Fill in the blank: It is justified to kill a child in the womb when ________.

This is a powerful and compelling argument against the practice of abortion on demand.

These are my raw notes of Norm Wakefield’s second talk at the 2011 Christian Life Conference in Monroe, WI

• What is the living hope to which we are born again?
  • 1 Pet 1:3-4
  • Being born again comes through the resurrection of Jesus
  • A hope of an inheritance
  • Is there anything that Peter did that could have made his relationship with Jesus perish, be defiled or fade away? Yes
  • But the relationship was not based on him, but on the work of Jesus! Peter had hope because the relationship he had with Jesus was not based on anything he did, but was based on Jesus love for him

• How did Jesus reveal Himself to Peter?
  • Jn 21:7, 12-14
  • After two manifestations of Jesus, Peter still goes back fishing
  • Peter has failed – he is disillusioned and discouraged
  • What was Peter’s view of Jesus? Perhaps an earthly king? King of what? The King of the Kingdom when He comes – Maybe master? A master rules,  they take over, they conquer – or maybe Ruler, He will come and rule – these were possibly Peter’s thoughts, and they are correct
  • 21:15-16 – the agape and phileo dialogue – Jesus called him Simon, hearkening back to his relationship before Jesus, Peter in the flesh, he had returned to where he was in the flesh – Jesus was saying that He knew everything about Peter
  • Matt 16:17-18 – Peter didn’t figure it out, it came into him through the work of the Spirit – Jesus was talking of the rock of faith, Jesus being built on the power of God
  • Matt 17:24-27 – Jesus used the name “Simon” when He was trying to build Peter’s faith.
  • Why is Jesus single out Peter? So Peter can see that his relationship with Jesus  is not dependent on Peter
  • Jn 21:18-19 “Follow me”

• “Feed my sheep,” means that Jesus is the Lord – our shepherd – notice the difference
  • Jesus is Lord over his sin because He is the good shepherd who laid down His life
  • A King rules with law – the subjects must obey
  • Rulers rules with law – the subjects must obey
  • Masters rules with law – the subjects must obey
  • Shepherds rule with love – and the sheep are to obey
  • Jn 21:18-19 “Follow me” – rather than obey me – the shepherd leads the way
  • 1 Pet 2:21, 24-25 – a picture of the love of the shepherd
  • Parents that are having to make their adult children obey see Jesus as the Lord their King not Jesus as the Lord their shepherd
  • 1 Pet  4:19, 5:1-4, 6-8
  • Up to the point of the beach experience, Peter had seen Jesus as rigid king, ready to lord it over others, but know he sees Jesus as a shepherd who guides, leads, and protects
  • Jesus is a King, a Ruler, and a Master, but at His heart is a shepherd, who goes after the wayward sheep with love and mercy rather than the law and with the staff
  • Standards matter, but they do not matter more than our relationship with Jesus
  • When we have a revelation of what Jesus has done, we will seek to follow him and conform to His will, and we will seek to see our neighbors have a relationship with Jesus before we seek to have them conform to standards
  • What will give us comfort is not our adherence to standards, but the certainty of our relationship with Jesus
  • Sheep take their eyes of the shepherd following their hunger – the only way they get back is when the shepherd comes to find them
  • You are in danger of being Satan’s prey if you do not look up and see Jesus as the Lord your shepherd

These are my raw notes of Paul Washer’s second talk at the 2011 Christian Life Conference in Monroe, WI.

The Gospel, our children, and assurance of salvation – important for us parents as we raise our children

