17

Jump Start # 2264

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2264

Luke 18:38 “And he called out, saying, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’”

We have been doing a mini-series on the miraculous healings of Jesus. One thing that stands out in the Gospels is how many times Jesus was called upon to help people physically. That seems to be the overwhelming demand.

 

Here in our verse today, as Jesus was near Jericho, on His way to Jerusalem and Calvary, a blind man calls out asking for mercy.

 

  • The ten lepers called out to Jesus, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” (Lk 17:13)
  • Jairus, the synagogue official pleaded with Jesus, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her” (Mk 5:23)
  • The Canaanite woman came to Jesus and said, “Lord, help me!” (Mt 15:25)
  • A father came up to Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son; for he is an epileptic, and is very ill” (Mt 17:15)
  • Even some of the questions dealt with physical things, such as the man who wanted Jesus to tell his brother to divide the family inheritance (Lk 12:13).

 

The few exceptions to this seem to be:

Nicodemus who came to Jesus at night stating that he understood that Jesus came from God (Jn 3) and the young man who asked, “What good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life” (Mt 19:16).

 

The demands were physical. The concerns were physical. So many of these hurting people were at the ends of their ropes. Things were desperate. A dying child. A woman who had spent all her money on doctors and only grew worse. The concerns were not about how to lose weight. It wasn’t about how to cure baldness, bad teeth or remove warts. These were desperate people needing immediate help. These are the type of folks we’d find late at night in the emergency room of a local hospital. These were people who had grown tired of carrying these burdens. Some had these problems for decades. They were without help and had run out of hope.

 

I don’t think it’s fair to say that these peple were not interested at all in spiritual things. We cannot conclude that once they got what they wanted that they were done with Jesus. These healed people may very well had followed Jesus and made up His multitude. The immediate suffering and pain can take a priority over the spiritual. It’s hard to concentrate when you are hurting and do not feel well. It’s hard to be patient when there is a looming physical crisis at hand.

 

Some lessons from this:

 

First, the church is limited in what it can do. The world doesn’t seem to get this. Folks who have no connections to any church, will spend the day calling up church after church looking for someone to pay their rent, elect bill or give them cash. This seems to be what the church is supposed to do in their minds. To them, the church is better than a bank, because at a bank you have to fill out papers, qualify and then pay back what the bank gives you. A church, they think, can give you money with no strings attached. You don’t even have to go to that church. The problem with this thinking is that it’s not Biblical. God has a pattern for what the church can do with it’s money, as He does for all things. There is a pattern for worship. There is a pattern for salvation. And, there is a pattern for what the church can do with money.

 

The story of the good Samaritan is not about a church, but an individual. We can help others and we ought to. Engaging in good deeds is a common expression in Titus. This is what God wants His people to do. Be good stewards, be generous, be helpful to others.

 

Some cannot and will not hear what you are saying until you have shown that you care. Hurting people are not interested in a tract or a sermon CD. They want their pain to go away. You may need to buy someone a meal, help a neighbor get to the doctor, help a friend pay a bill, before they will ever listen to you. The crisis of the moment is all that some can see.

 

Second, there is a difference in helping someone and buying their commitment. The difference is often seen in what follows. Someone who is truly thankful will listen to what you have to say. Someone who is bought will always find another crisis that demands more money and time. It seems some never get out of the hole that they are in. Then comes the hard decision of realizing that they are not interested in the Lord, but your money and your help. Stop the money and stop the help and you never see them again. These judgments are painful to make and they keep us up at night wondering if we are doing the right thing.

 

Third, so many times when Jesus healed, He also taught. Helping someone won’t save their soul. Helping someone may get them out of a jam for now, and they may even be thankful, but that won’t save their soul. Somewhere in all of this, Jesus must be introduced, taught and emphasized. What helping does is show compassion in action. It shows goodness and caring, which is rare these days. People are so into themselves that they rarely think of helping others, especially if there is no upside return in it for them. Understand, a person may not seem to be interested in what you are saying at the moment because there is some physical concern in his life that he can’t see past. Bills have piled up. Mama is in the hospital. There is little food in the house. These things are all that some can see. They can’t move past these things. Like the healings of Jesus, these problems are temporary but they stand before the greater needs and that is salvation.

