Forgive

Well, I think we’ve done a pretty good job looking into the importance of peace as an aspect of learning to be imitators of God. (Ephesians 5:1)

I want take a minute to touch on another very important aspect of God’s character. He is a forgiving God.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

“And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions,” Colossians 2:13

Forgiveness is more about us and less about the other person. We ought to forgive not because of the other person’s remorse but because of the gratefulness we have to the Lord for the grace He has shone to us.

“Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].”  Colossians 3:13

Forgiveness is a choice we can make at the onset of any offense regardless of whether the offender seeks our forgiveness or not. If we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts it is like a disease that takes root and begins to rapidly spread through our entire being making us bitter and negative and distracting us from living the life God has called us to. This can be happening to us while the other person doesn’t even know or care that they have hurt us.

I know what you may be thinking… “But….” Once I was dealing with having been hurt by something someone had said to me. It had been bothering me for years. It was in the forefront of my mind nearly every day and greatly affected my mood and sense of self-worth. I was praying, once again for deliverance from this pain when God spoke a powerful truth to me. I knew I needed to forgive the ones who had hurt me, but I was telling God, “I have no problem forgiving them, but they don’t even care or remember that they did anything to me!” At that moment these words slammed into my mind.

“Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34a

Ouch! I knew then and there that is was not even about them. It was about me doing as God commands me and forgiving others, whether they asked for it or not.

Are you still finding yourself controlled by pains of the past? Today you can be set free. Forgive…and walk on with the Lord. He can restore you, and He will take care of the offender. Trust Him! And let it go.

Fill Your Arsenal

Sorry for the delay in this posting. At over 8 months pregnant I am sometimes more on top of things than others. J

We have talked about how Christ used the Scripture to battle against Satan. And a big point here is that He really knew the Word. He had memorized it so it was there when He needed it. I want to encourage you to begin to fill your arsenal. You can’t wait until the heat of battle to scrounge up weapons. You must face each day fully prepared for whatever comes your way.  And hiding His Word in our hearts is the perfect way to do that.

Here are some great ones to start with. Keep them in front of you throughout the day. Put them on note cards around your house. Write them on your mirror. Find creative ways to get the Word into your mind and deep in your heart.

“You will keep him in perfect peace,
Whose mind is stayed on You,
Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

“Great peace have they who love Your law; nothing shall offend them or make them stumble.” Psalm 119:165

“HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].” Psalm 91:1

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with its earthly lot of whatever sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil. 4:6-7

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.] John 16:33

And we could go on and on, but these are great to start with. Don’t let the thought of memorization overwhelm you. Just read them (or just start with one) several times a day and let the Word do its work as it gets down inside you.

James 1:25 says, “²⁵But he who looks carefully into the faultless law, the [law] of liberty, and is faithful to it and perseveres in looking into it, being not a heedless listener who forgets but an active doer [who obeys], he shall be blessed in his doing (his life of obedience).” I see this as basically saying don’t forget what the Word says and be tossed about. Keep studying and stand firm on it.

Choose to Remain Calm

As I’ve mentioned before, peace is a choice. Being peaceful is not something that just happens to you, just as losing your peace is not something that just happens over which you have no control. You cannot control every circumstance or incident that threatens to take your peace, but you can control yourself. If you have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in you and self control is a fruit of that Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Thus you have self control regardless of whether or not you have chosen to operate in it and to let it be developed in you.  

One of my favorite scripture verses is Joshua 24:15 where Joshua tells the Israelites, “choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” I would say to you (and to myself) “Choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the voices in your head, the outside stresses and your frustrating circumstances, or the power of the Holy Spirit of the almighty God living on the inside of you.”

We have a choice, and if we want any chance at escaping each day with our joy, peace and sanity intact we must make that choice and stand firm on it, regardless of how we feel. Decide before you get in a situation how you will react should the situation arise. Don’t wait until the heat of the moment. This is great advice for dating, for emergencies, and for how to live your everyday life.  For instance…Do you find yourself trying to correct your kids by acting just like them? This will set no example and will only escalate the situation. Decide right now…no screaming at your kids. Instead, opt for a whisper. Give it a try. Take a deep breath, get on their level and speak in a firm but calm and low tone. This has a great ability to break the “crazy cycle” and grab their attention.

