Tag: Confrontation

“Forgiveness Brings Hope”

Date: 12-04-14

Text: — Jeremiah 31:34 — No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the LORD.“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”  [NIV84]

The Big Idea: Lifestyle worshipers, we understand that forgiveness is truly and solely a divine act, that is, only God can forgive sins.

My Thoughts: 

Have you heard statements like this: “God may forgive you, but I never will,” “Even God won’t forgive me,” and “God’s punishing me for my sin?” I know many struggle with the nuances of forgiveness, to be sure, especially the one that says, “To forgive is to forget,” but I’m sure if we honestly look at the above passage, we will see the clear connection between forgiveness and forgetfulness, at least from a divine perspective.

Lifestyle worshipers, if we understand that forgiveness is truly— dare I say—and solely a divine act, that is, only God can forgive sins, then it follows that He sets the standard for forgiveness—which is clearly beyond our feeble human ability. Bare with me a wee bit longer, please. I am saying that we cannot forgive anyone per se, but we can enter into the forgiveness that the Lord offers, especially that on the cross….

So when someone says, “I cannot forgive them,” they speak rightly, but when they say, “I will not forgive them,” we have an entirely different issue. (As one dear friend put it to me years ago, “Michael, you have a broken wanter.”) In order to forgive someone, anyone, including myself, I must enter into the Power of forgiveness the Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated and offered on the cross. (Thus, I frame forgiveness as expressed in the prayer below.)

Again, forgiveness is a very, very big subject, and I am barely scratching the surface here. Suffice it to say, however, for me, the offer of  forgiveness brings hope: hope of a new life, fresh start, new day, new beginning, second chance. Does this offer of forgiveness in the New Covenant do the same for you?

Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

 Then He took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, because this is My blood of the new covenant that is being poured out for many people for the forgiveness of sins.

— Matthew 26:27-28 (ISV)

  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

— Colossians 3:13 (NIV84)

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

— Ephesians 4:32 (NIV84)

 Heavenly Father, by the shed blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through His power, I forgive ________ for ________. I ask You Lord Jesus Christ, to bear the consequences of their actions. Remove the pain and shame they have caused me. Be that part of my Life that has been damaged by _______. I release ________ into your hands. In Your Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike

“Can We Know How Much We Are Deceived?”

Date: 11-06-14

Text: — James 4:1-3 — 1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2 You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. 3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. [NIV84]

The Big Idea: I discovered yet another factor in my remedy for self-deception.

My Thoughts: 

In our walk with Jesus, can we really know how much we are deceived by this world’s system? In the passage above, James jabs some rather pointed indictments, while pulling no punches later in the verses that follow. But as we read this, is your initial response, “I don’t do any of this?” Mine was. I do not kill anyone. I really don’t covet…. Ah, but do? Is it possible that I have not because when I ask, I ask merely to spend it on my selfish pleasures (v. 3)? Good question, oh my soul; good question, indeed.

Twice in his letter, James warns us not to deceive ourselves (1:22, 26). Self-deception is very cunning. The sad truth is, we really do not know when we are deceived. (If we did, we wouldn’t be, right?) I think this is why James closes his letter with “My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth…” (5:19 emphasis added). (The Greek word for wander has the implication of being deceived from any source.)

Lifestyle worshipers, is it important to discover how much we are or have been deceived? I think so. If the truth shall set us free, then knowing the Lord Jesus (The Truth!) more intimately will set us free from deception, be it self-delusion or other-concocted.

Several years back, for several Sundays—which seemed like months, “We don’t know how much we are deceived” kept sneaking into my sermons. I am not sure if the Holy Spirit was talking to someone else, but He sure was directly talking to me. It was shortly after this that I had an epiphany. I received a DVD in the mail asking the question: “Is America A Christian Nation.” For years I had argued it wasn’t. I had all my history books from College and high school which clearly demonstrated we were more deistic is foundation than Christian, but as the DVD unfolded with original documents to establish that America, indeed, had deep Christian roots it her founding, my worldview of this began to crumble and a melancholy grieving overtook my life for some months to follow. (In subsequent research, I had discovered that this specific aspect of history had been systematically sterilized from our text books for decades.)

Now I know to some, this would seem like a frivolous bunny trail of sorts, but for me it was a soul stirring moment. Because after this unveiling, I had to ask, “How much more was I being deceived on other subjects—civil or sacred?” Back to the Word I went!

If the Word is the Truth, and if the Holy Spirit has imbued it with the very essence of the Holy Trinity, then it naturally follows that this Word shines a bright spotlight on any deception I may be in…. So I studied the Word all the more intensely. And in doing so, I discovered yet another factor in my remedy for self-deception, and I think James is subtly telling us this: We need each other to expose our blindspots.

In Love, I need to confess my sins to my accountability team (see 5:16) in order to find healing, and part of this healing is lifting the self-deception from my life. I must practice true wisdom from above (see 4:17) by often checking in with a close confidant in order to get a ‘spiritual checkup’ as one would a physical checkup. And in Love, I must make myself available for those who have ‘wandered from the truth,’ and gentle restore such a one, who may not realized that they, too, have been deceived.

Have you discovered these same elements if addressing deception? Your thoughts?

Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive.” — Matthew 24:4-5 (NIV84)

I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness —Colossians 2:4-7 (NIV84)

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. —1 Corinthians 3: 18 (NIV84)

 

Heavenly Father, by the shed blood of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and through His power, I submit myself to You. Renew my mind. Deliver me from any deception I may be exposed to, whether it is self-imposed or not. I put You on, Lord Jesus Christ, as my Belt of Truth. Sanctify me and set me apart by this Truth: Your Word is Truth.  Be that part of my life that has been in bondage to any deception. I release myself into Your hands. In Your Name, Amen.

Pastor Mike

“Trust the Wounds of a Friend”

Date: 8-27-14

Text: Proverbs 27:6  Wounds from someone who loves are trustworthy, but kisses from an enemy speak volumes. [ISV]

The Big Idea: He became a curse of us, and by doing so, He has removed any curses.

My Thoughts: 

Perhaps even now it is hard to talk about, especially when the wounds are still festering and raw, but it is still good to know that when friends wound us, it is because they Love us. Yes, they really do care. Interestingly, just yesterday, I was talking to a friend about wounds of friends, and with both of us being poets at heart, we came up with a phrase, “God’s scalpel doesn’t slip.” When the LORD is using His scalpel on us to ‘wound’ us—by cutting away those ‘cancers’ that infest our souls, we need to remember He is a skilled surgeon. Indeed, His scalpel doesn’t slip….

But, lifestyle worshipers, sometimes we think our friend’s scalpel is constantly slipping, slashing us with reckless abandon. But we must remember that even if they are clumsy with their words or don’t use the “proper” tone of voice, they are still speaking to us on this particular issue because they Love us. No more and no less. And even if their scalpel slips a little (or a lot), this, too, the LORD can use….

When this happens, I do is try to remember that it pleased the LORD to bruise Jesus and by His strips we are healed. How do you deal with the wounds of a friend?

Scriptures to Renew Your Thoughts

   Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.
     — Isaiah 53:10 (NKJV)
  Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil on my head. My head will not refuse it.
     — Psalm 141:5 (NIV84)
  Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me 
     — Revelation 3:19-20 (NIV84)

 Heavenly Father, as You prune away the dead branches of my life so that Jesus’ Life may produce more fruit, may I endure the hardship as loving discipline, knowing that You Love me and have given Your only Begotten Son for me. In the Lord Jesus’ Name Amen.

Pastor Mike