What Are You Willing To Exchange For a Bowl of Soup?

About 4,000 years ago in the Middle East, there were two sons named Jacob and Esau. They were twins. Of the two twins, Esau was the first born son.  Issac was their father, and Rebekah was their mother.  Isaac favored Esau, but Rebekah favored Jacob. Esau was a rugged, red-haired boy, who in today's terms might be considered a "man's man." He liked the outdoors, and was a hunter. Jacob, on the other hand, might be considered a "mamma's boy" because he liked to stay at home.

In the ancient world, the first born son got all of the perks.  He received the father's blessing, which meant he would assume the rights of spiritual leader of the family, and would receive all of the financial rewards along with that important title. This meant that Esau was destined to rule and to be rich.  One day, after Esau was exhausted from being outdoors, he was famished.  Jacob was cooking some lentil stew.  Esau asked his brother if he could have some of the lentil stew.  But Jacob said that he would only give his brother the stew if Esau agreed to sell his "birthright" to Jacob.  Well, Esau agreed to surrender his birthright to Jacob, and then he ate the stew and left (Genesis 25:34).

Seems harmless, right? However, at that moment, the Bible says that Esau "despised his birthright." Esau traded in something very valuable for a temporary relief of his hunger.  What are you hungry for? An inappropriate relationship? A great paying job where you have to compromise your values? Popularity? Acceptance? Whatever it is, it isn't worth trading in something valuable that God has already given you.  What is valuable? Our integrity.  Our sexual purity.  Our word. Our family.  Our marriage.  Satan wants for all of us to trade in these valuables for temporary pleasures that ultimately lead to eternal death.  He's the master deceiver, and he'll stop at nothing to lure us into doing something that we'll surely regret later in life.

The Bible warns and encourages to be careful about sin and temptation:

"No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." - 
1 Corinthians 10:13

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted" - Hebrews 2:18

"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7


REMEMBER ... GOD WANTS YOU!!!! 

So What About Forgiveness? - Part 2

As we continue this mini-series on forgiveness, I want to address the issue of what forgiveness LOOKS like.  You may have heard someone tell you, "I forgive you" or "I have already forgiven you," but then you see something in-congruent with their words.  Their actions do not support their words.  How can you know? If a person whom you have offended says that they have forgiven you, but yet continues to berate you, ignore you, disrespect you, gossip about you, mock you, or even look at you differently, then chances are that they haven't forgiven you.

Yesterday I watched Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith of ESPN"s First Take, and they discussed the recent signing of Michael Vick by the Pittsburgh Steelers.  There is a petition that some Steelers fans are circulating who want to get Vick kicked off of the team for his role in dog fighting several years ago.  Michael Vick was convicted of a felony for his vicious treatment and killing of dogs.  He served his time in a federal penitentiary. Since his release from jail, Michael Vick has been a model citizen.  He has advocated for animal rights, has played on a few different NFL teams, and has "kept his nose clean," as best we know.  But YET, there are still many people who REFUSE to forgive Michael.  They are demonstrating their lack of forgiveness toward Michael by the way they treat him. They call him names, protest his presence on a football team, and try to rally others to join them in their disdain toward him. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25281382/petition-to-get-michael-vick-off-the-steelers-already-has-15k-signatures

My question is: what does Forgiveness LOOK like?? It's easy for us to say the words, "I forgive you," but it is much more difficult to put those words into action. Forgiveness should lead to reconciliation, in which there can be exchanges of handshaking, hugs, smiles, tears, and an enunciation of positive words from both sides.  The only time that reconciliation might not be possible, is if there is concrete evidence for which a person fears for their existence or personal safety.

A great biblical example of this concerns Saul of Tarsus, who later became the Apostle Paul. Saul was a Jewish Pharisee and a strict observer of Torah.  He believed Jesus' followers were dangerous to Judaism, and so he set out to persecute these early disciples of Jesus. Saul dragged off Christian men and women to prison, he beat them up, he tried to force them to speak against the Lord Jesus, and he gave approval to their deaths.  Nobody in the Christian community trusted Saul.  When Saul was converted to Christ, he began Preaching Jesus to his fellow Jewish countrymen.  In Jerusalem, however, none of the Christians wanted to befriend Saul because they feared him.  Barnabas reached out to Saul, and brought him to the apostles. The point is, Barnabas had to go beyond words, and move to action by accepting Saul into the community -  Acts 8:3, 9:26-27, 22:19, 26:9-11; 1 Corinthians 15:9, 1 Timothy 1:13

Thank God that when He forgives us, He no longer holds our sins against us - Psalm 32:1-2, 103:9-12; Hebrews 8:12

Let's pray that we can Show our Forgiveness to those who have offended us.