There are plenty of other changes and choices we can make. The number one should be that the minute we feel this surge of emotions welling up in us and threatening to take our peace, just commit to step away for a minute, take a deep breath, cry out to the Lord and then leave your worries there. Let Him deal with them and go on in peace and joy knowing your troubles are in the more than capable hands of the Master and He is on the case. We are not called to fix all of our problems, we are simply called to trust in the one Who can and to hold our peace.

Between an Ocean and an Army

You may be saying, “All this stuff about holding my peace is great when I’m stuck in traffic or lose my keys, but what about when I lose my job or am diagnosed with an “incurable” disease? What about when my problems are huge and my situations “impossible”?

When the Israelites were fleeing Egypt they found themselves in a pretty impossible situation. The Red Sea stretched out before them and Pharaoh’s army was closing in behind them. Their circumstances were hopeless, impossible, and insurmountable. Here is what Moses told them.

“Moses told the people, Fear not; stand still (firm, confident, undismayed) and see the salvation of the Lord which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians you have seen today you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace and remain at rest.”

Exodus 14:13-14

When you find yourself between an ocean and an army remember we serve a God who is Lord over both!

“Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Genesis 18:14a

“But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”’ Luke 18:27

“…with God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26b

Identify Your “Peace Getters”

So, let’s bring this down to the most basic level. What are your “peace getters”? What are those little pesky things in everyday life that steal your peace and take your joy?  Here are just a few of the common ones: lose your keys, running late, nothing to wear, stuck in traffic, alarm doesn’t go off, burnt dinner, stain on your favorite shirt…

I encourage you to stop now and make your own list of the ones you find most common in your life.

Now look at your list and ask yourself, “Is there anything I can do about these?” Sometimes there are practical solutions, steps we can take to head them off at the pass. For instance, do you lose your peace when you find yourself running late for work? Make a change and start getting up a little earlier. Can’t figure out what to wear…and then end up running late? Start picking out your clothes the night before. Find yourself feeling overwhelmed? Create a peaceful environment…turn off the TV, put the barking dog in his crate for a while, institute a quiet time when the kids must read or play in their rooms for an hour. We are responsible for creating and maintaining our peace and this takes being proactive.

If you find that there are some things on your list that you can do nothing about you simply have to make a choice. When you can’t prevent it say, “Well, I know God has a plan for this.” And go on. There may be a very good reason. If you find yourself stuck in traffic or trapped behind the slow driver (who in NOVA is likely riding in the left lane) it could be that by running behind you avoided a wreck.  If your alarm doesn’t go off (or in your groggy state you accidentally hit the off button instead of the snooze) just trust that God knew you needed the extra rest. There’s nothing you can do about it now, but a positive attitude can get you right back on track whereas a negative one can throw off your entire day.

Peace is a choice. You and I must choose to hold onto our peace. Accept the things you can’t do anything about. Remember that “all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28) Say, “Here you go, God. It’s all you.” And let it go! Take a deep breath, and step back into your life.

By choosing to put your life in the Lord’s hands you can run your life instead of your life running over you!

Fight for Your Peace!

Ok…so in talking about how to hold our peace we have mentioned that Satan (whom the scripture says is presently roaming the earth like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8; Job 1:7 )) will often make attempts to steal our peace. In the last post I mentioned that the number one way to fight the devil and defeat his attempts is to follow Christ’s example. In Matthew 4:1-11 we see Christ being tempted by Satan in the desert. And we see Him cast down the devil by using the Word of God (scripture).

So these three things jump out at me: 1. He fought with the Word. 2. He used scripture He had obviously memorized. 3. He spoke these things out loud.

We are told that the Word of God is alive and active, sharper than any two edged sword, and that it never returns void. (Hebrews 4:12; Isaiah 55:11) So obviously scripture is the most powerful weapon we can use.

Also notice that Christ did not have time to run and get His scrolls to look up a scripture that He knew was in there somewhere! No, here we have a very powerful example of why we should work to memorize scripture…to hide His word in our hearts. (Psalm 119:11) We must be prepared. We simply cannot wait until the heat of battle to start scrounging up weapons. We must work daily to fill our arsenal (spending time with the Lord, in His word and in prayer…talking to Him) so that when the time comes we are ready. This is being on the offense rather than constantly being on the defense. Joyce Meyer once said, “You wouldn’t constantly feel under attack if you would stay on the attack!”