• The Gospel when dealing with children
  • What do we say to teach our children the Gospel
  • Some believe we should set the story forward in stories – but we need to deal with truth, the Holy Spirit illuminates the truth regardless of the age
  • We need to be concerned about souls, not the Four Spiritual Laws
  • We need to begin where the Gospel begins – Jesus died because of God’s justice, this is the beginning point, not our sin.
  • The greatest problem we have is that God is just
  • When our children understand who God is they can better understand who they are
    • Proverbs 17:15 – the Gospel from Proverbs
    • God can only justify the wicked if the debt is satisfied
    • We have a just God in Heaven – what is a just God to do with someone like me?
    • In order to save, God had to satisfy His justice – He had to pay the price – who can pay it? No one, except for the Judge, who carried our sin on Himself
• If we try to live a ridged, legalistic life and yet add the Gospel as just something we teach alongside manners, we miss the point – it has all got to be about the Gospel, all that we do, all that we teach
• Do your children see the joy of the Gospel in your life, on your face?
• It is not about the communication of rules, it is about the communication of life! The life we find in Jesus!
• It is against God’s law to be immoral? Absolutely! But, is it against God’s law to be without love and joy? Absolutely!
• We who are Reformed must be careful – we can quote the WCF, but do we seek order to the point that we look as a cemetery? Or do we tarry with the Lord in the night watch? Are we in the Word? Are we in prayer? Are we living the joy of the Lord?
• The Assurance of Salvation in dealing with children
  • Rev 3:20 is not a picture of salvation, it is Jesus knocking on the door of a church
  • Salvation does not start with “Do you want to go to heaven? It starts with repentance and faith
  • A parent should listen, and let God deal with a child
  • Ask your child if they see their sin – show them Scriptures on repentance – do they know the vileness of their sin?
  • Share with our children the promises of God
  • Bring them to Romans 10
  • Some parents would say, “You are so young, I have doubts about your salvation.” Likewise, it is dangerous to presume their salvation – the important thing is to disciple them, water the seed, watch them grow
  • If they do not have a desire for the things of God, we have reason for concern
  • How does a person know they are saved?
    • It is not the prayer they prayed at one time in their life
    • Address the intellect from John 3:16 – the one who believes in Him, so, do you believe that you know possess eternal life?
    • You say you believe, but what do you believe about Jesus?
      • The deity of Christ: that He is fully God and fully man
      • That he lived a
      • Substitutionary atonement – that He suffered in our place
      • The Resurrection of Jesus
      • Is Jesus “the” Savior or is Jesus “a” savior? The Christian life is to the exclusion of all other lives
  • Address the experience: Rom 5:5
    • The salvation of Jesus is not just an intellect
    • When a person is converted, it is not just a position, it is a real thing that happens – they have a heart of flesh instead of the heart of stone
    • How do we know the historicity of the Resurrection? It is not because we have learned 10 historical reasons for the resurrection – it is because of the work of the Holy Spirit in his life
    • Those who know Jesus really know the wind of the Spirit!
    • America is not Gospel hardened the preachers are Gospel ignorant
    • Points to consider for disciplining children
      • Take then into high truth
      • Preach the Gospel, and trust God to awaken them
      • Do not discourage them, but encourage them with the Word
      • Children are born radically depraved, just as us – and without the Spirit of God, the more they see of Jesus, the more they will hate
      • People talk about freedom all the time – but there is only one being who is free, and that is God – we do not make any free decisions, because we are all under some influences – we will all make decisions as aligned by our affections – and the only way for us to make decisions for God we must be recreated in the image of God, which is not our work, but the work of the Holy Spirit!
      • Practical steps to consider
        • What kind of home has Jesus made for me? What kind of a home am I trying to make for my children?
        • The greatest need in most Christian homes is a godly, Christ-like husband and father
        • Remember the power of winsome joy in the home!
        • In family worship, do not turn the time into a drudgery – Book Recommendation: Teach them Diligently by Lou Priolo – you must live this!

These are my raw notes of Norm Wakefield’s first talk at the 2011 Christian Life Conference in Monroe, WI

You are in a dangerous place – where there are speakers – it is so easy to just gather information – it is more than the page of notes – we should seek to listen through the speakers and seek Jesus.

We know more of Peter than almost any disciple – the primary preacher at Pentecost – author of two letters in the NT – walked on water!  But what he knew of Jesus should be what we all know. We can know Jesus as intimately as Peter.

Or temptation is when we examine ourselves and think we are in a good state in light of others  - the danger is to believe a little at that is all – the danger is to believe in God a little and think ourselves fine because those around us believe nothing.

There is the faith that saves and holds us up, and then there is a worldly faith that does not save

