~After Forgiveness pt. 2~

Sipping tea on this dreary gray day...after the storm. The storm took out our internet...but many nearby are without power. I am thankful that we have power. In the last blog, I wrote about forgiveness...there is power in forgiveness. Power in forgiveness? That same power that Jesus used to forgive.

Jesus, hung on the cross for each of us. As he hung and looked down at the crowd of people yelling up at Him, a sadness in His heart for all of us, knowing that He came to the earth to show us that we could have a relationship with Father God, Daddy. He looked and saw the crowd. Did he also see those who weren’t there? Those of us yet to sin? To spit in His face? To mock Him? I don’t know. I do know that He took upon Himself all of the sins that were and that were to come. He looked out at the crowd and said, “Father forgive them…” That was powerful! That was from the Holy Spirit! How else would He have the strength to forgive?

There were theives hanging by His side.  One theif mocked Jesus. The other rebuked the theif who mocked Jesus saying, “Do you not fear God since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the the reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. And He (Jesus) said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.~Luke23:40-43

There is a difference in the crowd and the theif who asked Jesus to remember him. There is a difference in Jesus’ forgiveness of the crowd and of the theif. The crowd continued to mock Jesus. To accuse Him. To taunt Him. The crowd, like those in our lives who have abused, threatened, caused harm to a loved one, deeply wounded us...The crowd was forgiven by Jesus. He gave them the grace of His Father. He showed mercy and compassion. So, like Jesus, we have that power to forgive because of the Holy Spirit in us. As gut wrenching and difficult as it may be...we can...in Jesus name and with the power of the Holy Spirit...forgive. As, Jesus demonstrated, He forgave! There was a difference in the “after” of the forgiveness for the crowd and for the theif.

To the theif hanging by His side, He said, “today you will be with Me in paradise.” Jesus forgave the theif! Jesus would have a relationship (in paradise) with that theif. The “after” came with grace! It came with mercy! It came with compassion! Unlike the mocking crowd. The crowd that caused Jesus so much heart ache whose “after” was a “type” of comfort...if they cared to know...they were forgiven. Jesus didn’t say, “hey, today we’re going to have a big party! We are going to celebrate that I forgave you!” Nor did He say, “I forgave you so now let’s hang out sometime.” No, Jesus forgave! They still mocked! Their hearts were still hard! Whereas to the theif hanging beside Him, Jesus said, “you are forgiven! You and I will be together in paradise! We will hang out sometimes!”

We are told to forgive! Forgiveness takes Holy Spirit power! As in 2 Corinthians 2: 5 and 7, we are told to comfort after we forgive. We have given mercy! (that is a tough thing to do without Jesus and the Holy Spirit). The “comfort” after forgiving someone may be that smile you give them when you see them. It may be a note in the mail. It may be hanging out with them some. OR with some whom we need to forgive who have shattered our lives, is Father asking you to comfort them? Maybe, maybe not. Jesus didn’t command it. Sometimes it isn’t possible to comfort the offender. Even if you “comfort” someone who has offended us, we are not guaranteed a positive response.

After you have forgiven an offender, have a real heart to heart talk with Father. Your willingness (obedience) to do what He tells you...is what He wants. I know in the previous blog (first part) I encouraged you to forgive and comfort. In that instance, I was more referring to more “simple” wrongs done against us...slander, attitude issues, an argument that no one “won”....resentments you need to deal with...forgive! And yes comfort! (show mercy). The more heart wrenching, gut wrenching offenses need to be forgiven...you need healing time...but with that Holy Spirit power, you CAN forgive! As in the situation with the crowd, unless you are told by Father, there is a difference in the result. You can have mercy! And heal and move on with God.

With the power of the Holy Spirit, you can forgive! The true Comfort comes from Him! When you forgive, you will have freedom! Freedom! Joy! Peace!  

~After Forgiveness~

Sipping my tea with you...I'd like to talk with you about something that for some maybe makes you uncomfortable or wince a little...I want to talk with you about.......Forgiveness.

Many of us are familiar with reading or hearing things like, "Forgive others because that sets you free." "You need to forgive others so that God will hear your prayers and forgive you." (Mark 11:25) These things are familiar to us right? 

To forgive someone who has deeply hurt you emotionally, physically, or mentally is extremely difficult. We can't do it on our own. I am not going to spend time here detailing various abusive situations that need forgiveness. To be able to forgive someone, you need to have a heart to heart with Father. Pour out your heart, mind, and soul to Him. Search the scriptures. Father is there for you to lean on, cry on...He has BIG shoulders and He is your amazingly wonderfully caring and compassionate Daddy. He loves you like no one ever has! He wants the best for you as only He can. I encourage you to go to Him and ask Him for His help in forgiving that one who hurt you so deeply.

