Category: From Pastor

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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I remember a kid who pushed me up against a fence in gradeschool about 40 years ago and broke the zipper on my jacket.  I remember the event.  I remember the emotion.  I remember the fear.  I remember the anger.

Have I not forgiven him?

Some may say, “Mike, you have to forgive and forget.”

Many use this phrase that I believe is more harmful to the reality of forgiveness than helpful.  I am guessing this concept comes from Hebrews 8:12 which quotes Jeremiah 31:34, “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

So, to be Christ-like in our forgiveness, does that mean we need a “DELETE” button in our minds so that forgiveness triggers amnesia for that event and that person?

No.

Our minds, barring a traumatic injury or Alzheimer’s disease (which I wish on no one), remember events of the past…especially traumatic and emotional events.  Our minds do have a coping mechanism that suppresses very painful memories to protect the rest of the mind from those thoughts.  However, I have not come across an exercise to practice forgetting.  The memory is there or it is not.  If a reader knows of research by which I can intentionally erase a memory (hypnosis, maybe?), please share.

Most of the events in our lives that need forgiveness will be hard to forget because there is a strong emotion attached to it.  We WERE hurt.  We WERE abused.  We WERE attacked.  We DID suffer an injustice.

So what does it mean that the Lord “will remember their sins no more”?

The Lord knows everything.  He is choosing to not recall the sins of Israel for the purpose of holding them against them.  Forgiveness wiped the debt so no further payment was needed.

In the era of “keeping a tab” at the local grocery store, the store owner may remember what you purchased because he needed a payment for it.  Once the payment was made, he didn’t have to remember what you purchased because it didn’t matter.  If he threw out the record or his mind naturally forgot, it was OK because the debt was paid in full.

The Lord, while his infinite knowledge could, does not have to remember our sins for the purpose of holding us accountable for them.  In Christ, he has forgiven us.  The debt is paid.

So, while the memory may linger, the memory is no longer attached to a debt.

The kid who pushed me.  I forgive him.  I’m not looking to get even.  If I cross paths with him, I won’t bring it up – and if it comes up, it won’t be with anger, bitterness or a desire to get even.  Forgiveness releases all the negative emotions and hurt, while the memory of the event may linger.

Please don’t burden your mind with forgetting events of the past and equating the reality that you remember what happened with guilt that you haven’t forgiven.  Certainly it is possible that you DO need more strength from the Lord to forgive, release the anger, hurt, and desire to get even.  But when the Lord empowers you to forgive, you can now release the memory as well because there is no debt outstanding.

So forgive and while the memory may linger, there will be no outstanding debt attached to it.

Apply: Perhaps there is a situation of hurt from your past.  What part of that event still needs forgiveness (even if the person is not asking for it)?

Prayer: Lord, thank you for forgiving my sins through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and having no reason to recall my sins to charge them to my account.  Thank you for paying in full for all the debt my sin has incurred.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Forgiveness is a powerful word and concept.

Have you ever thought about what forgiveness really is or means?

We use the phrase often, “God forgives you.” Or “You are forgiven.”  But what does that mean?

Here’s a great verse for today to reflect on what forgiveness really is and means:

Colossians 2:13-14  When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 

God “forgave us all our sins.”

First, when God forgives me he cancels my debt.  When I break the law of God or sin, I create a deficit between me and God.  In fact, a translation of this petition is “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.”  We can easily underestimate the debt we incur.  We can easily think, “I will repay it.”  In the parable noted on Monday from Matthew 18, the servant had the equivalent of $4.8 billion dollars of debt…yet he thought he could repay that with a minimum wage job.  It wasn’t going to happen.  Yet the master cancelled the debt.

When Jesus declared “It is finished!” from the cross, he declared to the debt of sin, “It is paid in full.”  The reason that God in Christ could and does cancel our debt is because the payment was made.  “The wages of sin is death.”  Jesus paid the debt of sin with his very life.  For this reason when God forgives us, we have no more debt caused by sin to pay.

Second, when God forgives me, he releases my guilt.  Sin creates guilt.  Guilt is an emotion that weighs on our heart until it is released.  One website (secular) defines it this way:

Guilt is an intense emotion and a moral, ethical and self-conscious feeling characterized by serious self-reflection. It occurs when an individual feels that they have acted against their own personal beliefs & principles or socially accepted moral standards. They also believe that they need to experience serious consequences or responsibility for compromising such moral standards with their conduct. A person can feel guilty for a number of reasons, such as certain thoughts, emotions, behaviors, or actions that they consider are morally unacceptable.  (https://mind.help/topic/guilt/)

Guilt unsettles our heart because we know what we did is culpable before God.  Guilt also triggers fear of consequences for that action.

