The #1 Reason to Forgive

You're not perfect and you need forgiveness too.  

You'll be making mistakes too. You haven’t been accused of living the perfect life have you? Then, you're also going to need those around you to cut you some slack. That's more likely to happen if you are forgiving of them.  

We hear a lot about being a country of second chances.  
Forget second chances. We all mess up so much that we're continually needing three, four, five, six, seven chances.

That's why in the Bible when they asked Jesus how many times he should forgive their neighbor, they asked 7 times and He said no, forgive them 70 times 7! It seems like they needed more than second chances back then too.

Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.  (Matthew 18:21-22)

So if you want to have great relationships for those around, you ease up. 
Give them some room to fail and when they do, forgive.  Don’t expect them to do the impossible.

That doesn't mean that if somebody does something terrible there doesn't need to be consequences. Even some times, severe consequences.  

 

However, that doesn't mean you need to hold it against them.  

You'll find this easier to do if you are someone who forgives yourself. You'll find the most rigid people are those who are unforgiving of themselves.

That’s not a good way to go through life.  
You'll always be dissatisfied, always expecting yourself to live up to a standard you have no hope of achieving.  

It's much easier to forgive yourself when you realize that God in heaven has already provided a plan of forgiveness for you. It’s available through his Son, Jesus Christ. If He will forgive, why wouldn’t you forgive yourself?

• To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;
  Daniel 9:8-10
• and that repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
  Luke 24:46-48 
• Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
  Acts 10:42-44
• to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
  Acts 26:17-19
• In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace
  Ephesians 1:6-8 

It's done.

It doesn’t you any good until you repent, ask for and accept that forgiveness, but He still has forgiven you. 

The sooner you realize that it might help you ease up a little bit on unrealistic expectations for yourself, your family, your kids, your coworkers, and your friends.  

That's the No. 1 reason to forgive others. Because you are not perfect either and God has provided forgiveness for you.

You Could Say Its Not Your Fault!

You were born that way!

Many have problems with the idea of being told they are a sinner. They hear a verse like the following and they really get upset.

For all have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God.
(Romans 3:23)

They hear that and say “How dare the Bible lump me in with all the bad guys?! I resent that. I’m a pretty good person. I try to do the right things. In fact I’m one of the nicest people I know. In fact show me the qualifications for Heaven and let me go…I know I can do it.”

No you can’t!
It’s not a question of you doing or not doing something that puts you in a position of needing to be saved. It’s something that was set in motion generations ago. You were born into it. It’s something that you inherited. It started at the beginning of time when God told Adam in Genesis 2 15-17…

Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.

When Adam was created, he was created in God’s image. 
He was alive physically and spiritually. He was in total union with God. But he was given free will. He wasn’t forced to to anything. God wasn’t going to force himself on Adam because that would have made him a slave. Being God’s slave would not be someone who was “like” God. If Adam wanted to maintain his relationship and fellowship with God it would be his free and willing choice. That’s why he was given just one condition to maintain his status…don’t eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As long as he did that he was demonstrating that his choice was to remain in full, happy, fellowship with God.

But that’s not what he did
He couldn’t resist. It became more important to him to taste the forbidden tree than to maintain his relationship with God his Creator and as a result he died spiritually.

Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; 
And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
(Genesis 3:17-19)

He still had his physical life but spiritually he had died
That meant that all of his offspring would be dead spiritually as well…that means all of us. Not our fault. Not our choice. That’s the way we were born. If you think that bothers you, imagine how God felt.

He knew mankind forever was doomed unless he intervened. Now isn’t the time to get into the reasons why but the only way out was that a substitute would have to be created to die in our place.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.
(John 3:16-20)

What dooms people is refusing to accept God’s substitute
God sent his beloved Son. He left Heaven. He lived, sacrificed and suffered and died on a cross to give us a way out of eternal death. He arose and now offers full eternal salvation and life and fellowship with him. He offers us adoption as full heirs into his family. Total love. Its not just things people do that condemn them. They are already condemned. They are born that way. What sends them to a hopeless, miserable, tortured eternity is that they refuse to acknowledge the Lord and His sacrifice. They refuse to believe in Him as the son of God. He makes the supreme sacrifice and they turn their backs on Him. They have no hope.

If you don’t accept Him as Savior and put your faith in Him you have no one to blame but yourself.