I want to focus on something regarding forgiveness but not delving into details of  deep wounds (you and God can gt into those details if you need to forgive a deep wound). Some of you need to forgive others simply for the way they treat you. Maybe whatever it was that happened has driven a wedge between you an another...it dug at that tender spot in your heart. Or whatever you need to forgive of someone is something they have done against you...lied about you...slandered your name...nothing truly extremely abusive but they have offended you and there is hurt there...an emotional wound.

So, we know we need to forgive that person. Jesus told us to forgive others as our Father in heaven forgives us. Did you know that you have a responsibility AFTER you forgive? 

Check this out:

 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you.....so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.~2 Corinthians 2:5,7

Paul had not been with those in Corinth (to forgive anyone) but he was telling them that if someone caused THEM pain, they are to forgive the person. Did you read that next part? "and comfort him". What?!?!? We not only are supposed to forgive the one who hurt us, wronged us...but we are to comfort that person? 

Think about this...we, the Jesus follower, once hurt Jesus...wronged Jesus...with our attitudes and actions. In order to become a Jesus follower, we needed to ask His forgiveness. He forgave us for all that we did against Him. Was that easy? No! He went to the cross for us! He bled in agony with nails in His hands and feet and a nasty crown of thorns pressed down on His head. He sacrificially forgave us. 

Jesus forgave...then He comforted. He rose from the dead...to walk out...to tell us that He would be with us always and that He was sending His Spirit to be with us...to comfort us. After all the things we did to Him...took Him to that cross....He forgave and comforted! 

Jesus follower, you are to be like Christ. Forgive! Comfort! After you have had the help of Jesus to forgive the offender, ask Jesus how it is He wants you to comfort that person. Maybe it's simply to smile at them whenever you see them. Maybe it is to do some sort of an act of kindness. Maybe send them an encouraging note. Ask Jesus, He is the Comforter of ALL comforters! He will guide you.

I urge you, to take to heart that passage in 2 Corinthians...forgive and comfort! When you obey Father in doing this, you will be changed! Your communication (prayers) with Father will be more heart felt and you will hear Him more clearly. Your heart, soul, and mind will have real Joy. You will have an amazing Freedom!

Forgive! Comfort!

~God Smack~

Again I am sipping my tea here with you...reflecting. The rain was pouring down outside and now appears to be slowing down. We needed the rain. The earth was dry. Refreshing! YES! Now the earth is refreshed. 

I have completed reading the Psalms and have begun to read a new book...well new to me. The book is all about fervent praying. I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel and think I am more Jesus-y than I am...more spiritual. Then I get a subtle smack of reality. I am me here...open...honest...so I will tell you that I have been "smacked" with the reality of my "Jesus-y" life in the past couple weeks.

I was reading a devotional about pride. Pride? "Na, can't relate. It's never been an issue with me", I told God. Father said, "really?" Looking up at Him, "well I am not one who goes around saying 'Oh look at me! See what I have done! See how good I do things.' So, no, God, it's not an issue with me." Again Father whispered, "really!" This time more in a "tone". So, I sat in my chair thinking. Well, this was a wake up call. I HAD been being prideful in a way I never thought I would or that I thought of as prideful until I searched my heart and soul. I needed to humble myself. I was prideful in being Jesus-y. What? How can you be prideful in that, you ask. Easy! I cherished my time with Father and all that I was learning from Him. That isn't prideful, you say. You are correct! Learning from Him and being with Him is not prideful BUT the pride came in when I began to think, (oh and this is even humbling to admit), but I began to think that I was a better Jesus follower than some. Ouch! That hits at my heart and soul. It is the truth. It was pride. So, I had to deal with that with Father! We dealt with it! So now, I can honestly say, I no longer think or feel that way! Whew! Then I was recently "smacked" with another reality.

I am reading a book now, as I said, about praying fervently. The very first chapter was focused on praying to get your passion back. "Well, God, I will read this chapter because I really like the author and how she 'talks' and I will very likely find some good things in here that she says," I told Father. I began to read. She had very good things to say. Besides, I like her writing style because it is real and it is like she is there talking to me. As I was reading, Father tapped me on the shoulder. "Um, you do commune with me a lot, but you don't get down and passionately talk to Me." I took a pause in my reading. I searched my heart and soul. Wow! Smack! I do talk to Father on and off all day long...and I love that communication. I talk and listen as we go about our day. But He was right, of course, it has been a long time since I truly fervently and passionately prayed. Oh, of course I pray for issues and people as need arises. I have not been fully participating in prayer! I learned, in reading, that I need to return to the heart wrenching prayers! The lifting of my hands up in prayer! The deeper life prayers! 