 

It is interesting that we do not find parents coming to Jesus and asking about their troubled teens. However, Jesus, especially in the sermon on the mount, lays forth the very internal things that often trouble us. Worry. Fear. Lust. Joy. Righteousness. Forgiving others. Those things were never specifically addressed to Jesus in questions or in concerns, but this is what He drove at in His sermons and in His parables. This is what truly plagued the people. This was THE problem, sin.

 

And as we try to help others, all they may be looking for is a friendly face who will help them with their physical concern. As we work with them through these things, we move them to a greater concern, the salvation of their souls. Ignoring the physical problems, won’t open any doors, however, ignoring the spiritual problems won’t help them in the long run.

 

Jesus healed. He has healed us through the forgiveness of our sins. I once was lost and now I am found, so goes a famous hymn and so goes the truth of our lives.

 

Roger

 

16

Jump Start # 2263

Posted on January 16, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2263

Matthew 4:23 “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in the synagogues and proclaiming the Gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.”

 

We continue our thoughts on the miraculous healing power of Jesus. Twice in this passage the expression, “every kind” is used. Every kind of disease and every kind of sickness. Every kind, not just the simple ones that chicken soup and a good nights sleep will cure. But every kind. The big ones as well as the little ones. And, when Jesus healed someone, they didn’t need chicken soup and they didn’t need to go to bed. They were well. They were cured. Right then, right there. No recover. No slight improvements. What ever got them down, was gone.

 

Now, in all of this, there are more interesting things that surface. Maybe I’m the only one who ever thinks about these things, but they do show some great lessons.

 

First, have you noticed that Jesus only heals people. There was one occasion when Jesus sent demons into pigs, but you never see Him making a sick pig well. What about the poor farmer who has only one mule and his mule is down. That stops all his work. We don’t find Jesus healing mules, sick puppies, birds with broken wings, or bringing cats down out of trees.

 

Second, you don’t find Jesus telling the people how to prevent these diseases. You don’t see Jesus telling stone masons to wear some protective goggles so that it will prevent eye injuries. You don’t find Jesus talking about preserving food, throwing out old meat, and eating healthy. You don’t find Jesus talking about vitamins, getting exercise, or dieting. Medical folks today understand the importance of wearing masks, gloves and gowns. It keeps them safe as well as spreading things to others. Why didn’t Jesus share that info with others?

 

Third, while we are on this, there are so many other things that Jesus could have told the apostles that would have helped in their work. Imagine Paul with a copy machine. Just think what Peter could do with a cell phone. And, travel? Instead of months in a boat, they could have flown to places in hours. God knows all. He didn’t reveal any of these things. Printing presses. Technology. Safety in medicine and health. So many lives could have been saved and life could have been so much better. Imagine electricity back then. Imagine refrigeration. Imagine modern surgery. Jesus knew, but Jesus never revealed.

 

Fourth, there are times when Jesus withdrew alone with the disciples. Mark 6 is one of those occasions. They got in a boat and went out to an isolated place away from the people. Now, wasn’t there more people that Jesus could have healed? Wasn’t there more that could have been done? Why is He resting when villages were overcome with diseased, crippled and handicapped people. The demand was great and yet, there is Jesus getting away.

 

The subject of Jesus and healing is very interesting. Too often we simple tuck all of us under the subject of miracles and quickly cover the entire subject in a few rapid moments and are done with it. Jesus healed. It was a miracle. We can’t do that and that’s it. Really?

 

Why did Jesus heal people and not sick animals? Why didn’t Jesus leave strict medical guidelines to prevent future outbreaks? Why didn’t Jesus pull from the future technology that would have helped that generation? Why were there times when He got away and could have been healing even more? These questions make us tap the brakes just a bit. They call upon us to think beyond the obvious. They demand that we lower our nets a bit deeper into the water.