• What does faith look like?  1 Peter :1-2, 14-15, 22; 2:8, 13, 16, 21; 4:2, 6; 5:2
  • Those who are chosen
  • Those who obey
  • Those who have been sprinkled by His blood
  • Surrender to the will of God
  • We find God’s grace to obey  and His peace in the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus
• What does faith do? 1:5
  • Faith protects us
  • Faith is what saves us
  • Faith in tough times is what carries us through
• What is the basis of your faith? 1:3
  • A revelation that Jesus is Lord!
  • We need a revelation that Jesus is Lord – we need to understand what this means
  • To Peter, Jesus as Lord is central to His understand of who Jesus is
  • To Peter, the resurrection meant that Jesus is the Lord of life, the Lord of all
  • The resurrection is central to the understanding that Jesus is Lord
  • Reflection of Jesus meeting Peter – when the nets were full, Peter called Jesus Lord and pleaded with the Lord to leave him, because he was a sinful man – this is the way we need to see the Lord, and the way we need to see ourselves
  • Before we understand that Jesus is Lord, who was lord? We were. A faith that lets us still be lord is not God-wrought faith
• What is the pure milk of the Word?
  • Peter was writing to the Jews who were in Jerusalem when he was preaching
  • Acts 2:24, 36
  • What was the main thing that Peter preached? This is the milk of the Word, the basic substance, the beginning point: Jesus us Lord! We didn’t make Him Lord, the Father made Him Lord!
  • When we drink the pure milk of the word, we see Jesus as the Lord of every breath we take, we see Him as the Lord of all! (3:15)
  • The grace that comes when we see that Jesus is Lord is surrender and obedience
• Faith comes to those who look up: Fix your hope on God. (1:13)
  • Prepare your minds for action – get ready to have an encounter with Jesus
  • Keep sober in the Spirit – don’t let anything on this planet intoxicate you, steal your affections, this includes your afflictions
  • Fix your hope completely on the grace to come at you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
• What is it to “look up”?
  • Not to “try” harder
  • Not to “do” more
  • To trust Jesus as Lord
  • We cannot make faith happen – tough times are given from God to teach us to look up and see Jesus as Lord, fix your hope completely on the hope of Jesus as Lord, Lord of all.

…from the 2011 Christian Life Conference.

Abigail Helping at the Book Table

"Imitate me, as I imitate Christ" - Caleb and Paul Washer

A powerful message - a call to salvation!

 

 

These are my raw notes of Paul Washer’s first presentation from the 2011 Christian Life Conference. A powerful word of the Gospel. Paul lays out the truth that the Biblical foundation of the family is simply and wonderfully this – the Gospel.

In the world we see much that is twisted, but what we have seen here is that all beauty originates from Jesus and the Gospel – we see the death of beauty when we see the a society forgetting Jesus

Want to talk about the Cross of Christ – we must understand  - we are a people who have been regenerated by the spirit and governed by Jesus – the greatest need of fathers, mothers and children is first and foremost the gospel – this must consume you – the only way you can be a proper husband, wife, mother father, child is if you are a disciple of Jesus

Principle apart from the Gospel is death

Duet 6 is empty without the Gospel, Eph 5 is empty without the Gospel – how many times do we have to preach the Gospel? How can we constantly wash our family with the Gospel? There are many who study things in the Scripture, but on the 2^nd coming, you are going to understand everything about the about the 2^nd coming, but you will just be starting to understand the Gospel – we are just scratching the surface – we need a deeper understanding of the Gospel

Charles Spurgeon – no matter what text he took, he took the course of the Gospel

Have you ever thought about Heaven? The materialistic view of physical utopia where you get all you want and nothing is bad – ponder, how long can you swing on a gate of pearl until it gets boring – there must be something greater than that – what is Heaven? Eternal life is that you might know God, and the greatest revelation is the Gospel of Jesus – spending an eternity tracking down the glory of God in the wonder of Jesus – and at the end of the day, you think it can get greater, you go on from there learning more and more – everyone wants to go to heaven, but they don’t want God to be there when they get there – we go from glory to glory in the person of God in the person of the Son

Doesn’t think of rules or regulations – the Gospel should control us

2 Cor 5:21

There is enough truth and glory in this passage to propel the regenerated heart into an eternity of devotion – He was made sin, to bear our sin,

What does it mean? He knew no sin – of all the things we have read about Jesus, nothing is more amazing – there has never been one moment in your life that you loved God as He ought to be loved – not one moment – piety, prayers, generosity, sacrifice – not one moment that you loved God as He should have been loved. But Jesus? There was never a time when he didn’t love God as he ought to have been loved – Jesus never missed the mark – He knew no sin

He became sin – this is a dangerous text – what does it mean to say “He was made sin?” – did His nature become corrupt and twisted? The answer was for us to become the righteousness of God

Forensic righteousness – Legal righteousness

The moment a person comes to faith he is declared righteous – not that we are righteous and sinless – and so, the moment we believed in Jesus, God declared us to be legally right with Him and He treated us as such – He has declared us right, and treats us right with Him – this is just the abounding grace of God – through Jesus we are legally declared right with Him

What does that have to do with Jesus being made sin? His nature was not corrupt on the Cross, even there He was the spotless lamb of God – but when He was in the Cross, the sin of God’s people was imputed on Him – God treated Him as that which we should have been treated – the full cup of God’s wrath should have been given to us – but Jesus stood in our place, He was treated as we should have been treated