I was "God smacked" twice within a couple of weeks. Some may call them "wake up calls". It's important to soul search. The time of reading the Psalms taught me the importance of obeying God. There was a reason and learning from Him wanting me to only focus on the Psalms and no other written books. For me, the main reason was obedience. I listened to and learned from Father by obeying. Other authors had become my learning. Father showed me that my learning must come from His Word and not what others have to say about His word. Yes, He gave them the gift and ability of writing and that is well and good BUT His Word is Truth and THE Word! The Psalms showed me things....and then I was ready to move on back into reading what people had to say. This time with a different approach. 

I want to challenge you. Maybe challenge is the wrong word. I want to Inspire you to look deep into your heart and soul. Maybe you will get assistance from a book. Searching scriptures WILL help. But, look into your heart and soul. Is there something hidden that you need to take care of with Father. I honestly had no idea there were a couple hidden things in me that I had to go to Father with until I read from things others had to say. Maybe someone has confronted you with something you need to change and you put it off as more of a criticism. Whatever the case, talk to Father about it. He listens. Wait for Him to respond. Be still! Sit quietly with Him! 

"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:12-13

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength." Mark 12:30

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you, I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" Ezekiel 36:26

~Praise~

I enjoy sipping my tea here with you as we share together. If you have been reading along here for a while you know that I have been reading the Psalms. I have read many of them before but now I am reading them in the order written in the Bible. There are a variety of emotions expressed in the Psalms. They were written by different people...some of whom I had not heard of before....you can check them out for yourself :) 

Sometimes I read just one Psalm a day. Sometimes I read a few...it all depends on the flow of the Psalms. Many Psalms repeat historical stories for the people of that day in order for them to learn from their past. Some of the Psalms are lamenting. Many give praise to Father. As we go back and forth in our emotional and spiritual talks with Father...praising Him, whining (lamenting)...praising Him....so does the Psalmist at times in the same passage. We are so human! 

We express our needs, wants, desires to Father. We know we sound so selfish in that as He has given us ALL we need. He is our strength! He is our hope! He is our Joy! He is our constant! He IS! As I said, it is so human to lament...or whine. Think of this, Jesus gave up the sounds of heaven...the singing, the rejoicing, the praising...to come to this chaotic world. Jesus gave up the beauty, beauty that cannot even begin to be described...to come to this world His Father created that has lost its "shine". Jesus gave up being side by side with His Father, to come to earth to walk among people and yes, still be able to talk with His dad but had to dwell among the people here who doubted Him, came to Him only for their needs, lied about Him...oh yes, some believed He said He was who He claimed to be. He lived here with people who were always wanting from Him.

Are we any different? There were some who "sang" His praises. Some understood that He was God in flesh as He claimed. They wanted to be near Him. They worshiped Him. One lady poured her most expensive perfume over His feet. Was that a waste? No! Jesus gave His all for all! This lady knew His worth! As I said, most WANTED from Him...Few PRAISED Him for WHO He was(is). 

We need to realize His "worth". Jesus, our Lord, gave up Everything for each individual person. He gave His life on the cross. “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!”~Rev. 5:12

How is it then that we forget to give Him praise? We go about our daily life doing this and that. When troubles come, we are SURE to go to Him and tell Him our woes. Sure it is easy to praise Him and sing His praises when everything in life is peachy. Oh, we lift up our hands in our church worship services praising and singing...that is all well and good! Keep doing that! But out and about in our daily life...how often do we praise Him? How often do you thank Him for something minor...like remembering where you put your cell phone? or thanking Him for the beautiful birds that come and eat out of your feeders? How often do you tell Him you are glad for this or that? or that you are thankful for that one amazing friend in your life? 

We need to praise...praise...PRAISE...keep Praising! "They" say that when you do something for 30 days in a row, it becomes a habit. Challenge: as you go about your day, for the next 30 days Praise/Thank Jesus for small and large things in your life. It will become a habit! As you go about your day, shoot up a praise to Him on and off. 

"I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;I will sing praise to my God while I have being."~Psalms 104:33

Live that Psalm! Memorize it! Our Lord is so worthy of all of our praise! He is our Life and Breath! He is our Strength! He is our Peace! He is our Joy! He is our Savior! He is our EVERYthing! 

"The Lord is my Strength and my song, and He has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise Him, my father's God and I will exalt Him"~Exodus 15:2


Hallelujah!

Hallelujah~to boast in God, let us praise the Lord