The Real Hall of Fame

What some call "God’s All Star Team"

In Hebrews 11:1–12:3, we see God and how He evaluates human performance. It becomes obvious that it’s not great personal effort and achievement that impresses him, but faith. It's those who realize and accept that they are not capable and as a result turn to Him. God wants to be active in our lives. He knows we are inadequate for the challenges we face yet He can only get involved if we operate from a position of trusting in Him to work through us.  Every time we try to “help” we interfere and shut His power down.  

He’s not looking for help He’s looking for our faith.
The normal challenges of life can be overwhelming by themselves; however God has specific purposes that he wants to accomplish through each of our lives. He wants to be able to accomplish things that are so far beyond our natural abilities that it will be obvious to all that they could have only been done if He was involved. If we trust Him and let him work through us He’s free to do what he wants, when he wants, the way wants. 

It takes a definite commitment to trust him and to keep trusting Him.
The people throughout history who have done this have been used to accomplish some amazing things and there are a lot more amazing things that can be done in the future.  As a result, Hebrews 11 gives us examples of these heroes to inspire us in our walk of faith.  Do you have overwhelming challenges in your life?  

Then trust the Lord to work through you His way, on His timetable, and prepare to be amazed at what happens.  

Hebrews 11 The Triumphs of Faith

¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for. 

 ³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. 

 ⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. 

 ⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 

 ⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith. 

 ⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she^[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 

 ¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. 

 ¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^{[c] 19} Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death. 

 ²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 

 ²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff. 

 ²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones. 

 ²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 

 ²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. ²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel. 

 ²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 

 ³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 

 ³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[d] 

 ³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 

 ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

Hebrews 12:1-3 — Jesus, The Example

¹ Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

#1 Tip for Maximum Growth in 2012

Read the Bible this year – yes you can!

It doesn’t matter if you’ve tried and failed before, I’m going to give you some secrets to help you get this done. 

It’s absolutely the best time you’ll ever spend.
We go through our lives thinking, planning, and working to save and invest and build up for the future with our finances, why not do the same for your spiritual life? When you shut your eyes for the last time all of your “financial planning” will be a thing in your past. It’s your spirit that you will carry with you into eternity.  It’s great to be wise about your finances on Earth—but not if it diverts you from the greater prize of spiritual growth which yields eternal, unlimited rewards.  

It’s your book
The Bible was written specifically for you. God provided the Bible for you—not just a special class of spiritual giants. God does not have grandchildren, He only has children. You’re not going to get into Heaven based off of the faith of your parents, family, or friends. This is all between you and God. He loves you as much as He loves everyone else, and the Bible was written for you as much as anyone else who has ever lived.  

It took me 50 years to figure out how. 
Although I was raised in the Baptist Church and became a Christian at 8 years old I never could get myself organized around reading the Bible all the way through until I was 50 years old.  I heard sermons on the bible, I had been to hundreds of Bible studies and classes, I had read and studied various parts on my own and read many books about the Bible, however, when I tried to read the it all the way through, I’d wind up falling asleep.  I remember going to the funeral of a friend of mine named Ken Durham in Snellville, Georgia, once where the pastor mentioned in passing during the sermon that he had read the Bible 50 times and it became richer every time he read it. I could remember thinking, "how in the world did he do that?"

The Solution 
One day I got a paperback copy of a version called The Daily Bible: New International Version: With Devotional Insights to Guide You Through God's Word by Harvest House Publishers. This Bible was the key to my breakthrough. This version gave historical background and commentary by F. LaGard Smith. Here are some other things that make this version unique:

1. Before you start a section it gives you a brief overview and context rather than just jumping in.
2. The text is put in a chronological order which allows you to read through the Bible and read about the events as they actually happened in the order that they actually happened.
3. This adjustment makes reading the Bible like reading one continuous story. It makes it so easy to put people, places, and events in sequence and in order.

After I got started here’s what happened: 
I put it by my bed and decided I would read the last thing every night before I went to sleep. Some people like to do it first thing in the morning when they wake up but you’ve got to have some anchor time that you do it every day or you won’t do it. I like the idea of making this the last thing that was on my mind before I shut down for the night and knew that would put me in a great frame of mind to start the next morning. Needless to say, the brain does the bulk of its work at night while we are sleep so I thought what a perfect time to load my head with scripture.

