How Does Intense Anger Interfere with Hearing?

Can you imagine being so angry that it’s impossible to listen to reason or do what is appropriate? Jonah, the Old Testament prophet, became angry with God for not destroying the wicked city of Nineveh. He mistakenly believed God loved Nineveh and hated him, which prevented him from receiving God’s blessing and reward.

When the people of Nineveh repented, they were given a new perspective on the meaning of life. That’s what the Prodigal Son experienced in a filthy pigpen. He realized that his mistakes and bad choices were responsible for his suffering and pain but that his father would be merciful and forgiving.

Jonah mistakenly believed he had lost God’s favor when God saved the people of Nineveh. The older brother of the Prodigal Son felt he had lost his father’s favor when his father gave a party for his rebellious brother. His anger prevented him from knowing the meaning of forgiveness. What a foolish mistake!                       

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I correct and punish everyone I love. So make up your minds to turn away from your sins. …If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.

~Revelation 3:19,23 Contemporary English Version

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A New Year of Hope: Lay a New Foundation with God's Peace

When you think about the word foundation, what comes to your mind? What do you visualize? What are the main ingredients in a foundation that carries the weight of hope and blessings and is supported by the peace that only God can provide? A life based on God’s word provides strength for meeting each day’s challenges.

Secret sins that date far back in your life can sabotage the blessings God wants to bestow on you. So go in search of what you have hidden away from the light of God’s forgiveness and mercy. It is not too late to repent and come clean with Christ Jesus.

Since this is the beginning of a new year, why not break with the past and permit the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to give you a new start by cleansing  you from all unrighteousness? You may have to make a new start every day, but that’s okay with God. He understands and will help you do it. Don’t hesitate. “Come every soul by sin oppressed, there’s mercy with the Lord.” Happy New Year. 

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For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

~Jeremiah 29:11 New King James Version

Everyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.

~2 Corinthians 5:17 Contemporary English Version

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Healed by Forgiveness and Faith

The second chapter of Mark’s Gospel relates a story of a paralyzed man receiving healing. He and his friends made a valiant effort to gain an audience with Jesus so the paralytic could be healed. Imagine this man's response as Jesus pronounced him healed, saying: "Your sins are forgiven. Rise up and walk."

Mark’s Gospel gives us this account for two distinct reasons. First, there’s a connection between various types of illness and the role forgiveness of sin plays in receiving healing. The second reason is to let us know persistence is often required to get to a place where healing can be secured. Imagine the courage it took for this man to submit to Jesus for healing.

These friends persevered until Jesus recognized their friend’s need. Faith and hope inspired them to press on in their pursuit of Jesus. Their determination and faith amazed Jesus. He responded to their friend, "Your sins are forgiven. Get up and go home." Do you need to hear these words for the burden you’re carrying? There’s no limit to God's mercy and forgiveness. 

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When Jesus saw how strongly they believed that he would help, Jesus said to the sick man, “Son, your sins are forgiven!”

…Then turning to the paralyzed man, he commanded, “Pick up your stretcher and go on home, for you are healed!”

The man jumped up, took the stretcher, and pushed his way through the stunned onlookers! Then how they praised God. “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” they all exclaimed.

~Mark 2:5, 11-12 The Living Bible

Believing-prayer (the prayer of faith) will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you have sinned, you’ll be forgiven – healed inside and out.

~James 5:15 The Message

Want Forgiveness? Then Forgive...

 Joseph’s brothers needed to be forgiven but would not ask for it until they experienced a severe crisis. Seeking forgiveness for their own cruel behavior did not come easy because they blamed Joseph, citing his pompous attitude as justification. God used circumstances to remind them where they had sinned and failed to be forgiving.

We as individuals have ways of suppressing guilt for failing to honor God’s requirement for forgiveness. We take the easy way out by denying we’re at fault and avoiding whomever we've offended. Yet God consistently gives us opportunities to clear the air. The sad part is we undermine God's purpose and plan for us. “If someone has something against you, go make it right.”

