Devotions By Jan

Category Archives: Forgiving Others


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Holding a Grudge

Scripture for Today: Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.”

They say that cats do not hold grudges.  There is supposed to be some other reasonable explanation for their behavior.  However, when returning from a trip, it would always take our Tiger a bit of time to warm back up to us.  He would hold himself aloof and look at us sideways as if to say, “Where have you been and how dare you leave me?”  After a few rebuffed overtures he would eventually be his loving self again.

Today’s verse can be convicting.  It is repeated throughout Scripture that we are not to take revenge (Romans 12:19).  That job is done much better by the Lord who sees hearts and is righteous.  However, holding a grudge is something that we feel entitled to do.  Holding a grudge is reminding ourselves that it is not OK what was done to us.  Holding a grudge keeps the memory alive and keeps the offender at arm’s length.

So often, the guilty one is unaware of that unforgiving spirit we harbor.  It certainly does nothing to him.  The pain we continue to feel is self-inflicted and often becomes more important than the original offense.  Still, it is hard to let it go.  To forgive and forget seems as if we are letting that person get away with something.

We are told to love our own people and our neighbor.  These are the people who are close to us, making their wounds so much deeper.  It is impossible to forgive and let go without the Lord.  It can only happen as I continually give it to Him.

Lord, help me to forgive with even a tiny fraction of the pardon You have shown me!


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Renovation

3563583617_df2bbee613Scripture for Today: Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord.”

Our small condo is slowly being renovated.  Each time we visit to see how the work is progressing, I try to be realistic.  It all takes longer than I had anticipated.  Thankfully, we do not need to live there during the work.  With each visit, new things are seen that should be changed or upgraded.  I will be very glad when all the work is finally finished.

Our verse for today speaks about being glad to enter the house of the Lord.  To be with other believers and worship our Lord together is a glad event.  However, we are all in the process of some serious renovation in that house.  There may be some rough edges on people that need sanding down to make smooth.  There may be a hanging hinge on a door which makes opening up difficult to do.  Perhaps, there are “damaged” people in that house that need repair.  Can I really be glad to enter a house like that?  Wouldn’t it be better to come in after all the renovations were complete?

I can be glad to enter the Lord’s house knowing that God is working in others just as He is working in me.  He promises to continue working right up to the day of His return (Phil. 1:6).  The on-going changes He is producing in others are the same kinds of renovations He is doing in me.  As believers, we are all in the process of change and growth into the very image of His Son.  It is a renovation that we live with, knowing that the outcome is worth it!

Lord, help me to be patient with Your work in me, and in others!

 

 


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Losing the Thread

eGZ4MGVoMTI=_o_cross-stitch---threading-the-needle-the-half-cross-Scripture for Today: Acts 10:43 “All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness through His name.” 

There is nothing more annoying than to be in the middle of a sewing project and to lose the thread.  Everything stops while I struggle to wet the end of that thread and reinsert it into that impossibly small needle opening.  I can lose my motivation to continue when this happens.

The same thing can happen when I lose the thread of a story.  I lose my motivation to keep reading.  When what I am reading seems random and disjointed, I put down the book in frustration.  The phrase, “losing the thread,” was coined in the mid 1900’s.  The thread represents an idea that connects various parts of a narrative together.

God’s Word has a very important thread.  Our verse for today is part of a discourse by the apostle, Peter.  He saw very clearly that the thread is Jesus Christ.  From the very beginning in Genesis 3:15 the coming of Christ was foretold.  Not only was His coming redemption repeated by the prophets, but even the sacrificial system was an image of Christ’s ultimate sacrifice.

I love seeing Jesus in the Messianic Psalms.  I get excited to see so many details of Christ’s earthly life prophesied and then fulfilled!  Jesus Himself is the thread that runs through the centuries during which the Bible was written.  In the Old Testament everything points forward to Him.  In the New Testament everything points back to His redeeming work.

There is no other subject more worthy!  That is because it is in Him that I find forgiveness of sin.  That crushing weight of guilt and regret can lift off my shoulders.

Lord, may Your forgiveness be the thread in my life as well.

 


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Duvets

Scripture for Today:  Psalm 32:1  “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

I am no Martha Stewart!  My beds never look like they could be featured in a magazine.  It is enough for me that they are made up in the morning.  I do not worry about the corners or the exact placement of the pillowcase edges.

I learned fairly early to use duvets or comforters when our kids were small.  They were much more forgiving then bedspreads.  All the kids had to do was pull them up.  Smoothing them down was not so important.  More than once toys were misplaced or other surprises were found to be sitting unseen under the thick covers!

Our verse for today describes a happiness that comes from our sin being covered.  Forgiveness lightens the heart!  When we acknowledge and confess our failings to Him, He is faithful to forgive (I John 1:9).  Christ loving sacrifice on the cross does more than just cover sin, but actually eradicates it!  That is joy, to live without crushing guilt!

It is because of His love for me that Christ forgives me.  He asks us to extend forgiveness to others as well.  When I love someone it is so much easier to do.  I Peter 4:8 says, “Love covers a multitude of sins.”  Loving forgiveness is like that duvet, covering all the imperfections beneath it.  That kind of love between believers is the “fervent” love the verse talks about.  This love comes from Him and when I feel it, I am much more likely to forgive.

Whether love is felt or not, He wants me to forgive others.  His huge forgiveness for me and what it cost Him can motivate me.  I am blessed to be forgiven.  Help me, Lord, to bless others in the same way!


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Beams

IMG_20130420_115215Scripture for Today:  Matthew 7:3-5  “Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam of wood in your own?  Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own?  You hypocrite!  First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

The beams pictured here are from the oldest home in a village in Germany.  They date back to 1357 and they are just beautiful!  They add such warmth and coziness as well as stability to the ceiling.  I see lots of these beamed ceilings in Europe.  I shudder to think what the termites in southern California would try to do to them!

The beams spoken of in our verses are not seen in such a positive light.  In fact, they are not seen at all!  They represent our own failings and weaknesses.  We do not like to see them nor do we want to see them.  It is much more gratifying to be in the business of “speck removal” for our brothers.

These verses certainly do not discourage helping our brother see his weaknesses in a spirit of love.  However, what we mean to be helpful can actually hurt our brother when we have not examined ourselves first.

This image of a beam and its relative size to a speck is ludicrous!  It is just as silly for me to be overly concerned with minutia in my brother’s life.  I ought to be more concerned with my own beam removal.   As uncomfortable as it is to examine myself, I sure do not want my own specks to become a beam!  Lord, keep me speck and beam free!