been the case that He has been the Lord of "All' , we may say He is the Lord of All but how many times do we forget to put Him in all we do cause sometimes we go about what we are doing without putting Him into the equation of things . I am finding
out in my walk as a christan how important it is to put Him in every part of my life and truly make Him Lord of All .
 
As I am  transparent with you I can tell you in the last 3yrs not making Him Lord over All my life has gotten me to a place I didnt want to be and its been a much harder road for me than it would have been if I had just included  Him in every part of my life. As I have made Him #1 in my life it has made a big difference .
 
As a new single person I had felt alone and had an empty feeling inside of something missing I tried to fill it with relationships God would not approve of . I just did not understand how He could ever fill that empty place in my heart , how could He be that physical person and make that empty ache and feeling go away cause I could not touch Him , hug Him so how the heck could He really comfort me and feel that void I had inside ?
 
I had dealt with this for years before I was married cause of a childhood of sexual abuse from my father , then going into a marriage at an early age right out of high school not realizing I was going into the next phase of covering things up and not getting the healing I need form God covering up the root of the issue.
 
Now years later from childhood till now I had not know the true freedom I could have till I made God #1 in my life getting to the root of the problem and putting Him in every part of my life has made All the difference . I love how He has filled that empty place in my heart how that lonely feeling and deep ache is gone it's the most amazing feel ever.
 
So I urge you to make this your prayer Lord help me to put you in my life in All things!!!
 
2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation , old things have passed away behold , all things have become new  (NKJV)

"Grace "

Amazing Grace its the title to an very awesome hymn . It talks about the grace that God gives to us that we so do not deserve and for that grace I am very thankful. It seems in this day and age as Christan's we are not so willing to give other people that grace God has given us and maybe the grace we have been given someone when we have messed up that there was no way we ever thought  or knew we deserved it.

2 Corinthians 2:10 Now whom you  forgive anything , I forgive also , I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence in Christ.

This makes me think of the unforgiving servant who was forgiven much debt and goes out and does not forgive even less debt owed to him and the out come was not so good for him.
 

I know in my life I have had grace given to me and would still like it to be given so if we would like what sometimes do not deserve than we should be willing to give it cause God has freely given that grace to us that we a hundred fold do not deserve.

Grace Give It !!

Faith , Trust

Faith , trust these are words that we can all learn to have . Just being open and transparent in my walk and struggles I have. Having faith God will show me where I need to be serving seeming though every step I try to make to serve it seems to be put to a halt just sitting still doing nothing feeling useless and worthless to do service for Him. I have to hold fast to


Jeremiah 29:11"
For I know the thoughts I think towards you , says the Lord thoughts for peace and not evil , to give you a future and a hope. "

Not knowing what is ahead is the hardest thing for us , wondering and waiting. But it is a growth process that if we allow Him to grow us will have awesome results and not letting it happen can be the death of our spiritual growth.


Its like my rose bush I have in a flower pot on my balcony it was doing okay for a while its root system took root in the soil but when it started raining cause there was no wholes in the bottom of the pot the root was pulled away from the soil which could cause the rose bush to die.

If we don't allow God to grow us and let the Holy Spirit through prayer and reading His Word we can be so easily pulled away when things pop up in our lives . As I know know first hand that can and will happen if we are not rooted in Him . Ironically my Pastor is preaching on this very subject.


So I encourage you to stay strong hold fast in prayer and allow God to grow you into His beautiful workmanship.

My Thoughts

Trusting God and having faith just the sound of it seems to sound like such a simple task but when in the mist of the storm it can be the hardest thing to do. We ask why God have you brought me to this place of uncertainty being tossed like the waves.? Why does it seem like when one wave of storms has past here comes the next.Oh Lord you are my strength my shield , when I grow weary you carry me but why does it seem like sometimes you have stopped carrying me when I seem to feel all alone where are you? When in my distress I find You have always been there carrying me , its not you who has left me but its me who has forgotten You and what a sovereign God you are walking away without a thought forgetting all You have gotten me through. Dear Lord I lay all my weakness at your feet so You can be my strength , I lay all my burdens down so you can carry them for me , I lay my life down ounce again at your feet cause I am imperfect I stumble and get back up again but only in your strength. We have all been there at some point in our lives if not we will be . And even when we have given up He has not cause looking back if we look close enough we can see where His hand was at work in our lives. So if You have gone through a storm you know what I am talking about , if you are in the mist of the storm keep holding on and just know He will get you through and if you have not yet been through a storm I am sure one will come to you and when it comes just remember He will get you through. This nothing profound its just my thoughts and some of my journey in life I have gone through and still I am going through.

Lay it All Down

My new song I just finished an hour ago talks about laying it all down at His feet.
In our lives as christians we hold on to things we might have done , pain , guilt , finaces, worries of all sorts. When we hold on to those things & don't let them go & lay them at Jesus feet or we lay them down for a short time but we go back& pick them up again. Doing this can stop or hinder our praise & worship we are offering up to Him. We can let those things weigh us down & we may not even realize it or maybe we do.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old thing have passed way ; behold , all thing have become new.

Now this scripture generally applies to some one who has just excepted Jesus Christ as their Savior & He has just made them a new creation in Him. But He is also making us a new creation daily molding & making us what He wants us to be in Him. So when we put those things down we are allowing Him to mold us in His image .

So if we take off all our weights & hinderances what ever they may be. If we lay them down at Jesus feet , walk away never to pick them back up again. Then He will renew our joy, our strength ,our hope , our everything.

Be Still

Find rest my soul in Christ alone
Know His power in quietness and trust
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with you above the storms
Father you are king over the floods
I will be still know you are God


God wants us to be still to wait on Him to take care of what we are asking Him to do for us . Really ! That does not mean to sit and do nothing we still need to be doing the work He has for us to do but still waiting for the thing He is going to bring to come to pass in our lives. We should be working and getting prepared for it to happen.

If Noah did not build the ark and gather all the food and supplies to survive , to gather all the animals as God had instructed him to do . If Noah had just sat around waiting for things to happen and did nothing we would not be here today the whole earth would have flooded , all of man kind would have been destroyed. Noah was still and waited on God to bring the flood waters but not so still that he did nothing to prepare for what God said He was going to do.


So be still wait on God to do what you know or have prayed for, but do not be so still that you do nothing and that you are not ready for what He he is going to do.

Be still know that I am God
I will be exalted among the nations
I will be exalted in the earth
Psalms 46:10




Prayer
Pray that you will be able to be still and wait on Him , Also that you will not be so still that you will not be ready for it when it happens.