What does God do when he forgives us? He cleanses us from a guilty conscience as he states in Hebrews 10:21-22:

…since we have a great priest over the house of God, ²² let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.

Finally, when God forgives us there is no more consequence for sin.  Yes, the wages of sin is death.  However, in Christ, here’s the reality: (Romans 8:1-2)

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death…

No more punishment to fear.

You are forgiven.

Your debt is paid.

Your guilt is gone.

Your punishment is removed.

Apply: What sin and guilt is lingering in your heart?  Write it down.  Then take a red pen and write, “God forgives me.”

Prayer:  Lord, thank you for sending Jesus so you can fully and freely forgive me.  Thank you for paying my debt, removing my guilt and freeing me from the punishment I deserved.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Scarlett Lewis’ son, Jesse, was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the biggest school shooting in U.S. history. At first, she said, she felt like her anger sapped all her strength and energy. She was angry at the shooter and at the mother for unwittingly arming him. But she made a choice to forgive.

She told The Forgiveness Project, “Forgiveness felt like I was given a big pair of scissors to cut the tie and regain my personal power. It started with a choice and then became a process.” She urged mourners at Jesse’s funeral to change their angry thoughts into loving ones, that thereby they might change the world. (read more of her story at https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/stories-library/scarlett-lewis/)

How would you react if your child was one killed senselessly in a school shooting?

Here’s three things about forgiveness:

1. Forgiveness releases anger and bitterness. When I don’t forgive, anger and bitter emotions can ruin us physically and spiritually.  Many would say, “She has a right to be angry.”  We could agree.  The killing of an innocent child is evil.  The consequences are lifelong.  She could be angry that he took her child away, deprived her of future memories, and left a void in their family that can never be filled.  Forgiveness released the anger.
2. Forgiveness is a choice. The only one who can forgive is you. (First the Lord of course.)  A family member can’t forgive for you; neither can a friend or a stranger.  Forgiveness must come from your heart because you are the one who was wronged.  Only you can forgive the one who sinned against you.
3. Forgiveness is a process. While forgiveness happens when you choose to forgive, allowing that forgiveness to remove anger, bitterness, hurt and accept the new normal takes time.  While it can happen overnight, often the larger the injury, the longer the healing.  But forgiveness does initiate that healing.

This articles written about Scarlett do not indicate her faith or reference the forgiveness that Jesus gives.  If she is not a Christian, it speaks to the general benefit of forgiveness to replace hate with love.  However, for the Christian, this journey might look very similar.  The depth of understanding forgiveness and the process to heal after a horrific injustice is magnified under the shadow of the cross of Jesus.

Forgiveness is a challenge.  It is not easy. However, it is the path of a Christian to reflect the forgiveness that we have been shown.

Admittedly, that is easier said than done.  I have struggled with smaller issues to forgive someone, and probably if I am honest there are still situations that reappear that need the power of Christ’s forgiveness to help me fully forgive.

So we continue to seek the Lord’s strength to put into practice Jesus’ words:

Luke 6:36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. …Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 

Apply: What situation is still “eating you?”  Ask the Lord for strength to forgive and release the anger, bitterness, frustration that situation has been causing.

Prayer: Lord, forgiveness is hard, but the blessing is profound.  Thank you for your forgiveness and we ask your strength to forgive all those who have wronged us.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 5 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Forgive as We Forgive”  (LISTEN HERE).

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“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Is there anything about this petition that causes you to pause when you speak it in the Lord’s Prayer?

To be honest, I wish the petition simply was, “Forgive us our sins.”

What causes me to pause is the second phrase, “…as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Has this ever given you pause?

Most often I think of forgiveness that I received is attached fully to the completed work of Jesus on the cross and unattached to any actions or activities I would do or not do.

I love passages like Ephesians 1:7-8: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

I even am happy to receive the encouragement to pass on that forgiveness such is found in Ephesians 4:32  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

But to pray, “Forgive us our sins AS we forgive those who sin against us” challenges me to consider, “How well am I passing on the forgiveness which God has given to me?”