It was imputed sin, but it was real sin – how can you and I know anything about the feeling and darkness of sin being thrown down on the head of a perfect being – because we were born in sin

Illustration – a young lady protected from all harm, but then you go to witness to the prostitutes – and you are thrown into a police car with the prostitutes – you are so ashamed, you feel soiled, you feel denigrated, you can’t stand the filth, and they throw you into the prison – you sit in a corner crushed into a million pieces – you want to die – that doesn’t even begin to tell the story of the Cross – we take in the filth of the world for breakfast, and yet Jesus knew no sin – and our sin was placed upon Him.

Jesus bore our sin – but here is something else, when He was on the tree, He bore our curse (Gal 3:10) – you were so vile before a holy God that the last thing you would have heard as you took the first step into hell is all of Creation applauding because He had rid the earth of us – this is not because God is evil, this happens because God is good – and we are not – what s He going to do with us?

We have no clue of what we are until we go to the biblical standard

Example – What Christians would feel free to wear to the beach today, 60 or 70 years ago, the secular authorities would have arrested them for breaking the law or would have placed them in an institution for mental disorder – we cannot compare ourselves with society, only with the Word

Let’s talk about blessing – from the Beatitudes – but let us turn that upside down – look not at the list from the position of the blessed, but invert it from the view of the cursed – we were the cursed, but in Jesus we are blessed – every time we acknowledge we are blessed is because Jesus bore our curse

God cannot bless the sinner unless someone has stood in his place and satisfied the penalty we deserved – for someone to be blessed by God someone must have been cursed – there is a beauty to being blessed, but it is a mourning beauty – we are blessed because He was cursed – everything we have in our lives is possible because He was cursed – nothing should be good – it should all be grey and nothing good should happen – anything that is good is only because of the mediation of the Lord Jesus

Paul was once asked, “What was the greatest sin?” His answer, “The moon walk.” Why? Because we are so depraved that we should have not been able to do that. The only way we were able to do it was because of the Gospel of Christ. And yet, we didn’t give Him glory.

We deserve the curses of Mount Ebal (Deut 27-28). But none of those curses fall upon the Christian because they fell upon Jesus. As Jesus was on the cross, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” A that moment, God the Father replied, “God, Your God, damns you!” The curses of Mount Ebal fell upon Jesus on that day! The curse that should have fallen on our head fell upon the Son of God.

We were born estranged from God – born separated from Him – how can we know the pain of being separated from Him? But the Father and the Son? In bliss from eternity past? The Father, Son, and Spirit, lived in everlasting bliss. But on that Tree? On the Cross? The Father and the Son were separated by our sin.

The only covenant keeper was singled out to bear sins that were not His own.

Numbers 6:23-26 – this presents a great problem – how can God grant favor on Israel when His justice demands there death – Jesus took the opposite of this in His death

The wrath of God – in the Garden, some have said incredible atrocities – some have said that Jesus was afraid of Satan, others that he was afraid of the pain, not at all. The martyrs of the first three centuries went to their death singing hymns. How could this be when Jesus is said to have coward in the Garden? But Jesus was not concerned about the physical pain. What was in the cup? Psalm 75:8, Jeremiah 25:15-16. The cup was full of the wrath of Almighty God – most believe that when Jesus was on the Cross, God looked down at the suffering inflicted on Jesus by the Hands of the Romans, God found that sufficient and He turned away in horror – this is heresy. If we are saved, it is not because of what the Romans did, but what the Father did to the Son – there was no twisted joy, but was the plan of redemption being fulfilled – we should die under the wrath of God – Heaven is Heaven because God is there – Hell is Hell because God is there – to save you, someone had to die in our place – God must be just in His love, He must satisfy His justice in His love

The Gospel doesn’t begin with man, it begins with God – and God is just – justice must be satisfied, or justice will satisfy itself in the eternal torment of wicked men

John Flavel (1627–1691)…

The Father speaks. “My Son, here is a company of poor, miserable souls that have utterly undone themselves and now lay open to my justice. Justice demands satisfaction for them, or will satisfy itself in the eternal ruin of them.”

The Son responds. “Oh my Father. Such is my love to and pity for them, that rather then they shall perish eternally I will be responsible for them as their guarantee. Bring in all thy bills, that I may see what they owe thee. Bring them all in, that there be no after-reckonings with them. At my hands shall thou require it. I would rather choose to suffer the wrath that is theirs then they should suffer it. Upon me, my Father, upon me be all their debt.”