 

The healings were not the focus of His work. They were a way to get the multitudes to see that Jesus can do in an instant what man can never do, given decades. All Jesus needed to do was to say a word. It wasn’t one special or magical word. The power was within Him and with His Father. There were times when Jesus touched blind eyes, leprous hands and the side of a coffin. There were other times when He never saw the sick person. The Canaanite’s demon possessed daughter was in another place when Jesus healed her. He never saw the girl. So, Jesus didn’t have to do a medical assessment of a person. He didn’t have to see the person. He didn’t have to be near the person. His words, His powers, His authority were limitless. He didn’t need satellites, good reception, clear days or even believing hearts. He could command demons and they obeyed Him. He could talk to the dead and they heard Him. There was no disease, no storms, no powers that could match Jesus. He was God on earth.

 

The healings were a way to show all this. In an instant He could restore. In a second, sight and sound could return. Just like that, the dead came back and the demons left. This wasn’t done to run doctors out of business. This was to show a greater need. Not every person had leprosy. Not every person was blind. Not every person had a demon. Yet, every person had sin. The greatest healing, was not in the flesh, but in the heart and the soul of man. Physically, Jesus did what no man could do. Spiritually, Jesus did what no man could do, and, that was to save our souls.

 

Jesus didn’t come here to make life easier. He came to give abundant life and that was spiritually through Him. Salvation, hope, and a redeeming relationship with our Father is Jesus’ greatest work. This is why His attention was upon people. He didn’t show us how to build taller buildings, but rather how to be taller people by walking by faith, forgiving others, and extending grace. He didn’t give insights into up coming inventions, but He showed us how to be servants, how to love all and how to the people of God.

 

When I read about the crippled man who was lowered through the roof, in front of Jesus, I wonder how many people in that crowded house saw that and thought, “I wish I had brought my crippled mother today.” And, yet, how many left that house, with a crippled heart? And, how many leave a Sunday worship service, still sick and still crippled on the inside? We so often pray for our co-workers, our friends and our neighbors who are having surgery and that’s a fine thing to do. But how rarely do we pray for their souls? So, a person survives the surgery only to later die without knowing Jesus? What good has that been? Jesus healed, but His focus and His attention was upon healing sick and diseased hearts that have become plagued with sin. Healing the body lasts for a short time. Healing the soul lasts for eternity.

 

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

 

Roger

 

15

Jump Start # 2262

Posted on January 15, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2262

Mark 1:34 “And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was.”

 

I was thinking the other day about the lasting impact of miracles, especially, healings. There were so many. We may never know exactly how many Jesus healed. As word spread, the crowds that gathered around Jesus didn’t look like a Sunday morning church service, but rather the waiting room of a doctor’s office. Sick, possessed, crippled, all hoping to get near enough to Jesus that He would notice and help them. When Jesus traveled, lepers would shout out His name, hoping for some mercy.

 

How many did Jesus help physically? Hundreds? Thousands? But what was the lasting impact of those healings? Here are a few thoughts:

 

First, everyone healed and the few that were raised, eventually all died. Those that were cured of an illness, later got sick and died. It wasn’t because the miracle wore off. It wasn’t because Jesus wasn’t thorough. They got sick and died because it is appointed unto man to die once. The miracle wasn’t a perpetual “You’ll never get sick” again card that they could pull out and use over and over again.

 

Second, there is no specific indication of anyone being healed a second time. Most of the miracles are generic and the few occasions where names are given, they are not found a second time being healed later on. We don’t read of Jesus healing a person and then later on, one of the apostles healing the same person of another disease. That’s not found in the Scriptures.

 

Third, the healings were for the moment and not a lifetime. Those healed and those raised eventually died, everyone of them. There are no people walking on earth today that was healed by Jesus and now they never get sick and they live forever. The miracles were immediate and for the moment. Jesus did what no one else could do. The healings were upon visible things. Leprosy is something that you noticed in skin color. Deafness, blindness, crippled limbs, those are all easy to notice and verify. We don’t read about heart values being fixed. We don’t read about internal tumors being removed. Did anyone back then have a bad gall bladder? The problem with the internal things, is that it’s hard to notice and detect and examine. It wasn’t hard for Jesus, but it would be hard for the audience. And, here in lies the purpose of miracles. It wasn’t merely to make sick people well. It was to prove that Jesus was Lord of Heaven and Earth. There was nothing that He could not do. No weather system was greater than He was. No demons were greater than He was. No disease was impossible for Him to cure. So, the miracles were fast, immediate and visible. The reason, to point to Jesus as the author of life. The praise would go to God. This wasn’t magic. It was hocus-pocus. The crowds weren’t fooled. No one was suspicious. Jesus didn’t bring these people with Him. They weren’t planted in the audience. It was spontaneous. It was local residents that everyone knew. It was people who had been diseased and crippled for a long time, often decades long.

