A thorny question I am often asked about forgiveness is this: “Should I ask forgiveness from people I have wronged if they are unaware that I have wronged them?” Maybe that person is an employer; maybe it’s a friend; maybe it’s your mate. If you have wronged somebody who is unaware of the offense, should you ask forgiveness anyway? The forgiveness experts are divided on this. Some say, “If you ...
Read MoreIn Mark 11:25-26 Jesus said, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”
Read MoreSome of you are going through a period of doubt in your life, or you know somebody who is. How do you deal with that doubt?
Read MoreLet me close this week’s study of Jesus, the perfect healer, by suggesting three principles for what Christians should do when illness comes into our lives or the lives of those we care about.
Read MoreIn Matthew 11:11 Jesus said, “Among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” What made John such an outstanding figure? None of us today has been called to the same ministry that John the Baptist was. We haven’t been called to live in the desert and exist on a diet of insects and do the strange things John did. Nevertheless, we have been ...
Read MoreIn Luke’s gospel we see that a true follower of Christ is someone who loves other people unconditionally, who persists in spite of suffering, and who refuses to be attached to material things. In Luke’s gospel Jesus says there will be many people who will be surprised on Judgment Day when they are denied entrance into the kingdom of God. They will cry out, “Lord, Lord, how could you not ...
Read MoreAs a pastor, I see many Christians wandering around in a spiritual fog, wondering, “Why am I here? What does God want me to do with my life?” I don’t want to diminish the importance of your discovering God’s will for your life, but many of your questions about God’s plan can be answered by grasping this simple truth: you have been created by God, selected by God, and empowered by ...
Read MoreThroughout Scripture, God’s plan for His people includes an intermission after their failure. For example, the nation of Israel rebelled against God, so God let them be taken captive by the Babylonians. They spent 70 years in Babylonian captivity. That was their intermission before God allowed them to return to the Promised Land.
Read MoreThe fact that we have been forgiven by God means we can experience a radical transformation. If God were simply just willing to forgive us, that would be enough. But the good news doesn’t stop there. God is able to take the worst failures of your life and use them not only for your good, but even more importantly, for His glory.
Read MoreGiven the corrosive effects of bitterness on our bodies and emotions, not to mention the spiritual hazards of unforgiveness, why are we so reluctant to forgive those who wrong us? I think one reason people are reluctant to forgive other people is that they have a faulty understanding of what forgiveness is not.
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