The Father responds. “But my Son, if thou undertake for them, thou must reckon to pay the last mite. Expect no abatement. Son, if I spare them… I will not spare you.”

The Son responds. “Content Father. Let it be so. Charge it all upon me. I am able to discharge it. And though it prove a kind of undoing to me, though it impoverish all my riches, empty all my treasures… I am content to take it.”

Do you see how free you are? Don’t you see how free you are? Oftentimes when a prisoner is pardoned, he kills himself because he got off the hook – if we got off the hook, we would have guilt – but we have been set free of our sin because of the sacrifice of Jesus – it is all gone! Every bit of it is gone! Free, free, free, free, it is gone! All the dirt, all the vomit, it is gone! And it cannot be brought to the Throne! We are free, clean! Oh God, what a joy divine!

Remember Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen 22) – take your son, your only son, whom you love, and offer him as a sacrifice – there is no fight, the boy gives himself willingly – yet at the moment of sacrifice, God intercedes! There is a ram caught in the thicket – but it was simply a picture of the work of Jesus, who was the Son, the only Son, the Son whom the Father loved

Jehovah-jireh is not our stuff – it is that the Lord has provided the Lamb! And He paid for our worst sin, and our best thought, for even our best thought does not honor God as He should be honored. How can God allow the wicked to live – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David – how can God show mercy? He points over to Calvary

You want to know how much God hates sin, I’ll tell you! God hates sin so much that when His Son bore it He crushed Him! But on the third day, He arose, He has risen indeed – and He vindicated God the Father and the God the Father vindicated the Son. God has raised Him from the dead!

Rom 4:25 – it was God’s seal upon His cross work, the sacrifice was accepted – the one who was raised has ascended to the right hand of God – and He is the King! The nations would do well to kiss the Son because His anger flares up in a moment. Fear the Lamb.

The good news is Christ is reigning. The bad news is Christ is reigning.

What should you do with this? The Bible tells you that you are commanded by God to repent of your sins and believe the Gospel. Repentance is a change of mind – the mind is the center of your will and intellect – change it – and if it is changed everything is changed – as Saul was changed on the road to Damascus and he became Paul – his entire reality was disintegrated, everything he thought was true was wrong, and everything he thought was wrong was true! His mind changed, Jesus was not a blasphemer by the Messiah, the Son of God.

Have you repented? The sin that you love, do you now hate it? Do you now desire God and desire to follow Him? Now what must you do? Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved – stop believing in everything else, it is not just a repentance from bad works, but also “good works.” Throw yourself upon Christ, do not trust in anything but Jesus – it is Jesus or nothing.

How do I know that I am trusting? Phil 3 – put no confidence in the flesh, boast in Jesus alone. Amen.

I know, I said I wasn’t going to blog here anymore, but I have decided that some things just don’t fit on the church or ministry websites. And this is one of them. Stacy and two of our children joined me this weekend as we traveled to Monroe, Wisconsin to participate in the 2011 Christian Life Conference. We are blessed to be speaking with Norm Wakefield and Paul Washer. Over 500 people from 9 states have gathered together to fellowship and learn! I am going to take the next few posts to “live blog” my notes from the sessions. Of course, it will be impossible to post notes from mine or Stacy’s talks, but I believe you may be blessed by the words of Norm and Paul! So, with no further ado…

Hi all,

This blog will be closing soon. My further writings will be hosted at Family Reformation or Providence Church. Most of the articles here will be ported over to Family Reformation.

I’ll see you there!

“Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord: looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled…” (Hebrews 12:14-15)

Bitterness is a common sin within the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve. It is one we often try to hide, at least for a while. But bitterness, like holding one’s breath, can’t be detained for long. In the end, it overtakes us and becomes our constant focus. A most hated and beloved idol, bitterness is the cancer that consumes. It is a self-destructive sin that triggers an addictive adrenaline rush that floods our being. And, like most addictive behaviors, when out of control, it leads to our destruction.

I have seen the impact of bitterness throughout my life. As a first generation Christian, I grew up in dysfunctional home where bitterness reigned unchecked. My father was bitter against my grandfather for sending him to boarding schools rather than loving him. My mother was bitter against my father because of his alcoholism and abusive behavior. I saw bitterness growing in my siblings, a learned response from our parents. I felt the almost intoxicating pain of bitterness in my own soul. Reminiscing back on my younger days is a painful exercise, mostly because the memories are filled with the agonizing results of bitterness.