Once I started I immediately found myself captivated by the story even though I had been familiar with it all my life. With the background information in this historical context and chronological arrangements I became “hooked” on the story. Soon I found myself reading way past the “daily allotment”. I would get caught up and fascinated in the story and would just keep on reading. I made sure when I traveled I would not have it interrupted. When the occasional night came when I was having trouble getting to sleep I found it didn’t matter because I could just read longer.

Soon I found myself weeks ahead and then it became a game to see how far ahead I would get. Then of course the inevitable interruption came because life isn’t perfect and no matter how great our intentions are we get off track. So I found during the year there would be times when for a week or even a couple of months my reading would be interrupted. However, I also found it didn’t really matter, because I had read so far ahead I was still on schedule. Once, I had a delay that caused me to get far behind my schedule but I found myself unconcerned because I knew once I resumed, I would easily catch up, and I did.

Somewhere around early December I wound up finishing Revelation and for the first time in my life I had read through the Bible. Now, I’m as competitive as anyone else, but I don’t think it’s necessary to comment on how many times I’ve read the Bible since then except to say I hope I get the opportunity to do it again and again the rest of my life because I’ve found that the pastor at Ken Durhams’ funeral was right, it does get richer and it does make more sense, and it does come more alive with every reading.  

So here’s my #1 suggestion for you in 2012... 
You can make it a New Year’s decision if you like. Why not make this year count? Why not draw a line in the sand and say “now’s the time, I want to do this, and by God’s grace and help I will." Of course you don’t have to use the chronological daily Bible.

There are hundreds of reading plans available and there are many excellent apps you can put on your phone or iPad to make it even easier. I actually wish they’d make the chronological Bible available as an app. This is not the time to make excuses. In our generation there are more translations and study guides than ever before.

If you want to do it, now’s the time, and there’s not better a thing you can do in 2012. 

---

Online Resources

• Free Bible Apps iOS, Android and Blackberry
• The One Year Bible Online 
• The Bible Reading Plan An online Bible plan that will email you a chronological reading plan each day.

And You Are?

There are two kinds of people.

The Book of Proverbs in the Bible talks about two kinds of people, the Wise Man and the Fool. Throughout the book the comparisons between the two are made

It's a useful and enlightening study.

The wise person is long-sighted, prepares for the future and looks down the road to see if trouble is coming. The fool is short-sighted, only thinking about the pleasure of the present with no concern for the future.

The wise one is industrious and secure. The fool is lazy and vulnerable.

The wise watches his words and is careful what he says and how he says it. The fool blurts out any and everything that comes into his mind—creating all kinds of trouble.

The comparisons continue in a powerful way throughout the book. If the way of the wise is appealing to you, there is nothing you could read that would help you more. 

In every situation you face in life there will be a variety of responses but they usually break down to wise and foolish ones. Obviously its the wise response that wins. 

Take a look through Proverbs, it will direct you clearly in the way of Winning.

Merry Christmas

^{Luke 2:1-20}

¹ In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while (or before) Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

 ⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 ⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 ¹³ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

 ¹⁴ “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

 ¹⁵ When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹ But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

What Actually is the "Good News?"

Is it just an easier to do list to get into Heaven?

Study the New Testament and you’ll realize that the Good News of Jesus Christ is that our salvation and eternal life is not a matter of adding up brownie points.  Unfortunately for us God is pure and cannot have eternal fellowship with anything impure, meaning us.

It’s an oil and water kind of thing…pure and impure  don’t mix. Once we have committed one sin in our life it’s over for us. By the time we realize this we have all accumulated a whole lot more than one sin.  We were born with a rebellious sinful nature.So we must admit it, confess it and repent. It’s stupid and foolish to try to deny it.  

So now what can be done?

There was only one option, the pure and holy God had to save us.  And he did. In a miraculous event that of course we cannot fully understand, He sent His son to Earth to live the perfect life and to die on a cross so he could be the substitute for our sins.  All of our sins are put on Him if we merely by faith actively accept, acknowledge, and believe in Him.  By doing that we “repent” by acknowledging we can’t do it on our own. We acknowledge we are sinners and we place our trust in Him.  It’s a definite decision. It’s a definite act of will. We are trusting in Him for our eternal salvation.  Now our eternal salvation is in place. By the grace of God we will ive an eternal life. 

But here’s the rub.  
What happens next? How are we supposed to live? God has a plan for that as well and it doesn’t depend on our strength, it doesn’t depend on our understanding, it doesn’t depend on our consistency or discipline.  It depends on our faith in His strength and character in love.  We’ll talk about how this works next Sunday….