You Have To Forgive

You Have To Forgive

FORGIVE

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

All of us have been hurt at one time or another, and the offender may well have been someone we love. We often try to put the pain behind us and move on, yet most often we just can’t seem to shake off that annoying feeling. So why do we find it so difficult to forgive?

One reason that we struggle with unforgiveness is a simple matter of pride. When people offend us we take it so personal that it affects our pride. In our offended pride, the offence grows much greater than we should allow. It becomes an issue of personal attack rather than an honest mistake or flash of insensitivity on the part of the offender.

Another factor in our unforgiveness is bitterness. We become bitter when we refuse to deal honestly with hurt feelings and then permit the matter to fester in our heart. The growing sense of irritation spreads through our spirit like an infection. It has been rightly said that bitterness is like a poison that you prepare for someone else and then drink yourself. While it silently destroys our life, the person who hurt us may remain completely unaware of our dark feelings.

If you have been hurt recently, pray for the strength and honesty to approach the offender and say, “You did this and it hurt me. But I love you and refuse to allow this destroy our relationship.” As you do this, the Holy Spirit will minister healing to your hurt emotion and fill you with peace.

Prayer: Bind and cast out the spirit of unforgiveness for your heart, and ask grace for those who have hurt you one way or the other.

Scriptural Reading: Ephesians 4:25-32

You Have To Forgive

God Is Love

God Is Love

GOD IS LOVE

We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

The reason God wants us to love is because He is love, and He created us to be like Him – to love. The only reason we’re able to love is because God loves us: “Love comes from God . . . because God is love.” We were created in God’s image to do the two things on earth: Learn to love God and learn to love other people; life is all about love.

But love started with God. He loved us first and that gives us the ability to love others. The only reason you can love God or love anybody else is because God first loved you. And He showed that love by sending Jesus Christ to earth to die for you. He showed that love by creating you. He showed that love by everything you have in your life, it’s all a gift of God’s love.

In order to love others and to become great lovers, we first need to understand and feel how much God loves us. You cannot give to others what you have not received yourself. We don’t want to just talk about love, read about love, or discuss about love; our need is to experience the love of God. We need to reach a day when we finally, fully understand how God loves us completely and unconditionally. We need to become secure in the truth that we cannot make God stop loving us.

Once we’re secure inside God’s unconditional love, we’ll start loving others. We won’t be angry as we’ve been. We’ll be more patient. We’ll be more forgiving. We’ll be more merciful. We’ll let others have grace.

Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to see the love of God so that you will always walk in love.

Scriptural Reading: 1 John 4:7-19

God Is Love

Yes Lord

Yes Lord

YES LORD!

But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” Luke 5:5

When Peter said “yes” to Jesus’ request to get into his boat, and later on to cast his net for a catch, the future apostle’s plans and life were irrevocably changed. The following three benefits Peter received for his obedience to the Lord will be yours when you also walk in obedience to Him:

•  Obedience to God will bring us into our destiny. At that moment of obedience, Peter’s destiny was revealed to him. After Jesus had filled the empty nets with an enormous catch, He transformed Peter into a “fisher of men.” The Lord said to him, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” Peter’s life mission was made known to him through obedience.

•  Obeying God allows Him to demonstrate His power in our life. Peter witnessed the miracle catch of fish that started with a “yes” to a simple request. He could have looked at his to-do list and said, “Too busy.” Or he could have said that would be a waste of time and effort, since they had toiled all night without a catch. Instead, he took the Lord at His word and saw the power of God at work. As a disciple of Christ, he saw first-hand the Lord’s transforming power in his own life.

• Obedience always results in a deeper understanding of God and ourselves. Having seen the miracle of the full nets, Peter gained fresh insight into who Jesus was and how he, Peter was a sinful man. Later on when Jesus asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I am?” Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” It was at that moment of obedience, I believe, Peter had this glorious revelation of Jesus of Nazareth.

What is God asking of you today? What do you have that can be put to His service? Listen carefully, say yes by following His directions, and watch what He accomplishes in and through you!

Prayer: Pray for the grace to submit to the Lord, and do His will at all times.

Scriptural Reading: Luke 5:1-11

Yes Lord

Stay The Course

Stay The Course

STAY THE COURSE

Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. – 1 Corinthians 9:26

We have the choice to pursue the dreams that God places within our hearts. But those dreams cannot be pursued lazily. They have to be pursued with great commitment and discipline. Commitment is a sign of inner character and the first step toward achievement. Without it our dreams of greatness remain just that dreams.

For our dreams of greatness to become the living reality of our lives, we must do these things:

• Stay on course. When you find the path for your dreams commit yourself to it. Commit yourself to the process and the hard work that is required for you to achieve what you are pursuing. Keep your eyes, heart and mind focused on the things that God has placed on your heart to achieve.