REMEMBER ... GOD WANTS YOU!!!!!

So What About Forgiveness? - Part 1

Forgiveness is both a wonderful and a complex topic to discuss. What does forgiveness mean? What does it look like? What does it feel like? How do we know we have received forgiveness? How do we know that we have given forgiveness to someone else? These are all important questions to ask, and that is why I have decided to write a multi-part blog series on this issue.

One of the central themes that runs throughout the Holy Bible is that God is a forgiving God.  The One who holds all power in the universe and beyond is repeatedly described as a loving, compassionate, merciful, and forgiving God. This should make every human heart sing, rejoice, and want to experience a personal relationship with this God!

The world we live in is often cold, heartless, judgmental, and very unforgiving.  People often think that they are punishing the offender by not forgiving them, when in actuality, the person who chooses NOT to forgive is the one who is held in captivity.  I want to first address the forgiveness that God extends toward us.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, the God of Israel forgave His covenant Jewish people over and over again when they failed to keep all of His commandments.  Many times God would place His people into foreign captivity in order to discipline them for their disobedience to His word.  This was certainly true in 586 B.C. when God allowed King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army to enter into Jerusalem to destroy the city and the Holy Temple. The Babylonians carried off the surviving Jews and placed them into slavery for the next 70 years.  God allowed this to happen because He loved His people and wanted them to understand the seriousness of their sins. But God forgave His people, restored them, and brought them back to the Land of Israel.

Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. - Micah 7:18

Throughout the Scriptures, even though God punishes His people for their sins, He also forgives them.  When God forgave Israel, it was an invitation for reconciliation. That simply means that God wanted a renewed relationship with His people.  What about you? Do you want God to forgive you of your sins? Would you like to become a more forgiving person? Would you like to experience the FREEDOM that comes from forgiveness? Check back later in future blogs to find out how you can experience the POWER of God through Forgiveness.  Till then ... Remember:

GOD WANTS YOU!!!! 

God is Still Good Even When Things are Bad!

In 586 BC, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon ordered a devastating attack on the Holy City of Jerusalem.  The Babylonians sacked the city, burned down Solomon's Temple, killed many Jews, and took the rest of them as slaves.  The aftermath of the attacked proved even more egregious because of the starvation of the remaining inhabitants.  It got so bad in Jerusalem that "The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children: they became their food in the destruction of the daughter of my people." -Lamentations 4:10

The writer (eye witness of Jerusalem's destruction) of Lamentations describes the bodies, the tears, the mayhem, and the sorrow that filled the streets of God's city.  The great temple that once stood could have easily been considered one of the ancient wonders of the world (the best) was now plundered! Instead of large stones, there was ash and rubble from the destruction. 

And yet, having witnessed all of this catastrophic destruction brought upon by the Babylonians,  the writer of Lamentations found his praise to offer up to the Lord God of heaven.  

He writes: 

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
    great is thy faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24

What about you? What are you going through today? Have you witnessed devastation somewhere? Have you seen trouble in your own life or in the life of loved ones that makes you wonder whether praising God is a good thing or not? We all will witness some form of destruction in our lives sooner or later.  Either we will see that destruction because of our own poor decisions or the poor decisions of others.  Whatever the case, however, we must find our praise to God.  He is Still Good Even When Things are Bad! 

GOD LOVES YOU AND GOD WANTS YOU!!!!! 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a time when we as Americans pause to remember and reflect upon the selfless, sacrificial service of our men and women in uniform.  Beyond that, we especially give honor to those soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country with their own blood.  These people (past and present) are true heroes.  They put others before themselves, carried out their duties, and fought to protect the freedoms that we as Americans so richly enjoy!

When we see a veteran or someone actively serving in our Armed Forces, it behooves us to pull them aside to THANK them for their service! They and their families risk so much for all of us.  There is no greater honor than when we sacrifice our own needs for the needs of others.

Jesus said it best when He spoke these words, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends" - John 15:13 (NKJV)

A HUGE Salute to our American Servicemen and women!

An EVEN BIGGER Salute to the LORD JESUS CHRIST who gave His life for each one of us on the cross in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago! Blessed be His Name!

GOD WANTS YOU!!!!!!