Regrets. We all have them. If only I could take it back! If I had it to do over, I would have handled it differently. We all stumble and fall. We fail to live up to our own expectations. Unless we learn to forgive ourselves, we will live in a…
-
“When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe…” (Matthew 9:8 in the New International Version of the Holy Bible). This Scripture is refering to the miracle that Jesus performed for a paralyzed man who stood up, picked up his mat and started walking home. No one in the small town of Capernaum in northern Galilee had ever witnessed anything like this before! And furthermore, Jesus not only healed the man He also told him he was forgiven. Can you imagine seeing this happen with your own eyes? The crowd that day were awed by the power of God on display before them – healing and forgiveness all at one time! We are overwhelmed today by awe inspiring advances in science and technology. We’ve become so accustomed to phenominal inventions and medical breakthoughs that we tend to lose our sense of wonder. We must be careful not to lose our sense of awe when it comes to God. Does His power and majesty still take your breath away?
-
Prayer: Lord, forgive me if the world that I live in has numbed me to the wonder of who You are. Let my heart and mind be captured again by the awe of Your mighty acts. Amen.
-
Devotion by: Julie Long
-
Inspirational speaker Jan Silvious once said “I like to define forgiveness as ‘giving up the right to punish the one who has hurt you.’ That’s what Jesus did on the cross.”
-
Jesus was beaten, humiliated and ultimately murdered on the cross. READ Luke 23:34 from the Holy Bible, New King James Version: “Then Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ He forgave them and prayed for them even while they were still hurting Him!
-
Perhaps you’ve been hurt by someone. Jesus understands your pain. He wants to help you to forgive them.
-
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Help me forgive those who have mistreated me. Heal the wounds they inflicted on my spirit. Protect me. Provide me courage to pray for them. I know they also are your child. Let me see them as You see them. Grant me compassion and discernment in dealing with them. Amen.
-
Devotion by Debbie Simler-Goff
Why is it so difficult to say those words, “I’m sorry. Forgive me.” Perhaps just as difficult to say is a sincere, “I forgive you.” None of us goes through life without at some point being on both sides of the situation. Sometimes we are the one hurt; other times we are the offender. Hurts and wrongs alter relationships, sometimes forever, unless we learn how to build a bridge of forgiveness to the other person.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-2, Holy Bible, King James Version). When the law condemns a guilty person, a sentence is required, from a short incarceration to a death sentence, depending on the crime. A parole or reverse ruling for a new trial brings hope of a better life but does not absolve the guilt. When a pardon is handed down, the prisoner is free as though the crime never happened. Jesus never paroles, only pardons with full freedom that leaves no condemnation—no guilt trip.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for my proclamation of pardon. You have erased my past and given me a future. Amen.