• Avoid shortcuts. Anything that promises a quick-fix solution without any serious effort does not offer lasting promise. Don’t go for it. Even if you feel desperate and your situation keeps getting worse, do not allow the temptation and attraction for easy solutions to divert your focus. Short-cuts are normally labyrinths in disguise.

• Pay the price. Everything worth achieving will cost you something. It will cost you time, energy, knowledge, responsibility, excellence and integrity. These are demands that will be made on us. None of us can hope to get to the place that God has appointed for us.

Prayer: Ask the Lord for the discipline and commitment to make your dreams for this year a living reality.

Scriptural Reading: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

#YearOfPower

Stay The Course

It Takes Time

It Takes Time

IT TAKES TIME

Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

It takes years for us to grow to adulthood, and it takes a full season for a fruit to mature and ripen. The same is true for the fruit of the Spirit. The development of Christ-like character cannot be rushed. Spiritual growth, like physical growth, takes time. The same is true for success in other areas of our lives.

When you try to ripen a fruit quickly, it loses its flavor. In most commercial farms, tomatoes are usually picked unripen so they won’t bruise during shipping to the market. Then, before they are sold, these green tomatoes are sprayed with CO2 gas to turn them red instantly. Gassed tomatoes are edible, but they are no match to the flavor of a vine-ripened tomato that is allowed to mature slowly.

While we worry about how fast we grow, God is concerned about how strong we grow. God views our lives from and for eternity, so he is never in a hurry.

The moment you open yourself to Christ, God begins His work in you. His purpose is to make you holy, healthy, and prosperous. For Him to do this work you must trust Him and surrender totally to Him. You may think you have surrendered all your life to Him, but truth is, there is a lot to your life that you aren’t even aware of. You can only give God as much of you as you understand at the moment. Once Christ enters your heart, He begins the campaign to take over more and more territory until all of your life is completely His.

God has promised to finish the work He has begun in you. He is at work in you to bring you to “the full measure of the stature of Christ.” And He will not rest till He finishes His work.

Prayer: By faith, surrender yourself to the Lord; tell Him to have His way and do His work in you.

Scriptural Reading: Philippians 1:1-11

It Takes Time

The Spirit Excellence

The Spirit Excellence

SPIRIT OF EXCELLENCE

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23

It is said that as the great Michelangelo painted the magnificent frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel – lying on his back for endless hours to finish every detail with great care – a friend asked him why he took such pains with figures that would be viewed from a considerable distance. “After all,” the friend said, “Who will notice whether it is perfect or not?” “I will,” replied the artist.

There are two attitudes here – the attitude of Michelangelo’s friend and that of Michelangelo himself. His friend had an attitude that settles for the easy way out. People who have such attitude are only concerned about doing things to please people and not to achieve their full potential. For such people when there is no one looking, they just do a shoddy work and hide it behind a camouflage.

Michelangelo’s attitude on the other hand is the attitude of champions. People who have that attitude do not work just to please people. They work to fulfil their God-given potential. They don’t rest until they can be sure that God is pleased with what they have done. Whether they work behind the scenes or before the public, they strive for excellence. That was the spirit that drove Michelangelo to produce great masterpieces of art that continue to awe the world hundreds of years after his death.

That is the attitude that God wants us to have. He is an excellent God and He requires us to reflect His excellence in all we do.

Prayer: Lord, give me the wisdom and discipline to do my work to the best of my potential.

Scriptural Reading: Colossians 3:22-25

The Spirit Excellence

Be Patient

Be Patient

BE PATIENT

But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. James 1:4

We all want to be successful, and we want it instantly. But there is nothing like instant success. Every enduring success takes time. One of life’s frustrations is that God’s timetable is rarely the same as ours. We are often in a hurry when God isn’t. You may feel frustrated with the seemingly slow progress you’re making in life. But remember that God is never in a hurry. He is always on time. So be patient with God and with yourself.

The Bible is filled with examples of how God uses a long process to develop character, especially in leaders. He took eighty years to prepare Moses, including forty in the wilderness. For 14,600 days Moses kept waiting and wondering, “Is it time yet?” But God kept saying, “Not yet.” Contrary to popular notion, there are no easy steps to spiritual maturity or secrets of instant success. When God wants to make a giant oak, he takes a hundred years, but when He wants to make a mushroom, he does it overnight. Great people grow through struggles and storms and seasons of sacrifices. Be patient with the process.

Remember how far you’ve come, not just how far you have to go. You are not where you want to be, but neither are you where you used to be. Years ago I saw a man wearing a button with the letters PBPGINFWMY. It stood for “Please Be Patient, God Is Not Finished With Me Yet.” God isn’t finished with you, either, so keep on moving forward.

Prayer: Pray for the spirit of patience and endurance so that you will receive all the promises of God.

Scriptural Reading: James 1: 1-8

Be Patient