If God would match his forgiveness of my sins with how well I forgive those who sin against me?

At times, I would not expect much forgiveness from the Lord.

I need forgiveness for not forgiving as I have been forgiven.  How about you?

Jesus told the parable of the “Unmerciful Servant” (Matthew 18) to illustrate and encourage our forgiveness of others.  Peter asked, “How many times should I forgive my brother?”  He wanted the “check box” and then have permission to NOT forgive.

Here is Jesus’ parable (Matthew 18)

²¹ Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?”

²² Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

²³ “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

²⁶ “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’

³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus’ point in Matthew 18?

When I realize how much I have been forgiven by the Lord, the debts others incur are small by comparison.  Jesus wanted the man who had been forgiven 10,000 talents, an amount he would never be able to repay, to pass on a small percentage of that forgiveness to the one who owed him 100 denarii.

When I struggle to forgive, Jesus invites me to first look in the mirror and realize my sin, and then shift to the cross and realize how much I have been forgiven.  When this sinks in, it gives me strength to forgive as I have been forgiven.  And as I realize more and more how much I have been forgiven, forgiveness to others begins to flow more freely.

As forgiveness flows, I enjoy praying: “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”

Apply: Take time to reflect or write down the sins of the past week.  As you reflect on the “cost of that debt” take a red marker and draw a cross and write the word “Forgiven” on top of them.

Prayer: Lord, help me to forgive as freely and generously as you have forgiven me.  AMEN.

Today’s devotion builds on the thoughts from Sunday’s Sermon – Week 4 of the Lord’s Prayer Series “Give Us Today Our Daily Bread”  (LISTEN HERE).

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Give us today… a godly family, … loyal friends and good neighbors.

This excerpt from Martin Luther’s explanation of the Fourth Petition again broadens our prayer from just the food we ask God to provide on a daily basis.  We realize every blessing that fills our days is a gift from our gracious heavenly Father and an answer to this short petition.

Our family is by no means perfect, but I am extremely thankful that the Lord has filled the hearts in our home and in our extended family.  There are many temptations for families today.  The ways of the world, the pursuit of career and wealth, the entertainment and social influences…for the most part…are a tug away from our relationship with the Lord.  Other petitions touch on the temptations and evil around us, but including a godly family as a daily blessing for which we pray recognizes that doing life God’s way and together as a family brings daily blessings, both physical and spiritual.  The situation isn’t the same, but the challenge from the Lord through Joshua is this, “14 “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. 15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).

Lord, give us today a godly family.

Friends are a blessing.  With a bit of transparency, it has been hard to have lasting friendships as a pastor.  While as a pastor you can see people outside the church (although admittedly that can be tough too), it is hard for people to engage with you outside the role of pastor.  So when the role of pastor is gone (move away, leave the church, etc.) the role of friend is gone too.  People you invest hours of time change addresses and change friends.  Sure they may pop up on social media, but the relationship isn’t as deep.  Friends are a blessing to our day.  Individuals who are there to share the joys and sorrows, the highpoints and the low points.  King Solomon realized the blessing of loyal friends:

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Proverbs 18:24 One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Lord, give us today loyal friends.

“Do you have a couple eggs?”  “Would you like some cucumbers?”  “Can you pull in the trash bins from the street?”  “We will be gone on vacation.  Can you watch the house for us and water the plants?”

Having a neighbor or two to whom you can address these questions and ask for help is a true blessing.  We know many of our neighbors and individually and collectively they make our days brighter.  We know they are there if we need something and vice versa.  We don’t have to worry about loud parties, drug deals, or nefarious activity.  We have good neighbors.  They are welcome in our home and we in theirs…one we even have a set of keys!  Again King Solomon reflects on the blessing of neighbors and the opportunity to be a blessing to them:

Proverbs 3:29 Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you.

Proverbs 14:21 It is a sin to despise one’s neighbor, but blessed is the one who is kind to the needy.

Proverbs 25:17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you.

Proverbs 27:10 Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

Lord, give us today good neighbors.

And when he answers your prayer for daily bread also with a godly family, loyal friends and good neighbors, remember to give thanks…often.

Apply: When is the last time you’ve thanked your neighbors for being good neighbors?  Maybe when you see them next, let them know you are grateful for them and the blessing they are to you!

Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me a godly family, loyal friends and good neighbors.  Each of them fill my days with blessings! AMEN.