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Jesus, LOL | Jesus, LOL | ||
Please be praying for the Turner family and | Please be praying for the Turner family and | ||
Revision as of 21:38, 10 March 2006
Jesus, LOL
Please be praying for the Turner family and
the ordeal that they are going through. Also, pray
for the Harmon family at the tragic loss of Scott’s
brother.
I would like to thank Larry Hamby for
sharing an article with me on forgiveness. The
article is entitled, The Heart of Forgiveness. In
this article, Steven S. Lemley gives some valuable
insights and interesting illustrations. One point
brought out in the article was that when Jesus gave
the “Lord’s Prayer” the only thing in the prayer
that Jesus commented on was forgiveness. "But if
you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will
not forgive your sins." (Matthew 6:15, NIV)
I was joking with Larry when he gave me the
article that I didn’t like to study forgiveness,
because Jesus said that I have to forgive if I want
to be forgiven. Actually, because of the
forgiveness that Jesus has offered me, I can
forgive. It isn’t fair what some people have done
to me. They don’t deserve my forgiveness. The
fact is, I don’t deserve the Lord’s forgiveness.
Yet, I have received it. If God has forgiven me,
even though it wasn’t just or fair, how can I not
forgive others?
One other thing about forgiveness is that it
frees me. I may forgive someone else and they
never feel any differently about me. But, I feel
different if I truly forgive. A quote of unknown
origin found in this article stated, “Harboring
unforgiveness is like drinking poison and waiting
for the other person to die!” That is a powerfully
true statement. The resentment that I carry doesn’t
hurt the other person a bit. It will however, destroy
me.
Let me see do I understand this correctly? If
I refuse to forgive others, God won’t forgive me?
If I harbor unforgiveness, I only hurt myself?
Maybe I should give careful consideration about
forgiving anyone whom I have not yet forgiven,
If not for their sake, for mine.
One last thought, we are commanded to
forgive. "Be kind and compassionate to one
another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ
God forgave you." (Ephesians 4:32, NIV)
The standard of forgiveness that we have been
commanded to keep is the standard that God has
used toward us. We must forgive others as He
has forgiven us.
Russell
REMEMBER!
Dec.
5 Adult One Christmas Party
Dec.
6 Ladies Holiday Brunch.
Dec.
9 Deliver Cheer Baskets
Dec.
13 Cactus Family Christmas Celebration
Dec.
14 Special Offering
Dec.
19 2nd Annual Feast of Joy
Page 2
GLAD TO SEE JESUS
—When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad (em p hasis m ine), for he had
long desired to see him , b ec ause he had heard ab out him , and he was hop ing to see
som e sig n done b y him “ (L u k e 2 3 :8 R S V ). T h e N ew In tern a tio n a l V ers io n tells u s th a t
H ero d —w a s g re a tly p le a s e d “ to s ee J es u s , w h ile M o ffa tt s a y s th a t —H a ro d w a s g re a tly
d e lig h te d to s ee J es u s “.
H ero d is lik e a c h ild in a c a n d y s to re. H e h a s h ea rd a b o u t th is c eleb rity n a m ed
J es u s , a n d h e is g o in g to g et to s ee h im ! Y o u c a n a lm o s t en v is io n h im ju m p in g u p a n d
d o w n a n d c la p p in g h is h a n d s to g eth er w ith ex c item en t. W h en J es u s a rriv es in h is
p res en c e, H ero d is —v ery g la d ...g rea tly p lea s ed ...g rea tly d elig h ted to s ee J es u s .“
D o n ‘t b e d ec eiv ed ! T h is is a v ery s u p erfic ia l th in g . T o H ero d it‘s lik e g o in g to s ee
S ieg fried a n d R o y . —S h o w m e s o m e m a g ic !“ —I w a n t a s ig n !“ J o h n M a s efield in h is p la y ,
—T h e T ria l o f J es u s ,“ s eem s to b e rig h t o n ta rg et w h en h e s h o w s H ero d a s a s u p erfic ia l
c h a tterer, c u rio u s o v er th e la tes t s en s a tio n .
P o o r H ero d , H e h a s b efo re h im th e W o rd m a d e fles h , th e b elo v ed S o n o f G o d ,
th e lig h t o f th e w o rld , th e b rea d o f life, th e S a v io r, th e C h ris t a n d a ll H ero d c a n th in k o f
is —J es u s th e en terta in er.“ H ero d b ec a m e q u ite irrita ted th a t J es u s w o u ld n o t a n s w er h is
s illy q u es tio n s , o r w o rk a m ira c le to s a tis fy h is c u rio s ity , s o H ero d trea ted J es u s —w ith
c o n tem p t a n d m o c k ed h im .“
It‘s in c red ib le th a t H ero d c o u ld lo o k J es u s in th e fa c e a n d n ev er g et a n y
c o n c ep tio n o f J es u s ‘ g rea tn es s . W h a t a ju d g m en t th is w a s o n H ero d (a n d p erh a p s
o n m a n y o f u s ). O n o n e o c c a s io n J es u s s a id , F o r ju d g m en t I c a m e in to th is w o rld ,
th a t th o s e w h o d o n o t s ee m a y s ee, a n d th a t th o s e w h o s ee m a y b ec o m e b lin d “
(J o h n 9 :3 9 ). H ero d ‘s rea c tio n to J es u s s h o w s h o w s p iritu a lly b lin d h e rea lly w a s .
Q u es tio n . A re w e a ls o b lin d ?
J o h n G ip s o n
W in d s o n g C h u rc h o f C h ris t
