March 28, 2024

This Week…Psalms 25:6-7

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Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love,
which You have shown from long ages past.
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of Your unfailing love,
for You are merciful, O Lord.
Psalms 25:6-7

In Forgiveness for All, Ahmee  reminded us of how great God’s forgiveness is…

Have you ever forgiven someone and then find yourself still thinking about it?  That’s when you have to remind yourself that you forgave them.  Human forgiveness is flawed.  We remember what was done to us.  Given some people can just let stuff go, but most people still remember.  God’s forgiveness is different.  God does not remember our past sins.  God’s Word says plenty about His forgiveness.

Then He adds, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:17

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

In God’s Mercy and Goodness, Tina  wrote about David, and his example of a repentful heart…

You have to love how transparent David is in his prayers to God..David made a habit of pouring out his heart and soul before His Almighty Father.  David was human and he made mistakes just as we do. The only thing is he had a repentful heart; and, most of the time, we are busy and forget to confess our sin.  Then it all turns to regrets, and kind of piles up into such a huge mess that we even forget where the top or bottom is.  Daily…hourly…by the minute we should bring our issues, our thoughts,  our prayers to the throne of God.  Often we need to leave them there, leave them at the foot of the Cross because He is better able to handle each of our needs, wants, and desires.

In Divine Remembrance, Ann gave us some additional examples of men calling on God to remember them…

Nehemiah 

Remember me, O my God, concerning this,
and wipe not out my good deeds that I have done
for the house of my God, and for the offices thereof.
Nehemiah 13:14

David 

Remember me, O Lord, with the favor Thou beareth unto Thy people,
O visit me with Thy salvation.
Psalm 106:4

Jeremiah

 Lord, Thou knowest: remember me, and visit me,
and revenge me of my persecutors;
take me not away in Thy longsuffering:
know that for Thy sake I have suffered rebuke.
Jeremiah 15:15

The criminal who hung alongside Jesus

And he said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me
when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”
Luke 23:42

Forgiveness For All

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Remember, O Lord, Your compassion and unfailing love,
which You have shown from long ages past.
Do not remember the rebellious sins of my youth.
Remember me in the light of Your unfailing love,
for You are merciful, O Lord.

Psalms 25:6-7

Have you ever had to forgive someone?  It’s not always the easiest thing to do.  You have to process your feelings and then consciously make the decision to forgive.  Then (for some of us) it’s a daily thing—we often have to remind ourselves that we have already forgiven that person.  On the other hand, forgiving comes naturally to some people.  I am not one of those people.  If I feel I have truly been wronged, it takes me some time to process my emotions (usually 1-3 days).

Have you ever forgiven someone and then find yourself still thinking about it?  That’s when you have to remind yourself that you forgave them.  Human forgiveness is flawed.  We remember what was done to us.  Given some people can just let stuff go, but most people still remember.

God’s forgiveness is different.  God does not remember our past sins.  God’s Word says plenty about His forgiveness.

Then He adds, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 10:17

As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Psalm 103:12

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9

Often we as humans find it hard to accept God’s forgiveness because we compare it to human forgiveness.  God does not have to process emotions before forgiving us and He doesn’t throw our past sins in our faces.  His forgiveness is far grander than anything we know.  Yet, people still struggle with guilt, shame, and condemnation.  These three emotions are not from God…they stem from our inability to forgive ourselves. (Yes, I said ‘ourselves’.)  When was the last time you messed up?  Did you need more than God’s forgiveness?  Did that other person forgive you?

How about we try forgiving as God does – towards ourselves and others.

Great Things

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I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord God;
I will make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.
O God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still declare Your wondrous deeds.
And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.
For Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens,
You who have done great things; O God, who is like You?
You who have shown me many troubles and distresses will revive me again,
And will bring me up again from the depths of the earth.
May You increase my greatness and turn to comfort me.
Psalms 71:16-21

God has such a great love for us.  He holds no account of the wrongs we have done once we have confessed our sins to Him. God is so faithful to toss them away.  We are the ones that  holds onto so much unforgiveness.

God wants us to love as He does.  Without limits or conditions.  He also wants us to have confidence.  Confidence in God’s ability to rescue us from our troubles.  David knew God was there for him no matter what was going on. All David needed to do was talk to God and let Him take care of the situation.

God will even choose us to further His kingdom among the nations.  We so often limit what we could do by our self-doubt.  God wants us to look at things from His point of view.  A limitless future awaits us if we choose to follow the Holy Spirit.  We do not have to go overseas to serve.  We can serve from where we are.  We just have to be aware of His promptings. It could be our paying it forward to the wait staff or taking the time to pray for someone when you feel the tugging in your mind.  There have been too many stories of people getting out of situations when the odds seemed against them.  And all because of the pressing of the Holy Spirit to pray.

Father, thank you for your Holy Spirit. Thank you for watching over us everyday and for giving us new opportunities to get it right. Some of us know Your words and do not want to be like the Israelites that wondered the desert for 40 years because of unbelief and disobedience. Help us to know when we need to stop and listen to and for you. Help us choose to put away the things that will distract us from your word. Give us strength to say no and help us to have a peace that only you can bring. Thank you again, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Can You Feel His Majesty?

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Praise the Lord!  Servants of the Lord, praise him!
    Praise the Lord’s name.
May the Lord’s name be praised
    now and forever.
May the Lord’s name be praised
    from where the sun rises to where it goes down.
The Lord is higher than all nations.
    His glory rises to the skies.
There is no one like the Lord our God.
    He sits on his throne high in heaven.
He is so high above us that he must look down
    to see the sky and the earth.
He lifts the poor out of the dirt
    and rescues beggars from the garbage dump.
He puts them in important positions,
    giving them a place among the leaders of his people.
He gives children to the woman whose home is empty.
    He makes her a happy mother. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 113

From the moment of conception, life is a miracle. Although we carry the child for 40 weeks, it seems like forever before we give birth. I know women that have been blessed with many children and those who are blessed with one. Then there are those who may not have given birth to children of their own, but have love enough to share with children as an adoptive mom or as a servant of the Lord at church or in a teaching situation where their influence is great upon those they touch.

God gave us that capacity to love and to love others. Sometimes life will throw us curve balls. We may make a wrong turn down God’s path, get lost along the way, but know that He is there to catch us, no matter what our choices are. King David made mistakes, and truly repented, and God forgave him. Consequences were meted out, but all was forgiven.  After all, do we not want forgiveness in the end? Do we not want the shame, guilt and self-condemnation to be taken away? For all of this to happen, we need to forgive ourselves as God forgives us.

When Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, He took on every single thing we would ever do or think. He knew who we would meet, talk to, be friends with, laugh with, and who our parents would be. And, knowing all of this, He chose to die on the Cross for us.  I have mentored teenagers who have refused to accept that God would just love them. It is hard to teach someone who is not ready to hear that God loves them unconditionally. The best way is to show them unconditional love. This is best demonstrated by our service to our children, whether it is our own or loving on other children.

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Father, help us to remember that all are Your children. We each have gifting that allow us to minister to those that are hurting. Help us to be content with planting seeds, or with watering seeds, or with helping those seeds grow into a fully-developed Christians. Forgive us for when we do not look to You for guidance, but instead look to others or into ourselves. You have made us to seek You and be a part of community. Give us courage to seek godly women who will help us grow individually. I thank You for this group of women. In Jesus’ name, Amen!