 

Fourth, so in time, all healed eventually died. What was the lasting impact of those healings? The success wasn’t in the number healed. It wasn’t in how many lepers and how many demons, as if someone had a clipboard and was tallying all of these. The lasting impact is that all these years later you and I believe in Jesus. We believe because He healed. We know He healed. We know He did what no one else could. The impact wasn’t in giving life to people who had no life. It wasn’t in extending years to lepers. It wasn’t in allowing crippled people to return to a normal life. It was in seeing the hand of God do what no one else could do. It became the substance of faith. It gave hope to a world that had lost all hope. It made us realize that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.

 

Finally, if Jesus could make the blind to see and the crippled to walk, things that they could not do, do I not also believe that Jesus can forgive my sins, fill my heart and give me new purpose and direction? Impossible? No. How do you know? Look what Jesus did in the first century. He constantly redefined the word impossible. On our own we make things messy. We become blind and crippled spiritually. We get to the point where things seem impossible. We’ll never be better, we say. We’ll never see Heaven. We nearly throw in the towel and then we come to see what Jesus did with healings. Powerful. Impossible. Incredible. Instantly. And, there in, lies our hope. By faith, we can be saved. The grace of God that opened closed eyes, can open our hearts. The grace of God that gave life to a dead girl, can give life to our dead hearts.

 

What’s the lasting impact of the miraculous healings? It’s our faith in Jesus Christ. It’s our following Jesus Christ. It’s our commitment, dedication and hope in Jesus Christ. Jesus summed this up when He said concerning the crippled man, which is easier, to forgive sins or to say take up your bed and walk? To prove He could forgive, He made the man well. In making him well, He also made him whole.

 

That’s what miracles are about. It’s about Jesus’ greatest work, salvation.

 

Roger

 

14

Jump Start # 2261

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2261

Genesis 3:4 “And the serpent said to the woman, ‘You surely shall not die!’”

There are three recorded times that Satan speaks in the Bible. Each time, he is in a conversation with someone. Here, the first time, with Eve. He lied. Then in Job, he is in a conversation with God about Job. There, he is wrong. In Matthew, he speaks to Jesus. He deceives. Jesus tells us in John that Satan is the father of lies. Nothing good is ever attributed to Satan. His origin is unclear and his future is certain.

 

Satan hasn’t stopped lying. He probably never will. He fills our head with all kinds of ideas, confuses us as to what is really true and tries to get us to stop following Jesus.

 

Consider three lies that often trip us:

 

First, when our prayers are not answered the way we feel they ought to be, we begin to question God. We start to think that God no longer loves us or cares for us. We feel abandoned by God. If God really loved us, we say to ourselves, then He would have given us what we asked for. He didn’t. That means something. It means something bad. God may not be as good as we thought He was. Dark clouds begin forming in our hearts and from that we begin throwing overboard the very things that we once believed in. Satan has lied.

 

Understand first of all, that God is God and He is not a magically Jeanie in a lamp that comes to our every beckoning. In the cartoons, the Jeanie would say, “Your wish is my command.” The Jeanie served the master, the one who rubbed the magically lamp. That’s not the Biblical picture of our relationship with God. He’s not working for us. He doesn’t come running to fulfill our every whim. He is the Lord of Heaven and Earth. It is His will that rules the universe. So, in our Bibles we find God saying “No” to David’s prayer about his sick baby. The baby died. God said “No” to Moses’ request to go into the promise land. God said “No” to Paul’s prayer to remove the thorn in his flesh. And, God even said “no” to Jesus when He asked if the cup could pass. God says “no.” But saying, “no,” doesn’t mean something is bad. He knows better than we do what we need. It is His will, not our will that must be fulfilled.

 

It may be just a good thing that some of our prayers are answered “no.” Too many “yes” can go to our heads and makes us think that God is wrapped around our fingers. Such is never the case. Saying “no,” makes us see that the world is much larger than just ourselves. It makes us trust God. It makes us walk by faith.