But, then, Jesus sought me. I didn’t seek Him; I was consumed with myself and the unfairness of life. I was an angry, bitter man until Jesus overwhelmed me. He showed me my own wretched sin; and, in those fiery flames of grief and sorrow, the bitterness melted. As Jesus forgave me and pulled me out of my grief, I learned the meaning of forgiveness. When I saw my own sins for what they were—sins against a mighty and holy God, my perspective changed. I found myself able to extend to others what I had freely received, the healing balm of forgiveness.

But as time went by, I found the old man sneaking back in. He still tries. Even as Christians, we may find ourselves dealing with bitterness. Simple affronts, unaddressed, worm their way into our thoughts and soon become an unwanted obsession. Left unchecked, the effects of bitterness begin to take root in the soil of our souls to poison every part of our lives.

Often, we superimpose our own past or secret sins upon others. We certainly know what “we” would mean if we said “that.” Assumed offenses cause chaos and misunderstanding; people talk past one another and feelings are hurt. Emotions rage. Instead of dealing with issues, weeds grow and become deeply entrenched. Christian adversaries may smile as they pass one another at church or online, but inner vows of broken fellowship broil out of sight. Our pain attempts to justify our bitterness. We make a mental list of our offenses, and remind ourselves of our “rights.” We take comfort in the number of people who would surely agree with us.

I’ve experienced bitterness. I know how it works. I remember one instance when the Enemy deceived me into believing I was justified in my sin. I had been hurt. I had a right to be bitter. But God didn’t let me rest. In my quiet time, not long after my conversion, He spoke. I read some challenging verses. It began when I first read through the Book of Ephesians.

I remember the day when God broke me. I was sitting outside of church in my good old 1974 Nova when I read in Ephesians 4:31–32 “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

I was convicted. I was cut to the quick. The process of sanctification can often be a painful thing. This is especially true we are confronted with a sin we hate, yet at the same time guard and love. This verse shouted out to me. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” This was not a suggestion, this was a command! “Let all bitterness be out away from you!” It was right there before me. God was speaking to me. The Holy Spirit was convicting me. I was bitter and angry.

Although I might couch my words in righteous “Christianese,” I would indeed speak evil of my neighbors, even my brothers and sisters in church. And, even though I was now a Christian, I recognized that familiar, intoxicating feeling of bitterness, and it was still in my heart.

I remember being frustrated as I started to evaluate verse 32. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Again, more commands. Be kind to the one who hurt me? Be tenderhearted to the one who seemed so hard hearted and hard headed? Forgive? How could I do that? Was it even possible?

But I continued to read the final section of verse 32, “…even as God in Christ forgave you.”

As I read God’s Word, there are times when I feel like I am undergoing open heart surgery without anesthesia. This was one of those times. The text spoke to my heart, “…even as God in Christ forgave you.” Even as God had forgiven me. Even as God had forgiven me. I knew God had forgiven me. I was fully aware of the sins of my youth, the things I had done against others, the things I had done against the Lord. The weight of my sin had been very heavy. And yet, through Jesus, God had forgiven me!

I remembered how Jesus had come for me, a sinner—how He had forgiven me, a stubborn, rebel. Again, He made the first move. And He did it without my groveling, without my penance, without my suffering. God had forgiven me because of the finished work of His Son. As I looked up from the Word, and at the door of the church, I prayed for the Lord to forgive me, and to help melt my bitterness. I asked Him to help me forgive and love those who had hurt me, intentionally or unintentionally. And He did.

Over the past 31 years with Jesus, I can’t say that I have never felt the temptation to be bitter. I still live with and work with, well, sinners. There are many opportunities to be hurt, and there are likewise many opportunities for me to hurt others. Yet, God often brings to mind that moment so long ago in the parking lot with Jesus. I remember the day, I remember my car, but most importantly, I remember the words of Ephesians 4:31-32.

Consider your own heart. Are you harboring offenses against a brother or sister? Are you dealing with bitterness against someone in your past? Are you aware that bitterness (regardless of who it is against) will consume you and harm those closest to you? Have you considered the fact that bitterness is a sin? Jesus forgave you—are you not willing to extend a small amount of that grace to someone else?

Don’t walk like the Gentiles, because you’re not one. Let go. Cough it up. Give up your bitterness—lay it at the feet of Jesus. Put off the old man and put on the new. “Forgive one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.”

“If indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:21-24)

http://www.providencepeoria.org/

I will be writing there as well. So, if you are interested in my ramblings, you have two places to visit.

Let me know what you think of the new site!