Behind the Scenes-The Call

Behind the Scenes: The Call

Today, I'm joining Crystal Stine. Click link above to check it out. Click image below of Behind the Scenes to find out what it's about.

The Story

Psalm 106:1-3 came to me after a very real and raw miracle from GOD. GOD called upon me to show grace and forgiveness. So, I did.

From 2006-2009 our lives were chaotic and a mess. You see, our pastor of 6 years had a severe and debilitating heart attack in March 2006. The pastor's wife cut everyone off from communicating or seeing Pastor. The flock began to run amok.

Truth behind the scenes... Pastor was mentoring my husband. Picture with me if you will - Pastor nurturing the growth of my husband's relationship with GOD. Now, bringing it forward - Pastor is removed from the picture all of a sudden and no communication. Panic struck everyone. We all scrambled to make things work without Pastor. Everyone felt as if the rug had been pulled out from under them. We all of a sudden felt as if we weren't worthy anymore... Like we didn't matter anymore. For the next three years I started falling apart as well as my husband.

In 2009 my husband lost his job and was unemployed for most of the year. He hit rock bottom and fell deep into sin. I slipped into heavy depression. One August day we took our dog for a walk in the park. In reality, my husband had decided he was going to give me a good ending. He was going to break up our marriage and leave... GOD had a different plan. That night after the walk GOD kicked it into high gear. My husband decided to confess and seek forgiveness from me for sinning against our marriage. God has been blessing us left and right since!

Jesus Tempation

Different religions have different methods of sin purification. One such is the Kumbh Mela Festival (Grand Pitcher Festival) in Norther India every twelve years. They held this festival last year. See the video below:

India's Kumbh Mela Festival from Javier A. Salinas on Vimeo.

Can you imagine having to do this every 12 years? I could not. Christian - Jesus follower, or anyone else for that matter. There's a savior, Jesus Christ, who went to the Cross to take on ALL the sin of the World for ALL time so that you and I can be forgiven of our sins. The victory is won. There's no need to keep going back and seeking a way of forgiveness of sins. All you have to do, right where you are, only travel required is to fall on your knees right before GOD, is to repent and ask HIM for forgiveness and it will be done! See scripture below about Jesus being tempted by the devil.

Matthew 4
New Living Translation (NLT)
The Temptation of Jesus

 ¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. ² For forty days and forty nights he fasted and became very hungry.

 ³ During that time the devil^[a] came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”

 ⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,

   ‘People do not live by bread alone,
      but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’^[b]”

 ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city, Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, ⁶ and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! For the Scriptures say,

   ‘He will order his angels to protect you.
   And they will hold you up with their hands
      so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’^[c]”

 ⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’^[d]”

 ⁸ Next the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. ⁹ “I will give it all to you,” he said, “if you will kneel down and worship me.”

 ¹⁰ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say,

   ‘You must worship the Lord your God
      and serve only him.’^[e]”

 ¹¹ Then the devil went away, and angels came and took care of Jesus.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 4:3 Greek the tempter.
   
2. Matthew 4:4 Deut 8:3.
   
3. Matthew 4:6 Ps 91:11-12.
   
4. Matthew 4:7 Deut 6:16.
   
5. Matthew 4:10 Deut 6:13.
   

---

2 Corinthians 5:21
New King James Version (NKJV)
²¹ For He (God) made Him (Jesus) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

See God's Simple Plan of Salvation here. If you haven't accept Christ as your savior visit the link. Read the page. What have you got to lose? Sin? O' Mighty God, take my sin. Praise You Jesus. If sin is the only thing you got to lose, do it. Sin isn't all it's cracked up to be. In fact, it will crack you up. Literally! Delve into God's word and you'll find multiple places in scripture that tell about Jesus healing mentally disturbed people and restored them to new minds. Wouldn't that be awesome? I know it has been for me. Yes, I've had my moments of being mentally disturbed. Only God knows the depths I dove to. He can help you too.

Prayer: Dear Heavenly God, Father, thank You for Your son Jesus taking on my sin and all the sin of the World making it possible to have eternal life in Heaven, with You. I pray God for all those who are lost, teetering on the fence and those who just simply need an encouraging word to lift them out of the darkness. I pray that today is the day they are lifted and encouraged and the lost are found. I pray this in Jesus' name, amen.

Longsuffering [20100405]

Hello and happy Monday. Welcome to the blog. Today marks the start of a new word from my list. Come along on the journey and see what's in store.

The month of April I will be focusing on longsuffering. What the bible says about it and how it applies to our life. Today we'll start off with the definition and history of longsuffering.

Definition of longsuffering: long and patient endurance of injury, trouble, or provocation: years of long-suffering and illness.