 

Second, Satan uses guilt to make us believe that we are too far gone for God to save. He makes us think that we are worthless. He wants us to feel that God has given up on us. Why try, you’ll never be good enough. You can never please Him. You can never be like one of those Christians. Worthless. Loser. Just quit. That’s what Satan wants. And, many do. They turn to the bottle and they find a way to hide from their mistakes among others who are doing the same. Throughout our lives this message has been repeated. It may have come from the lips of our parents who screamed, “You can’t do anything right.” It may have come from a boss who fired us or let us go because we were no longer needed. And, throughout our lives this lie has hung around. Not good enough for varsity. Not good enough for the honor roll. Not the beauty queen. Not first picked. It surfaced every time we broke up with someone we were dating. Failure. Reject. Loser. Satan had us believing that religion was for good people and we certainly weren’t good.

 

However, this is a lie. We are not good enough, yet, God hasn’t given up on us. That’s the Gospel message. Jesus came. He came to find people just like us. He was looking for the broken. He wasn’t here to point fingers, cast away or ridicule. He came to mend what was broken. He came to redeem and save us. Broken people fill the pages of the Bible. Jesus didn’t shun them. He didn’t walk away from them. He invited them. He loved them. He died for them.

 

There is hope in Jesus. We can be changed. God will give us another chance. Forgiveness is possible. The prodigal story tells us this. Ruined and hopeless, that pitiful prodigal crawled home to a father who was running towards him. A celebration followed. Love, acceptance and forgiveness were the songs that filled the air. My son was dead and he has begun to live! Don’t let guilt consume you nor destroy you. Forgiveness is found in Christ.

 

Third, Satan tries to convince us that sin doesn’t matter and that we can get away with things. Our minds tell us that we haven’t done anything really bad. No one is in jail because of us. No one died because of us. It was all done in fun. As they say in a pick up game of basketball, “No blood, no foul.” Sweet as that may sound, it’s a lie. Sin does matter. Eve took a bite of fruit. Lot’s wife turn around and looked. They only did it one time. A bite of fruit. One quick glance. What’s the harm with that? The harm? It disobeyed God. It was sinful. It was wrong and it came with loads of consequences. They had been warned. They knew.

 

And, is it any different today? One quick glance at porn. One look at the test paper in front of me. One snort. One lie. One time. What’s the big deal? The big deal isn’t the number of times. The big deal isn’t how many were injured because of what you did. The big deal isn’t getting caught. The big deal is that God said “don’t,” and you did. You acted as if you knew as much as God does. You acted as if God’s rules don’t apply to you, at least not in that setting. You listened to Satan and not to God.

 

Lying Satan. He’s always trying to get you to listen to him. He thinks he knows better. He believes he can find you a short cut to happiness. He knows where he is headed and we don’t want to be with him.

 

Roger

 

11

Jump Start # 2260

Posted on January 11, 2019 by Jump Starts Daily in Jump Starts Daily | Tagged | Leave a comment

Jump Start # 2260

Ephesians 4:32 “And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

A very sweet Christian asked me a question the other day. With tears in her eyes, she asked, “How do I know if I have forgiven someone?” We talk about forgiving. We teach what forgiveness means. We see how God has forgiven us. But there remains that nagging feeling, “How do I know if I have forgiven?” For her, she still felt the pain. She still remembered. She wants to let it go and she wants to forgive, but images and memories make her wonder and doubt.

 

Forgiveness is hard. I think it was Barclay who said “forgiveness is easy until you have something to forgive.” People can be cruel. Even Christians can be ugly with each other at times. In just an instant, our feelings can be crushed and the lingering results can last a long time. Simply saying, “I forgive you,” doesn’t really begin to let go of all the pain that has been created. It’s like a parent telling one of their children, “Say you’re sorry.” So the child does. Is he really sorry or has he just mumbled back the words that his parents wanted to hear? We can say, “I forgive you,” but has anything changed after that? And, the question remains, “How do I know if I have forgiven someone?”

 

Our verse today really helps. It’s one of those one-two passages, that illustrates what shouldn’t be and then what should be.