And finally we see that Christ spoke out loud. Proverbs 18:21 is just one of the many places where the Bible tells us that our words have power. We should keep the Word of God on our lips, speaking truth and power to and in our situation.

“For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),”

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The Fight for Peace

“Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]” 1 Peter 3:11 (AMP)

Don’t just hope for peace to find you. Don’t just sit around saying, “Gee…I wish I had peace in my life and in my mind.” Peter tells us we must pursue and go after it. We need to crave peace. And once we’ve grasped it we should fight to keep it!

I’ve mentioned before how that all those little pesky things that happen (lost keys, nothing to wear, caught in traffic, out of gas, burnt dinner, etc…) are Satan’s way of trying to rob you of your joy. Well, it is also safe to say that these tactics are intended to rob us of our peace. And when we give up our peace (it truly is our choice to give it up) we lose power and effectiveness. Our witness suffers as others watch us spiral out of control.

Whether you grumble, huff, stomp or scream, it is hard to share the love of Christ and set a good example for your kids and make a happy home for your family while allowing every little thing to send you into a fit. (I am preaching to myself right now as much as anyone. I’m not a screamer, but I’m a huffer for sure. I’m good at getting all worked up about something small and then getting upset with myself for getting all worked up. It’s a mad cycle that creates quite the stressful atmosphere. I trust I’m not alone.)

The number one way we can fight against the “peace getters” in life is to follow Christ’s example. How did He fight Satan? (Matthew 4:1-11) Please take a minute to read these verses.

Three things jump out at me here. 1. He fought with the Word. 2. He used scripture He had obviously memorized. 3. He spoke these things out loud.

I’ll pick up here in the next post. If you get the chance over the next few days, take some time to read this again and see if you can identify the “peace getters” in your life.

Live on Purpose! (Cont.)

“THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].” Ephesians 5:1

So imitating God… In addition to the characteristic of love (which we looked at in the last post), what else is implied here? What else do we know about the “person” of God? The next thing that comes to my mind is peace. And I would go a step further and say that peace goes hand in hand with stability.

This is perhaps my biggest area of struggle - maintaining peace and stability. Why is it so difficult?? We are imperfect beings living in an imperfect world. Everything around us screams stress and negativity, but Christ said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

So here (and also in Galatians where it is listed as a fruit of the Spirit which lives on the inside of every believer) we see that saying, “I just don’t have peace” is not a valid excuse. In fact it is a lie from Satan that he wants us to believe so we can convince ourselves that it is not our fault when we lose our peace.

We all have it, but it is our responsibility to fight to maintain it and operate in it. You can’t just expect peace to follow you. You have a job to do.

“Let him turn away from wickedness and shun it, and let him do right. Let him search for peace (harmony; undisturbedness from fears, agitating passions, and moral conflicts) and seek it eagerly. [Do not merely desire peaceful relations with God, with your fellowmen, and with yourself, but pursue, go after them!]” 1 Peter 3:11 (AMP)

In the gospels alone (in the NKJV) peace is mentioned 26 times! Must be important to the way we should live our lives. Begin to grasp the importance of peace and choice to fight for it! In our next post we’ll talk about practical ways to pursue, go after and fight for peace.

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will^[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

Live on Purpose! (Cont.)

“THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father].” Ephesians 5:1

There’s not a whole lot to be added here. This verse is pretty simple. And what a wonderful picture it is. We’ve all seen this, children trying to copy the every move of a parent. They don’t always get it right, in truth they seldom do, but they give it their all and do their best. Mikaela was barely a year old when I caught her trying to shave her legs!

Each day we should be intentional about trying to imitate God. What do we know about God? Well, for starters, God is love. Are you love to those you come in contact with? Not just those you know and like but everyone… And what does it mean to be love? Not to act lovingly, but to actually be love?

I believe to be love is to radiate the characteristics of love found in 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient, kind, humble, slow to anger. It keeps no record of wrongs. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” We are also told in that love covers a multitude of faults. And on the ultimate level we see that there is no greater love than to lay down your life. (John 15:13)

Over the next few days let’s try to keep this thought in the forefront of our minds. How do we imitate God? In every situation you encounter ask yourself, “Am I imitating God here?” Seeking to imitate your Father in all things can drastically change your life.

I’m no pilot but think of this…the difference between a horrific wreck and a successful landing is merely a change in approach.

^“Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and ^[a]disregards the offenses of others].” 1 Peter 4:8 (AMP)