God understands our humanness including our lack of character strengths. What God expects from us is to forgive others, which requires close self-examination of our weaknesses including the tendency to be resistant. We must be vulnerable enough to see ourselves as needing God’s mercy and then to extend that mercy to others.  

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Be gentle and ready to forgive; never hold grudges. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

~Colossians 3:13 The Living Bible

“In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.”

~Matthew 6:14-15 The Message

Mercy Trumps Justice

There’s something about human nature that calls out for justice to be administered to those who cause suffering. When Dinah, the daughter of Jacob, was raped, her brothers murdered the perpetrator, his father and other adult males in the village. Dinah’s brothers did not want justice. They wanted revenge.

God is never active in helping people get revenge because He is a God of justice and, as such, expects us to seek justice because revenge does not consider mercy or forgiveness. What Dinah’s brothers failed to do was to let justice take its course. They did not realize God’s approach to justice perfectly matches the crime.

It’s important to appreciate that God will use whatever method he deems necessary to see that justice is administered. God wants us to understand and accept that "there is no true justice unless mercy is a part of it." We must “let our love for justice be exceeded only by our love of mercy." If God had not shown us mercy, where would we be?
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The Lord has told us what is right and what he demands: "See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God." 
~MICAH 6:8  Holy Bible - Contemporary English Version

You will be judged on whether or not you are doing what Christ wants you to. So watch what you do and what you think. But if you have been merciful, then God's mercy toward you will win out over his judgment against you. 
~JAMES 2:12-13 The Living Bible 

Self-Respect: the Means for Self-Love - Part 3

Self-acceptance, self-respect, and self-love are all interconnected.  A young man graduating from high school was so overburdened with guilt that assurance of his salvation was beyond consideration. By his mid-twenties he was in a crisis with himself, with what he felt called to do, and with God.

When Jesus confronted the accusers of the woman caught in adultery with their own sin, they backed down even though their accusation had merit. When Jesus told the woman he did not condemn her but to go and sin no more, did he infer that she was to be perfect? He was calling her to a higher level of accountability and a more acceptable lifestyle.

This is an issue and struggle with so many Christians. Self-respect, self-acceptance, and self-love hinge on our choice of lifestyle. Internalizing God’s forgiveness and cleansing made possible by confession of sin and faith in Christ Jesus will dissolve guilt and make self-acceptance possible. God’s gift of faith empowers us to choose a better way.  

Hero or Failure? Riding the Roller Coaster - Part 1

Consistency in practicing personal values requires time and commitment, in addition to thought-out, self-imposed boundaries. Gideon, the Old Testament judge, lived with two sets of values. Judges 8:31 identifies this duality. Gideon had a concubine who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

The Life Application Bible has this comment: "The relationship between Gideon and a concubine produced a son who tore apart Gideon's family and caused tragedy for the nation.” Gideon's story illustrates that heroes in battle are not always heroes in daily life. No matter who you are, moral negligence is the pathway to sorrow and regret.

What causes moral laxness? Perhaps having too much self-confidence, or thinking you’re above failure? What seems like fun and pleasure may produce bitter consequences. Remember this warning: sin in haste and repent at leisure. Aren't you glad you can make choices that honor Christ Jesus? God's forgiveness is for anyone who earnestly seeks it. 

Repentance: Letting Go of Sin - Part 1

I once heard a friend describe an acquaintance as an "accident waiting to happen." My friend was speaking humorously, but some behaviors suggest a recklessness that gives birth to heartbreak and sorrow. Interestingly, some people often gain notoriety because of their resilience to recover from the suffering of terrible tragedies.

Resilience can be a means for continuing immoral behavior. Turning from evil behaviors can be rejected even when the necessity to change cannot be denied. Godly repentance indicates the Holy Spirit is nudging you to face the truth and realize the certainty that Christ Jesus lives in you.

God's mercy and forgiveness sets in motion a process of transforming an arrogant, unrepentant person into a new, Christ-centered person. Ephesians 4:1 explains that you are being made new in your attitude and will experience a new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Won't you give God permission to make this transformation of love within you?