 

First, what shouldn’t be. The preceding verse, verse 31, states, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” That’s the starting point in determining whether or not I have forgiven. How do I feel? Six negatives are listed. Bitterness is the starting point. Bitterness is like a cancer that can eat us up. It changes us. We become consumed with bitterness. Our outlook changes, because we are bitter. Few things are right when we are bitter. It’s hard to be upbeat, optimistic and hopeful while bitterness is at the wheel of our hearts. The bitter person can’t move past the hurt. They see few good things in the person that hurt them. Thoughts of getting even, hurting back fills their mind. They want nothing to do with the person that hurt them. From that, things only get worse. Anger, clamor, slander and wrath are the ugly children of bitterness. That bitter spirit makes us tell our hurtful story to others. It rallies the troops for an all out assault upon the person who caused the trouble. Things are said that should never be said. Trouble abounds because we can’t move past the hurt.

 

How do I know if I have forgiven the person? Can you be around that person? Do you want to be around that person? What thoughts do you have toward that person? Now, we are beginning to see whether we have simply said “I’m sorry,” like a child does, or whether we truly have forgiven.

 

Forgiveness changes a relationship. That’s what has happened to us and God. We’ve gone from sinners to being adopted into His family. However, forgiveness is not the same as reconciliation. I can forgive someone even if they never say that they are sorry. I can forgive someone even if he doesn’t care. To be reconciled, we must come together and have an agreement to move forward. It takes one to forgive, but two to reconcile.

 

Second, our verse, continues the extent of how we treat others. When Paul says, let all bitterness be put away from you, he is showing that those feelings are a choice. We may not think they are, but they are. Rather than bitter, we choose to be kind. We choose to be tender. We choose to forgive. Our choice. Our terms. Our time table. Our example is as God has forgiven us.

 

Look at those God forgave in the Bible. The list is long. Noah was drunk. Abraham laughed at God. David committed adultery. Jacob deceived. Jonah ran. The prodigal spent it all. A woman was caught having sex with someone she wasn’t married to. The list is long.

 

Forgiveness is based upon love and grace. It isn’t deserved. It isn’t expected. It isn’t natural. And, it doesn’t make sense. To forgive doesn’t mean the memory is wiped clean. Even God remembers. That seems like a conflict because there are passages where God says I remember no more. Yet, David, long after the sinful incident, the Holy Spirit is telling a writer to tell the story. How could the Holy Spirit know this if God remembers no more? There is Paul, through inspiration, telling us in Timothy that he was formerly a blasphemer. How did the Holy Spirit remember that? To remember no more means that God no longer holds that against us. The record has been changed. The sin has been removed. Memory may recall, but God doesn’t hold it against us anymore.

 

This helps to answer our question. How do I know if I have forgiven? You still remember the pain. Does that mean you have not forgiven? No. What do you do with that pain? Do you continually pick that scab and keep the wound fresh and keep it from healing? Do you dwell upon it often? Do you seem stuck and preoccupied with what was done?

 

I told my friend, to know you have forgiven is to treat the hurtful person as God would want you to. If there is a wedding and the hurtful person will be there, you still attend. To avoid it means you still have problems with that person. There is a funeral and you know the hurtful person will be there. You attend. You don’t slip in at the last second and sneak out, avoiding him at all cost. That’s not kind, tender nor forgiving.

 

The hurtful person may continue to be hurtful. They may not accept your forgiveness. The relationship may never be the same again. Some people, you just have to love at a distance. But the main thing is that you can live in freedom, hope and grace. You are not bitter anymore. You are not eaten up with this. You are not having thoughts that you know aren’t right.

 

Forgiveness is a choice. I remember years ago talking to a Christian about forgiveness. We were walking together through a store. He was telling me how he had forgiven someone for being so hateful toward him. As we turned the isle, there was the very person he was talking about. Amazing. I started talking to this person and turned and the Christian who was with me had turned around and gone down the other direction. He claimed he had forgiven, but his actions didn’t show that. That is not how God is towards us. That is not kindness nor loving.

 

Pray about this subject and the person who has hurt you. Pray that you get this right. It isn’t easy. Forgiving is never easy. But, we can do it, because God says so.

 

Roger