So, as you can see in the definition it involves more than just being patient. It's a long endurance. Hence, "longsuffering". How many of you can say you do good at longsuffering? I haven't! Only God knows how impatient I've been in this department. I'm so grateful for HIS grace and forgiveness to see me through.

Now, the Int'l Standard Bible Encyclopedia (history of long-suffering) says this:

• long-suf'-er-ing ('erekh 'appayim; makrothumia):

  The words 'erekh 'appayim, translated longsuffering, mean literally, "long of nose" (or "breathing"), and, as anger was indicated by rapid, violent breathing through the nostrils, "long of anger," or "slow to wrath." Click here to read more.
  

I find the history of words fascinating. After reading that; how many of you can that you're slow to anger? I haven't been. Sometimes, I need a swift kick in the pants to be reminded by God to slow my roll.

So, now, what does God's word say? Let's take a peek.

2 Corinthians 6:4-10
⁴ But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ⁵ in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; ⁶ by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, ⁷ by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸ by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹ as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; ¹⁰ as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Ephesians 4:1-3
¹ I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, ² with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, ³ endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Colossians 3:12-13
¹² Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; ¹³ bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

2 Peter 3:8-9
⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

[Emphasis mines]

Click here --> Matthew Henry to read what he says.

Um, I think I'm in big trouble. What about you? God's word also calls for us to endure each other and to be forgiving of each other. It seems it all comes down to obedience and forgiveness just as we've seen before. God is mighty patient of us. See in v.9 of 2 Peter 3. He keeps His promises. He's not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

HE's waiting patiently. How long will HE have to wait... for you? I know HE's really been waiting for quite some time... according to human standards. But, also in that same passage above, His timing of a day is like that of a thousand years.

I don't know about you, but, I'm not going to live a thousand years. I may only live one more day though. So might you. I thank God for His forgiveness and the gift of salvation.

How longsuffering are you? Surrender your will to God and allow the Holy Spirit to flood your soul. He will be your guide and help you to be longsuffering.

Prayer: Dear Father God, I pray for each of my readers to surrender their will to You and that they would be longsuffering in Your name. I pray that I would be more-so longsuffering for You. Thank You for Your forgiveness and salvation. In Jesus' name, amen.

Until next time. Happy Monday!

Peace & Forgiveness

Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

Forgiveness is one of the hardest things for we humans do to give. As the scripture above states "as the elect of God" we must be able to forgive others who have wronged us. Afterall, we've wronged others as well. We must seek forgiveness also.

This next piece is a heart wrenching convicting piece that strips us of our right to hold a grudge:

In his book, Being the Body, Chuck Colson recalls a supernatural act of forgiveness. Rusty had brutally killed several people and sat on death row. While awaiting his fate, Rusty became a Christian and immediately began to grow in Christ. He sent letters to the families of his victims, apologizing for his actions and asking their forgiveness. About a year later, one of the families arranged to visit with him. You can imagine the tension as Rusty faced the family of one of the victims. And you can imagine Rusty's surprise when the father said, "For years I hated you. But when I came to understand that Christ has forgiven me of all my sins, I knew I had no choice but to forgive you. We're here today to let you know that we forgive you."

Undoubtedly, it is supernatural. It could only come from a Spirit of Christianity. We can forgive, because He forgave us. He shows us a better way. A way of freedom from bitterness and punishment. Christ does it through us. Believing this brings us peace with God. And this peace gives us a desire to be at peace with others—through forgiveness.

What impossible injustices--things you've grown weary of dealing with on your own--do you need to hand over to Christ? Make a list and ask Him to lead you to full forgiveness. Pray for whatever He must do in you to free you to forgive.

Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14
"If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.

What's your definition of forgiveness?

It might look something like this:

• Excusing what someone did to you
• Forgetting what happened
• Denying, or stuffing, your feelings
• Reconciling instantly every time

God's word doesn't mean any one of those things.

It's more like this:

• Embracing the offender--Christ modeled forgiveness at its best when He forgave and welcomed back those who hurt Him the most.
• Being proactive--When Jesus said from the cross, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34), He was forgiving people before they even asked for it.
• Surrendering the right to get even--The essence of forgiveness, especially in our families, is letting go of our rights to punish and see justice done. Forgiveness is evident when one person ceases to demand restitution for hurt feelings and wounded pride.

Forgiveness is one of the most important qualities you must practice if your relationships are to become great.

I have heaps of work to do on this one. I also thought that forgiveness was in that first list. Boy was I wrong! I hope that we can all evaluate and reassess our ideas of forgiveness and be pro-active in correcting any wrong thinking and build our relationships to be more Godly.